Universiteit Utrecht was officially founded in 1636 although its roots stretch back to the Middle Ages when a seminary was established in the City of Utrecht. The seminary initially educated only missionaries, future priests, and the sons of nobles. Eventually the seminary began to admit others until it expanded into a full university in the seventeenth century.
Throughout the nineteenth century the university continued to expand in size. In 1894, the City of Utrecht presented the university with a gift: the Academy Building (Academiegebouw) on Dom Square. The building is in the middle of the City Centre (next to the Dom Church) and is used for official university events.
-De Academiegebouw-
The Faculties of Art and Law are also located in the City Centre along with the university library. The Faculties of Art and Law are housed in historic buildings throughout the city. For example, the main offices of the Faculty of Law are located in the building in which the Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713, ending the Spanish War of Succession.
I am taking courses in the Faculty of Arts during my stay in Utrecht. Most of my classes are located quite close to my house thus reducing my chances of getting run down by a bus on the bike ride to class. The Faculty of Arts also has it own library, which is connected to the main library.
Some Pictures of
Faculty of Arts Buildings-
Left: Kromme Nieuwegracht 66 - Economic and Historic Studies Building
Right: Kromme Nieuwegracht 80 - Center for Information and Media
The other university faculties are located in De Uithof - The University Center. This newer campus is located on the eastern outskirts of Utrecht and houses the Faculties of Medicine, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Geographical Sciences, Mathematics, Pharmacy, Philosophy, Social Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, Theology, and Veterinary Medicine. Other administrative offices, including the Office of International Relations are located in De Uithof.
Utrecht University is one of the largest in the Netherlands with over 22,000 students, 1,000 postgraduates and 8,000 staff members. In addition, close to one thousand foreign students attend Utrecht every year from countries all over the world. I have met people from Scotland, England, France, Germany, Cameroon, Mozambique, Suriname, Sweden, Finland, South Africa - just to name a few. The University faculty members also come from many different countries.
In 1994, the University opened the International and Cultural Centre, Parnassos, in the old City Centre. Parnassos is based in an old school building and offers events for students and staff of the university. In addition, Parnassos is the social and informational center for foreign students at Utrecht. It houses the three organizations that deal with foreign students - Erasmus Student Network, International Neighbour Group, and AEGEE. These organizations host many events throughout the school year in order to help foreign students become more familiar with each other and Dutch student life.
PICTURES OF DE UITHOF AND PARNASSOS COMING SOON!!!