A borg (;

Gronings Gronings (; or Grönnegs), is a collective name for some Low Saxon dialects spoken in the province of Groningen and around the Groningen border in Drenthe and Friesland. Gronings and the strongly related varieties in East Frisia have a stro ...

: ''börg'') is a former

stronghold A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

or villa in the province of

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Borgs used to belong to noblemen or prominent citizens. A comparable building in the neighboring province of

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

is called a

stins A stins (Dutch, pl. ''stinsen''; from West Frisian ''stienhûs'' utch ''steenhuis''"stone house", shortened to ''stins'', pl. ''stinzen'') is a former stronghold or villa in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Many stinsen carry the name ...

History

A borg usually started as a brick building, a 'steenhuis' (literally meaning 'stone house'), built in the 13th or 14th century. A steenhuis was usually 11 meters long and eight meters wide. The walls were thick, often more than one meter in thickness. Most were originally made of wood because stone was expensive, but less flammable. A steenhuis was not used as a house, but offered protection in times of danger. There is one original steenhuis left in Groningen, the Iwema-steenhuis in Niebert. Some steenhuises were enlarged and became more like a castle; this would be considered a borg. A good example of a borg that originated from a steenhuis is the

Fraeylemaborg The Fraeylemaborg () is a ''borg'' in the village of Slochteren in the Netherlands. At present the Fraeylemaborg is a historic house museum. The museum had in 2013. Building history Fraeylemaborg is thmost important of the borgen in the provin ...

. In the building itself you can still find a wide wall with

embrasure An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of Age of Gunpowder, gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a sp ...

s. Many borgs are surrounded by a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

. Besides the borgs that originated from a steenhuis, there are also more recently built borgs that originate from ''veenborgen''. A veenborg (''peat borg'') was a mansion built for wealthy people in the Veenkoloniën (''peat colonies''). These buildings were mostly built in the second half of the 17th century. Examples of veenborgs are Welgelegen in

Hoogezand Hoogezand () is a town in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, in the province of Groningen in northeast Netherlands. History The name refers to a higher sanded ''(Hooge Sandt)'' place in the peatlands cut through when the Winschoterdiep Cha ...

and the Ennemaborg in

Midwolda Midwolda () is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Oldambt, about 7 km northwest of Winschoten. Midwolda was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Scheemda. History The ...

Remains

Most borgs were demolished in the 19th century, when maintenance became too expensive. Several surviving borgs are now used as museums.

References

External links

*{{in lang, nl}
Borgen in Groningen
1 Buildings and structures in Groningen (province) Castles in the Netherlands Architecture in the Netherlands

History

Remains

See also

References

External links