City Boulders
City Boulders
Urban bouldering – or city bouldering – involves climbing low constructions in the city. This sport is, next to climbing in a hall and climbing in nature, an unknown brother in the climbing world. Urban bouldering is fun and challenging. And be careful! Climbing on or being found on street furniture not meant for this purpose is not allowed in the Netherlands. This could result in a fine of €95,-.
Boulder 1, Kringloop
Location: Stadspark (large playground). 53°12'12.8"N 6°32'26.1"E.
The statue was created for a temporary exhibition Zomerbeelden ’84, but obtained a permanent spot on the large playground of Stadspark. The boulder is an artwork that consists of seven plates that are put in a circle. One lays on the grass, a second emerges from the ground at a sharp angle, a third is somewhat more upright and so on, and the seventh completes the statue by joining the first plate again.
These boulders can be climbed in so many ways. Slab as well as overhang is a possibility.
Note: during periods of rain this part of Stadspark can be under water.
Boulder 2, Underpass Train Track, Paterswoldseweg
Location: Train crossing Paterswoldseweg. 53°12'37.7"N 6°33'23.8"E.
On December 13th, 2019, the underpass at Paterswoldseweg was opened. This was due to the project Extra Sneltrein Groningen Leeuwarden (ESGL), since the amount of travellers between Groningen and Leeuwarden was increasing. In 2020, two express trains and two slow trains would go per hour, instead of only one express train and two slow trains. Because the train would have to cross more often, they built an underpass, so that traffic wouldn’t have to wait even more.
This boulder starts at the southern part of the underpass (east or west doesn’t make a difference) The boulder ends at the gate of the bus lane.
Boulder 3, The Museumbrug Bridge Boulder
Location: Museumbrug, west of Academie Minerva. 53°12'53.5"N 6°33'33.9"E
The bridge owes its name to the Museum of Groningen that was located at the Praediniussingel until 1994. The design of this bascule bridge, which was commissioned by the municipality of Groningen, was made by Werkspoor Utrecht and was ready in 1938. It came in the place of an older bridge, which had been there since 1882. The bridge, with accompanying guard house, is designed in the style of the Delftse School.
The boulder starts in the middle of the bridge at the northern or southern side. It ends at the opposite side.
Boulder 4, The A-Brug Bridge Boulder
Location: A-Brug between the Brugstraat and the Astraat. 53°12'59.8"N 6°33'33.8"E
The bridge is an uneven swing bridge. It consists of two iron beams which carry the road and to which the railing is attached. There were seven predecessors of the bridge, of which a lot were made of wood. This wooden A-Brug was the first bridge in Groningen and one of the oldest in the Netherlands which is still in use as an actual route. The bridge is not being used that much by traffic at the moment, thanks to the regulations to guide most traffic around the city centre. Also the buses towards the west have been diverted since 2017.
The boulder starts in the middle of the bridge at the northern or southern side. It ends at the opposite side.
Boulder 5, The A-Kerk Climb
Location: Westside entrance of the A-Kerk. 53°12'59.0"N 6°33'42.4"E
The church, which was originally called Kerk van Onze Lieve Vrouwe ter Aa, is located in the centre of the city Groningen. It was built with catholic purpose, but was taken over by the protestants during the Reformation. Next to the Martini Church, this is the most important remains of the middle ages in the city. When standing at the Vismarkt, you see the church, located at the Akerkhof, towering over the Korenbeurs.
The boulder consists of the concrete plates on both sides of the entrance.
Boulder 6, The ABN AMRO Columns
Location: ABN AMRO, Grote Markt 22. 53°13'09.0"N 6°34'03.8"E
The ABN part of ABN AMRO stands for Algemene Bank Nederland. The AMRO part stands for Amsterdam and Rotterdam. These names came together due to mergers. The ABN AMRO is also the bank where GSAC holds its bank account.
The boulders consist of the 2 concrete columns on the east side of the ABN AMRO building.
Boulder 7, The Martinikerkhof Traverse
Location: The Martinikerk, opposite of the Groningen provincial house. 53°13'11.0"N 6°34'09.9"E
The Martinikerk, which used to be called the Sint-Maartenskerk, is the oldest church in the city of Groningen. The church and the accompanying Martini Tower are both named after Sint-Maarten. The current Martinikerk mostly dates back to the fifteenth century. The Martinikerk served as a cathedral during the short existence of the first bisdom Groningen (1559-1594).
The boulder is a traverse along one of the ledges of the church.
Boulder 8, The Slabs of Pepergasthuis
Location: The wall to the right of the Ni-Hao columns. Kleine Peperstraat. 53°13'01.6"N 6°34'19.2"E
The Pepergasthuis was founded in 1405 by father and son Solleder. Originally, it served as a guest house for pilgrims who travelled to Groningen. In the Martinikerk, relics of Johannes de Doper were kept, which attracted a lot of pilgrims. These days, the Pepergasthuis consists of rental apartments.
The slabs of the Pepergasthuis cannot be missed when walking through the street. Note: some bricks are loose.
Boulder 9, Der Baum
Location: Heresingel (the green opposite of nr. 36). 53°12'51.5"N 6°34'21.5"E
The official name of the monument is: the Werkman monument, named after artist Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, who died during World War II. In the Werkman year, in 1995, the municipality had two monuments made for this printer and artist Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman from Groningen. The artwork is a five metre high tree made of bronze. The tree has a diameter of 2.1 metres.
There are several routes possible on this tree!
Boulder 10, The Bison
Location: Opposite Boteringesingel 13, 9712 XR Groningen in the Noorderplantsoen. 53°13'34.2"N 6°33'34.3"E
The Bison is not a bison but a Wisent. The artwork is an artistic expression of a winsent, weighs at least ten ton, is three metres long and over two metres high. The statue is made out of one grey shell limestone, a quite hard sort of stone. The artist worked on this statue for one and a half years, using hammers and chisels to carve away eight ton stone by hand. In 1975, it was finished.
The boulder can be climbed both from the front and back. The frontside is a lot harder than the backside.
Boulder 11, The Crown Thing
Location: Zernikeplein 11, 9747 AS Groningen. Outside at the technical faculty, at the backside of the Van Doorenveste. 53°14'30.2"N 6°31'58.3"E
The statue is made out of pieces of dolomite from the quarry Anröchte in the German Ruhr area. On top of the stone, a welded iron figure is placed. The statue is made by Gjalt Blauauw.
The boulder can be climbed at the north eastern side.
Boulder 12, The Flame Thing
Locatie: Corpus Den Hoorn-Zuid, Groningen (alongside the A28). 53°10'58.9"N 6°34'25.2"E
The ‘flame thing’ is the city marker of Groningen S01 alongside the A28.