Grou
Grou (Dutch: Grouw) is a town in the province Friesland of the Netherlands and had around 5655 citizens in January 2017. Since 2014 Grou is part of the municipality of Leeuwarden.
Grou
Grouw | |
|---|---|
Village | |
St Peter's Church | |
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Flag Coat of arms | |
Location in the former Boarnsterhim municipality | |
Grou Location in the Netherlands Grou Grou (Netherlands) | |
| Coordinates: 53.10°N 5.83°E | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | Friesland |
| Municipality | Leeuwarden |
| Population (2017) | |
| • Total | 5,655 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 9000-01 |
| Telephone area | 0566 |
The town is located on the Pikmeer lake and the Prinses Margrietkanaal. Heineken operated a distribution centre for Friesland in Grou for 25 years until 2004.
It used to be the capital of the municipality of Idaarderadeel before the reorganization of municipalities in 1984, and capital of the municipality of Boarnsterhim until 2014.
While the rest of the Netherlands celebrates Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) on December 5, Grou instead celebrates a unique local variation of this children's holiday known as Sint-Piter on February 21. In local lore Sint Piter is a distinct character separate from Saint Nicholas, and was historically known as the patron saint for local fishermen.
A nickname for the town is Tsiisferdûnsers, meaning cheese dancers, from a story where a fiddler was paid with cheese at a village dance.