Register to attend the conference by clicking on the REGISTRATION button on the left.

The excursion/airports/hotels/tourism office all link to their own websites!

Conference Registration

All participants in the conference and all those wishing to attend the conference are kindly requested to register for the conference using this online module, which is run by the Groningen Congres Bureau.

Conference registration fees cover:

• attendance at the two-day conference (including five keynote lectures and one round-table, presented by leading international scholars)

• (optional) workshop attendance and materials on 8 June

• coffee/tea and two lunches during the conference

• the cocktail reception and entrance to Groningen Grafisch Museum GRID on 9 June

• the conference dinner at 't Feithhuis Restaurant on 10 June, and

• (optional) excursion to the seventeenth-century wind-driven paper-mill De Schoolmeester in Westzaan on 11 June (including touring-bus transport to the mill and to Schiphol International Airport and train station, entrance fee and guided tour, coffee/cake, and a sack lunch).

Registration fees of €75.00 (€40.00 for students and retirees) are payable via credit card or bank transfer through our secure registration module. Register by 15 May 2016 to take advantage of early-bird registration fees and to ensure a place on the paper-mill tour.

Registration will also be available on-site at the Van Swinderenhuys on 9 and 10 June. Please note that late registration fees will apply.

Please contact the Conference Organizing Team if you require separate tickets for the conference dinner or paper-mill excursion for accompanying spouses/partners.

Cocktail Reception, Conference Dinner, and Excursion

We will hold a cocktail reception, sponsored by the University of Groningen, Municipality of Groningen, and Province of Groningen, on 9 June from 18:15-19:15 at the Groningen Grafisch Museum GRID. GRID is located in the former Groningen city archives. Its permanent expositions include a large array of historic printing presses and prints, including those of Groningen Expressionist artist H.N. Werkman (1882-1945).

The Conference Dinner will be held on 10 June from 18:30 at the centrally-located restaurant 't Feithhuis. Vestiges of the building's medieval and early modern history as rectory, as site of the provincial Diet until 1602, and as home to anti-Arminian theologian Franciscus Gomarus (1563-1641) are still visible. 'T Feithhuis is named for its final occupant, the Groningen archivist J.A. Feith. It was opened as a restaurant in 1994.

On 11 June, you are invited to join an optional excursion to the world's only surviving wind-driven working paper-mill, De Schoolmeester in Westzaan, near Amsterdam. A six-sided smock mill with three Hollander beaters, De Schoolmeester dates from 1692, and today produces various colors and sizes of Zaansche bord, a sturdy paper used by artists and book-binders. In the late seventeenth century there were more than 40 paper mills in the Zaan region, one of which provided the high-quality writing paper on which the American Declaration of Independence (1776) was written. The region is also known for its introduction of the Hollander beater, which reduced the time involved in papermaking while also improving paper quality. De Schoolmeester, named for one of its initial owners, is now a national monument run by the Vereniging Zaansche Molens.

Our tour will be guided by the current miller, who has worked at the mill since the age of 17. You'll see the process of pre-modern paper production close up, from rags to finished, drying product. There are a limited number of spots available for the excursion, so we encourage you to register early to ensure a spot.

The touring bus (with room for baggage) will depart Groningen at 7.30 on 11 June, and after a scenic drive through Friesland and over the Afsluitdijk -- a 32-km.-long dike which closed off the Zuiderzee between 1927 and 1932 -- will arrive at the mill around 10.00. At 12.00 the bus will continue on to Schiphol Airport and Train Station. Coffee, cake, and sack lunches will be provided. The bus will arrive at Schiphol by about 12.30. Once those with flights or train connections have disembarked, the bus will return to Groningen.

Getting to Groningen and Accommodations in Groningen

Participants and attendees are expected to organize and cover the costs for their own travel and accommodations.

Travel to Groningen

Groningen is easily reached by automobile or by international and national rail networks (see http://www.ns.nl for train schedules and fares). There are several trains per hour between Groningen and most major Dutch cities. Groningen's Central Train Station is located on the edge of the medieval city center, about fifteen minutes' walk from the conference site.

Groningen is also served by a number of international airports: 

• Groningen Airport Eelde (connections to London Southend Airport). About 30 minutes from Groningen by direct bus (€3.00).

• Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (all connections). Just over 2 hours by direct train, 2 trains per hour (€25.70, ns.nl).

• Eindhoven Airport (over 70 European destinations). Closed for all air traffic between 30 May and 16 June.

• Rotterdam The Hague Airport (40 European destinations, City bus 33 to Rotterdam Metro, Metro E to Rotterdam Centraal Station, direct train to Groningen (2 trains per hour, €28.13).

• City Airport Bremen (50 European destinations). Just over 2 hours by direct touring-bus (€10-24, fares variable, flixbus.com/bremen-groningen or ecolines.net/Groningen+Bremen).

Please note that this information is provided as a general guideline to help you plan your travel, and it may be subject to change. The Conference Organizing Team takes no responsibility for transport information.

