Open Monument Day: monumental task for our heritage employees

At the heart of our municipality's organizing committee are Esdert Glazenburg and Anna Bouman, heritage employees at the municipality. They explain why we do this, why you'll want to be there, and what you can do to get the most out of your visit.

We have many monuments in our municipality. They are designated as monuments because they are, for example, rare, undamaged, or very special. As a municipality, we are actively involved in monument conservation and we are happy to show the results of that. — Esdert

Throughout the Netherlands, you can visit monuments for free on the second weekend of September. In Groningen, we have chosen the motto 'The Art of Looking' to invite people to take a good look at their surroundings. And to see how rich Groningen really is, how many beautiful buildings and objects there are. — Anna

Color Route

The statues on the roof and on either side of the entrance to the Korenbeurs, for example. They have recently been restored and we have included them in our color route. You can walk or cycle the color route yourself, and it is a new program component. You will see eight beautiful results of the work we do at the municipality to preserve our heritage. — Anna

As a municipality, we pay a lot of attention to color research and color restoration. Many buildings in the city center have at some point been given a color that is less suitable, often white. We have research done on what colors were on them before and then we give advice. This is often followed. Gradually, this creates a completely different cityscape and the city gets more color. — Esdert

Open Monument Day Committee

With all the monuments and activities in our municipality, organizing Open Monument Day here is a huge task. Fortunately, Esdert and Anna don't have to do it all by themselves: for the organization, there is the Open Monument Day Committee of the Municipality of Groningen, which consists of the Groningen Archives, the Groningen Churches foundation, Museum aan de A, the Cultural-Historical Association Ten Boer, the Haren Historical Association Old Go and, of course, the Municipality of Groningen.

Driving Forces

Esdert and I work closely with the other organizations in the committee, but the two of us are the driving forces. The organization, approaching the owners of the monuments, making the program booklet, that's on us. The other parties provide input and also organize activities, but the main part of the work lies with us. — Anna

Esdert nods in agreement and says: It actually goes on all year. We evaluate in October and then we start with the next monument day. In February, it really starts to pick up. And from July until monument day, we are almost full-time busy with it.

Restoration Experts

Our restoration experts are also busy on monument day. For example, Marcel Verkerk will talk about farms in Onnen and Janet Bosma about the color restoration of the Luther Hall behind the Lutheran Church. But ultimately, the monumental buildings with their owners and volunteers, who often organize all sorts of things themselves, are the core. — Esdert

Esdert and Anna themselves will be at the information point in the City Hall on Saturday, the day with the largest offer. On Sunday, Esdert and Anna can go out and about themselves. Last year on Sunday, I went to Hoogkerk with my daughter, says Esdert.