Free University of Brussels (1834–1969)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Free University of Brussels (french: Université libre de Bruxelles, or ULB; nl, Vrije Hogeschool te Brussel, later ''Vrije Universiteit Brussel'') was a university in
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 ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. Founded in 1834 on the principle of "free inquiry" (''libre examen''), its founders envisaged the institution as a
free-thinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...
reaction to the traditional dominance of
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in Belgian education. The institution was avowedly
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
and particularly associated with Liberal political movements during the era of
pillarisation Pillarisation (from the nl, verzuiling) is the politico-denominational segregation of a society into groups by religion and associated political beliefs. These societies were (and in some areas, still are) vertically divided into two or more gr ...
. The Free University was one of Belgium's major universities, together with the
Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...
and the state universities of Liège and
Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
. The "Linguistic Wars" affected the Free University, which split along language lines in 1969 in the aftermath of student unrest at Leuven the previous year. Today two institutions carry the "Free University of Brussels" name: the French-speaking Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Dutch-speaking
Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish government. listof all ...
(VUB). Although separate, both institutions continue to collaborate under the auspices of an
umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...
known as Brussels Free Universities.


History


Establishment

The Free University of Brussels was founded as the Free University of Belgium (''Université libre de Belgique'') on 20 November 1834 in the aftermath of Belgium's independence in 1830. Belgium had possessed three State universities at
Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
,
Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
, and Liège under Dutch rule but teaching had been extensively disrupted by the revolution and continued hostilities with the Dutch. As early as 1831, Belgian freemasons of the ''Les Amis philanthropes''
lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...
had considered founding a new
private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...
. News of the imminent creation of the Catholic University of Mechelen revived the initiative among those with
anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...
ideas, especially freemasons, liberals, and other
freethinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...
. Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen and Auguste Baron led the fundraising for the new institution from April 1834. It was officially founded on 20 November 1834 in the former
Palace of Charles of Lorraine The Palace of Charles of Lorraine (french: Palais de Charles de Lorraine, nl, Paleis van Karel van Lotharingen) is a neoclassical palace in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Its construction started in 1757 to serve as the residence of ...
in
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 ...
with the help of the liberal mayor
Nicolas-Jean Rouppe Nicolas-Jean Rouppe (in Dutch also: ''Nikolaus Joannes Rouppe'') (baptised 17 April 1768 – 3 August 1838) was a Belgian liberal politician. He was the first burgomaster of Brussels after the Belgian independence in 1830. Nicolas-Jean Roup ...
. The date of its establishment is commemorated annually by students of its successor institutions as " St V". The motivating principle behind the new institution was "free inquiry" (''libre examen'') which denoted freethinking ideas inherited from the
European Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
. This hostility to political and religious authority led to hostility from the Catholic Church and Catholic Party politicians, increasingly associated with the Mechelen university's successor, the
Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...
founded in 1835. Under the system of
pillarisation Pillarisation (from the nl, verzuiling) is the politico-denominational segregation of a society into groups by religion and associated political beliefs. These societies were (and in some areas, still are) vertically divided into two or more gr ...
, the Free University became one of the principle institutions in the Liberal "pillar". It was renamed the Free University of Brussels in 1842. In 1858, the Catholic Church established the Saint-Louis Institute in the same city which subsequently expanded into a university in its own right. The Free University was initially funded by private subscriptions from Liberal and freemasonic groups and encountered financial difficulties because of the lack of state subsidy. However, it grew significantly over following decades. In 1842, it moved to the Palais Granvelle. It expanded the number of subjects taught and, in 1880, became one of the first institutions in Belgium to allow female students to study in some faculties. In 1893, it received large grants from
Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...
and Alfred Solvay and
Raoul Warocqué Raoul Warocqué (Brussels, 4 February 1870 – Brussels, 28 May 1917), was a Belgian industrialist from Wallonia. Biography Raoul was the great-grandson of Nicolas Warocqué, the founder of the prominent Warocqué family. His father was Arthur ...
to open new faculties in the city. The
Solvay School of Commerce The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (abbreviated as SBS-EM and also known as simply Solvay) is a school of economics and management and a Faculty of the Université libre de Bruxelles, a French-speaking private research univ ...
was founded in 1904. In 1900, the school's football team won the bronze medal at the Summer Olympics. After
Racing Club de Bruxelles Koninklijke Football Club Rhodienne-De Hoek is a Belgian association football club based in Sint-Genesius-Rode, Flemish Brabant. The club was created in 1894 as Racing Football Club. It became a member of the Royal Belgian Football Association ...
declined to participate, a student selection with players from the University was sent by the Federation.Great Britain's first home Olympic football adventure
by Jon Carter, ESPN, 26 Jun 2012Before the World Cup: Who were football’s earliest world champions?
by Paul Brown on Medium Sports, 6 Jun 2018
The team was enforced with a few non-students.
by Søren Elbech and Karel Stokkermans on the
RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around th ...
A disagreement over an invite to the anarchist geographer
Élisée Reclus Jacques Élisée Reclus (; 15 March 18304 July 1905) was a French geographer, writer and anarchist. He produced his 19-volume masterwork, ''La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes'' ("Universal Geography"), over a period of ...
to speak at the university in 1893 led to some of the liberal and socialist faculty splitting away from the Free University to form the New University of Brussels (''Université nouvelle de Bruxelles'') in 1894. The institution failed to displace the Free University, however, and closed definitively in 1919. The
German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
led to the suspension of classes for four years in 1914–1918. In the aftermath of the war, the university moved its principle activities to Solbosch in the southern suburb of
Ixelles (French, ) or ( Dutch, ), is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the City of Brussels. It is also bordered by the munic ...
and a purpose-built university campus was created, funded by the
Belgian American Educational Foundation The Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF) is an educational charity. It supports the exchange of university students, scientists and scholars between the United States and Belgium. The foundation fosters the higher education of deserving ...
. The Free University was again closed by the German occupiers during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
on 25 November 1941. Students from the university were involved in the
Belgian Resistance The Belgian Resistance (french: Résistance belge, nl, Belgisch verzet) collectively refers to the resistance movements opposed to the German occupation of Belgium during World War II. Within Belgium, resistance was fragmented between many se ...
, establishing Groupe G which focused on sabotage.


