Haren, Groningen

Haren is a town and a former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. It is located in the direct urban area of the City of Groningen and, in January 2019, was merged into municipality of Groningen. Haren is a commuting town with many wealthy inhabitants. It lies on the northern part of a ridge of sand called the Hondsrug. It contains one of two dolmens in the province of Groningen (in the village of Noordlaren) and the largest botanical garden of the Netherlands called Hortus Haren. The municipality comprises a woodland area called Appèlbergen (east of the village of Glimmen) and a lake called Paterswoldsemeer. The first mention of Haren was in 1249. On 21 September 2012, riots broke out in Haren when over 350,000 people turned up to a birthday party that was accidentally made public on Facebook.