20th Conference of the IWGP

Groningen, The Netherlands

Conference Venues

University of Groningen

Main Venue

The University of Groningen is an internationally oriented university with a rich academic tradition. Since the establishment in 1614, the university has brought forward striving academics, like the first female student, the first Dutch astronaut and various Nobel prize winners.

Geographically, the University is rooted in the Northern part of the Netherlands, a region very close to its heart. We connect education and research with sustainable and economic processes within society. This comes together in our three spearheads: Energy, Healthy Ageing and Sustainable Society.

Groningen Institute of Archaeology

The Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA) of the University of Groningen has been the knowledge centre on the archaeology of the northern part of the Netherlands since its establishment in 1920. The GIA engages in fundamental archaeological research in Northwest Europe, the Mediterranean and the Polar Regions. It’s researchers stimulate and integrate fundamental research on past human societies and their environments, from Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers to complex urban societies. The Institute facilitates research and fieldwork through its laboratories, drawing facilities, documentation, GIS, and technical support. From the start researchers at the GIA have been firmly rooted in the regions they work in and and they are well-connected to society at large.

The GIA deems archaeology an important societal factor. GIA-researchers carry out fundamental scientific research that relates to important current themes such as migration, sustainable living with a rising sea level, attitudes to death and identity politics, the relations between human societies and the natural environment, and the preservation of archaeological heritage.

The GIA world-class laboratories in archaeobotany and archaezoology play a central role in knowledge dissemination: we support colleagues from commercial firms in their analysis and laymen alike.

Hortus Botanicus Haren

Icebreaker

The Hortus Botanicus Haren-Groningen is one of the oldest and largest botanical gardens in the Netherlands, it dates back to the 17th century. At the Hortus, which covers about 15 acres, there are a large number of very different gardens. In addition to the various (botanical ) gardens, the Hortus also includes an authentic Chinese Ming garden with an authentic Chinese tea house. This garden, which has a different design than western gardens, is a gift from the city of Shanghai to the City and County of Groningen.
The Hortus was part of the University of Groningen (RUG) and until the 1980s’ played an important role in the teaching and research of Biology especially Plant Systematics. A national division of labor between universities and developments in science led to the minimization of the Hortus’ role within the RUG. Since 2002, the Stichting Behoud Groene Hortus (SBGH) has acted as custodian of the heritage of the) RUG. As of 2012, the Hortus stands on its own feet.

University Museum

Planting the Past – Archaeobotany in Groningen (exhibition)

All our plant-based food—like wheat, fruit, and vegetables—once began as wild plants. For thousands of years, people have selected plants that taste good, grow well, and are easy to harvest. But where do all these plants actually come from? How do we know? And how did they end up here?

The science that studies the relationship between humans and plants is called archaeobotany. Archaeobotanists search for and examine ancient plant remains—such as seeds, fruits, pollen, and wood—found during archaeological excavations. In doing so, they uncover how people lived in the past, which plants they used, and how those plants spread.

In the exhibition Planting the Past: Archaeobotany in Groningen, you’ll step into the world of archaeobotanical research in Groningen. Go behind the scenes of the laboratory and explore the extensive collection of remarkable seeds and plant remains under study. You’ll also learn about the techniques researchers use to read the story of the past through plant remains.

Discover how archaeobotany helps us understand the deep-rooted connection between people and plants throughout history.

Academy Building

Oral presentations and poster sessions

The 1909 Academy Building opposite the University Library on Broerstraat in the city of Groningen was built in Northern Dutch neo-Renaissance style. It is the main building of the University of Groningen. Because of its cultural-historical and architectural-historical value it is of importance. Furthermore, it is significant for the history of scientific education in Groningen and because of the quality of the spatial articulation, the ornamentation and the coherence between exterior and interior.

The listed building is the third Academy Building. It rose on the foundations of the second building. It was designed by the Hague architect and Chief Government Architect J.A. Vrijman. In 2007/2008, the building was renovated.

Archaeobotanical laboratory

Lab Sessions

The Laboratory for Palaeobotany and Palynology is located on Academy Square, at Broerstraat 9. The laboratory has facilities for the study of pollen from western Europe and the Near East and for the study of plant macro remains from western Europe, the Near East and Egypt. The reference collection of the laboratory currently contains more than 33,000 samples of seeds and fruits and approximately 6000 pollen samples. The production of digital seed atlases of the flora of the Netherlands and of economic plants are in progress. Further information can be obtained by contacting Mans Schepers, Arnoud Maurer or Sylvia Blomsma, or by checking the website plantatlas.eu.

The Digital Atlases

The Digital Plant Atlas is an international project that makes a unique contribution to the identification of seeds, fruits, and vegetative plant parts. Plant parts are depicted with high-quality colour photos and verified scientific names.

Each atlas of the project is published as a combination of book and website. This website contains all published photos as well as unpublished photos with associated metadata, and provides access to the catalogue of the GIA botanical reference collection.

Akerk

Dinner and Party

The Akerk is about eight hundred years old. Around 1200 a chapel came to stand on the east bank of the small river A. This soon grew into a large cross basilica, a church building with a floor plan in the shape of a cross. The church was dedicated to St. Nicholas, the patron saint of boatmen. There were plenty of them in this part of town. The A was an important waterway for trade. It was not until 1246 that the Akerk was first mentioned in a written document. In the fifteenth century people worked hard to enlarge the church. The work lasted about seventy years. As a result, around 1495, the Akerk took on roughly the shape it still has today.

For half of its eight hundred years of existence, the church was Catholic. In 1594, Groningen went over to the Reformation. Everything that reminded of Catholic use disappeared from the interior at that time. Protestant services took place in the Akerk until 1970. One thing did not change in eight centuries. The church is at the center of city life. What happened outside its walls in all that time is often still reflected in the church. The Akerk is therefore much more than an architectural or art historical monument. It houses countless histories, large and small. Therefore, the Akerk is the memory of a living city.

Groningen Railway Station

Groningen railway station, locally called Hoofdstation (main station), is the main railway station in Groningen in the Province of Groningen, Netherlands. The first station building was completed in 1865 and demolished in 1894. The second and current station building was designed by Izaak Gosschalk, completed in 1896, and most recently restored in 2000. Train services started in 1866 and are currently provided by Nederlandse Spoorwegen and Arriva.

It was voted the most beautiful train station of the Netherlands in 2019.