The Colonial University of Belgium ( nl, Koloniale Hogeschool van België) was a Belgian institute of higher education, located in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. Founded in 1920 and discontinued in 1961, the institute prepared students for a life in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

, the Belgian colony.

History

By 1908, public pressure and diplomatic manoeuvres led to the end of Leopold II's personal rule of the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

and to the annexation of the Congo as a colony of Belgium, known as the "

". In order to train future settlers for a (high) administrative function in the colony, the initiative was taken to found the ''École coloniale supérieure'' (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''Hogere Koloniale School'') by the

Royal Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

of 11 February 1920 by Louis Franck, Minister of Colonies. In 1923, the school was restructured to become the ''Université coloniale de Belgique'' (

: ''Koloniale Hoogeschool van België (UNIVOG)''). The buildings near the

Middelheim Open Air Sculpture Museum Middelheim Open Air Sculpture Museum (Dutch ''Beeldentuin Middelheim Museum'') is a sculpture park of 30 acres in the park part of the Middelheim Nachtegalen Park at Antwerp. The Middelheim Museum collection has approximately 400 works of art on di ...

were officially inaugurated in November 1923 by

King Albert I of Belgium Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. Born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-S ...

. Colonel Charles Lemaire was the director, who was succeeded at the time of his death in 1926 by lieutenant Laude. In March 1929, the main building was damaged by a violent fire, but was immediately rebuilt. This new building was inaugurated in May 1931. The institute was again renamed in 1949 to ''Institut universitaire des territoires d'outre-mer (INUTOM)'' (Dutch: ''Universitair Instituut voor de Overzeese Gebieden''). Being an institute at university level, it issued degrees of colonial and administrative sciences, as well as commercial and colonial sciences. After the independence of Congo in 1960, the INUTOM was discontinued in 1962. Its library was sold in 1963, and INUTOM merged with the ''Rijkshandelshogeschool'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: National Business School) and the ''Hoger Instituut voor Vertalers en Tolken'' (English: Institute of Higher Education for Translators and Interpreters) to the ''Rijksuniversitair Centrum Antwerpen'' (RUCA) (English: National University Centre Antwerp). From the merger of the institution with the department international cooperation of the ''Rijkshandelshogeschool'', the ''College voor Ontwikkelingslanden'' (English: College for Developing Countries) emerged. In 2000 The ''College voor Ontwikkelingslanden'' merged again, this time with the ''Centrum Derde Wereld'' (English: Third World Centre) of the Saint Ignatius University Centre to form the Institute of Development Policy (IOB). Nowadays, the university building functions as Building A of the Middelheim Campus of the

University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp ( nl, Universiteit Antwerpen) is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UA'', but ''UAntwerpen'' is more recently used. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 stud ...

. In front of the main entrance, the five-pointed star of the Belgian Congo's flag is still visible.

Students

The student association ''Association des Étudiants'' was founded at the École coloniale supérieure in 1921, and ceased to exist in 1965.

Trivia

* According to one Antwerp

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

, an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

is supposed to be buried underneath the university building. When a fire erupted at circus

Sarrasani Sarrasani is a German circus that reached world fame before World War II and was resident in Dresden, but also became known as the national circus of Argentina during the years of German separation. Sarrasani was founded by ''Hans Stosch'', a cl ...

in 1932, elephant Lady died. The cadaver was donated to professor Hasse, a biologist at the institute. He performed an autopsy on the animal with his students, after which Hasse and his students buried the remains next to the institute. After a local Antwerp television network made a documentary of the urban legend, they discovered that the elephant was reburied in 1934 and is nowadays preserved at the

Museum of Natural Sciences The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium (french: Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique, nl, Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen van België) is a museum dedicated to natural history, located in Brussels, Belgium. The museum is a part of t ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. * In the building of the former Colonial University, an auditory will be named after

Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June u ...

and his third wife Pauline Lumumba in 2021.

References

{{reflist

External links

Description of the building on the website of the Flemish inventory of immovable heritage

Website of the Institute of Development Policy (IOB)
Universities in Belgium Buildings and structures in Antwerp Universities and colleges formed by merger in Belgium Educational institutions established in 1920 University of Antwerp Education in Antwerp Organisations based in Antwerp Province Universities and colleges in Belgium Defunct universities and colleges in Belgium 1961 disestablishments Belgian Congo 1920 establishments in Belgium