Memorial plaque of the Siege of Groningen

About this artwork.

The green copper ball represents a cannonball. The year 1672 refers to the year in which the Battle of Groningen took place. Army commander Carl von Rabenhaupt defended the city against the invasion by the Bishop of Münster, also known as Bommen Berend (Bombs Berend). His soldiers, over 20,000 in number, besieged the city from the south, in the area where the Rabenhauptstraat and the Kempkensberg are now located. After a week-long siege, in which around 4600 soldiers from the Münster-Cologne army and around 100 inhabitants of the city were killed, the bishop stopped his shelling. On 28 August, Groningen was liberated. Every year on that date, the festival of Bommen Berend is celebrated in the city.
 
The rusty surface of the plaque refers to the passage of time. You can read in brass letters: "Groningen Constant, Behoudt van 't Landt" (Groningen Constant, Preserving the Country). This sentence (constant means steady) was on one of the emergency coins that were made during the siege in Groningen. The division in the plaque stands for the city and the Ommelanden (countryside). In order to defend the city, large parts of the Ommelanden – the Groningen countryside – were flooded. 
 
Since 1972, the city of Groningen has been in the possession of a bust of Von Rabenhaupt, made by Willem Valk. When in 1995, due to the construction of the Waagstraat complex, a new location was sought for this sculpture, the shopkeepers' association from the Rivierenbuurt area of Groningen proposed placing it in the street named after the illustrious army commander. But the bust found a home near the town hall and the Rabenhauptstraat was given this commemorative plaque.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Ron Caspers

• District
  Rivierenbuurt & Herewegbuurt

• Year of creation
  2001

• Art type
  Monument, Plaque

• Material
  Cortenstaal

• Dimensions
  h 0,60 x b 0,40 m