Split

In Belgium, French was traditionally spoken by the wealthy classes as well as in law and academia. Its dominance was increasingly challenged during the 19th century by the
Flemish Movement The Flemish Movement ( nl, Vlaamse Beweging) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgium, Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought ...
which sought equality for
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 ...
. Initially, all classes at the Free University were taught in French. Some courses were taught in both languages after 1935, but it was only in 1963 that all faculties offered classes in French and Dutch. Tensions between French- and Dutch-speaking students came to a head in 1968 when the Catholic University of Leuven split along linguistic lines, becoming the first of several national institutions to do so. On 1 October 1969, the Free University was also split into two successor institutions: the French-speaking Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Dutch-speaking
Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish government. listof all ...
(VUB). The scission was made official by the law of 28 May 1970 which created ULB and VUB as distinct
legal entities In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...
. ULB retained much of the existing university infrastructure, while VUB began construction of a new campus nearby.


Notable faculty

*
Henri La Fontaine Henri La Fontaine (; 22 April 1854 – 14 May 1943), was a Belgian international lawyer and president of the International Peace Bureau. He received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1913 because "he was the effective leader of the peace movement in ...
(1854–1943):
Nobel Prize for Peace The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...
in 1913. *
Jules Bordet Jules Jean Baptiste Vincent Bordet (; 13 June 1870 – 6 April 1961) was a Belgian immunologist and microbiologist. The bacterial genus ''Bordetella'' is named after him. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to him in 1919 for ...
(1870–1961):
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...
in 1919.


See also

*
List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945) The list of modern universities in Europe (1801–1940) contains all universities that were founded in Europe after the French Revolution and before the end of World War II. Universities are regarded as comprising all institutions of higher ed ...
* :Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni *
First School War The First School War (french: Première guerre scolaire, nl, Eerste schoolstrijd) was a political crisis in Belgium over the issue of religion in education. The School War marks the high water mark of the conflict between the conservative Cathol ...
* List of split up universities


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Free University of Brussels (1834-1969) Vrije Universiteit Brussel Université libre de Bruxelles 19th century in Brussels 20th century in Brussels Universities and colleges in Belgium Educational institutions established in 1834 Educational institutions disestablished in 1969 1834 establishments in Belgium 1969 disestablishments in Belgium Freemasonry in Belgium