Accommodations in Groningen

When you click the link to registrer, the registration module will offer discounted single and double rooms in three centrally-located Groningen hotels. Have a look at the websites below to preview which one you would prefer:

• the Asgard Hotel Groningen, located on the Ganzevoortsingel about 5 minutes' walk from the train station and about 10 minutes' walk from the conference site;

• the Martini Hotel Groningen, located on the Gedempte Zuiderdiep about 10 minutes' walk from the train station and about 10 minutes from the conference site; and

• the NH Hotel de Ville, located in the Oude Boteringestraat about 15 minutes' walk from the train station and about 2 minutes from the conference site.

These rooms run about €100-120/night. However, you are also welcome to book your own accommodations in or near Groningen.

The Groningen Tourism Bureau website (available in Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian) offers a wide array of accommodations in various price categories, including centrally-located budget hostels (bed in a dormitory ca. €25), self-catering apartments, or bed-and-breakfasts.

As early June can be a busy season for conferences and other events in Groningen, we encourage you to book early to ensure your first choice of accommodation!

If you are coming by car, please be aware that not all accommodation-options can offer free or on-site parking.

Transport in and around Groningen

Our conference will be held at the Van Swinderen Huys, Oude Boteringestraat 19. The conference site is about a fifteen-minute walk from the central train station.

The cocktails at the Grafisch Museum Groningen and the conference dinner at 't Feithhuis are both about five minutes' walk from the conference site.

Most places in the relatively-compact medieval center of Groningen are easily reachable on foot or by bicycle. In fact, Groningen has one of the highest rates of bicycles-usage in the world, and most trips in Groningen are made by bicycle. When walking, please be careful stepping into or crossing the street -- especially on your route from the Train Station! If you wish to experience Dutch bicycle culture, you can rent bicycles at the City Bicycle Parking Garage (Bewaakte Rijwielstalling) across from the conference site at Oude Boteringestraat 18.

Buses also run between the Central Bus Station, next to the Central Train Station, and the Grote Markt (about 2 minutes from the conference site) every 2-5 minutes. A one-way ticket costs between €1 and €2.  For bus information and schedules see 9292.nl.

Taxis with blue license-plates can be hailed outside the Central Train Station. A typical fare from the station to the city center runs about €10.

Things to Do in and around Groningen

A lively university city, Groningen has a long history in the Northern Netherlands. Its medieval center is relatively well-preserved and is easy to explore on foot or by bicycle. Self-guided walking tours are available from the Groningen Tourism Bureau on the Grote Markt.

Notable attractions include:

• the Martini Church on the Grote Markt, dating from about 1230 and with frescos from the thirteenth century. The bell-tower offers great views across the city and surrounding countryside (in good weather).

• the Prinsenhof Gardens, a Renaissance-style garden behind the Martini Church, with a tearoom opened from 10am to sunset (in good weather).

• the Groninger Museum. This museum, designed by Italian architect Mendini, is hard to miss as you walk between the train station and city center. It houses exhibitions of contemporary art (an upcoming exhibition on German 1980s neo-Expressionism, for example) as well as permanent expositions on local history and art.

• the University of Groningen. Founded in 1614, the university's first Rector Magnificus was historian Ubbo Emmius (1547-1625). The university was originally housed in an empty convent on the site of the current Academiegebouw, which dates from 1909. The oldest building belonging to the university, the former courthouse dating from 1755, now houses the Faculty of Theology (Oude Boteringestraat 38). You can see an excellent collection of university artifacts, including eighteenth-century anatomical specimens, at the University Museum in the Oude Kijk in 't Jatstraat. 

• the Noordelijke Scheepvaartmuseum. Housed in medieval buildings near the A-harbor, the museum presents Groningen's Hanseatic history, the region's shipping history, and local archaeological finds.

• Take a tour of Groningen from the water (1 hour). Boat-tours depart from in front of the Central Bus Station about once an hour between 11.00 and 17.00. A boat-tour is particularly recommended for visitors with restricted mobility.

• the Wadden Sea Unesco World Heritage Site. The northern coastal salt marshes and North Sea Islands, with their white-sand beaches and exceptional variety of wildlife, are easily accessible by bus and ferry from the Grote Markt in Groningen.

• Bicycle through the Groningen countryside and visit the region's beautiful medieval 'terp'-villages and churches. You can rent bicycles at the City Bicycle Garage in the Oude Boteringestraat, and the Tourism Bureau will be happy to suggest bicycle routes of varying length in the area around Groningen. Many of the region's churches belong to the Stichting Oude Groninger Kerken and are open to the public (with restrooms).

Further Information and Questions

For further information on the conference please contact the Conference Organizing Team at politicsofpaper@gmail.com.

For questions regarding registration or the registration module please contact the Groningen Congresbureau at info@gcb.nl or by telephone +31(0) 50-316 88 77. Please be sure to specify our conference in your correspondence.