Theodorus van Swinderen (1784-1851)
An unsuspecting passer-by would think that the building at the Boteringestraat 19 is medieval, but appearances are deceptive. The façade was deliberately given a medieval look when it was built in 1912. For years, it served as the office of the municipal tax department. Later, it was owned by a church foundation and from 2005 to 2011 it was a social club for entrepreneurs. In 2011, the university bought the building with the aim of using it as a conference centre. It then got the name “Van Swinderen Huys”, in honour of the professor Theodorus van Swinderen. Nowadays the conference centre is run as an independent company, with the university as shareholder.
Although the building is called the “Van Swinderen Huys”, professor Theodorus van Swinderen never lived here himself. His entire life, he lived opposite the Martini church, in the building known as the Feithhuis, which is named after the Feith family.
Van Swinderen, born in 1784, was professor of natural history. Together with his colleague and friend Sibrandus Stratingh and others, he founded the Society for the Advancement of the Physical Sciences in Groningen in 1801, which is now known as the Royal Dutch Society for Physics.
Van Swinderen eventually became famous mainly because of his efforts to educate the Groninger society. He made it his personal mission to educate the people in Groningen on history. For this, he initiated the building of many memorials and monuments. He was also the founder of a museum of natural history. Finally, he is the spiritual father of the Bommen Berend festivities, the annual celebration of Groningen withstanding the siege of the bishop of Münster in August. Van Swinderen showed that, according to the new Gregorian calendar system, the feast day should actually be celebrated on the 28th of August, instead of the 17th, which was still the case at the time.
When you visit the University Museum, you will find a bust of Van Swinderen in the courtyard near the entrance. This was originally part of a monument dedicated to him. The monument was demolished after being placed in several locations. The bust ended up in the courtyard of the University Museum in 1990.
With the Van Swinderenhuys this city walk has come to an end. If the walk has aroused your interest in the academic past of Groningen, please visit the University Museum or take a look at our website, where you can find a lot of additional information: www.rug.nl/museum. Thank you for listening, and we hope to see you soon!
