Academy Building Utrecht

On January 23, 1579, a group of rebellious Dutch provinces sat down in a small hall and signed the Union of Utrecht, the document historians consider the birth certificate of the Netherlands. That hall still exists, right here inside the Academy Building.

The auditorium started life in 1462 as a chapter hall where Utrecht's five religious chapters held court. After the Reformation stripped away its religious function, it became the university's first lecture room in 1634, and Utrecht still holds its doctoral ceremonies here today.

One of those early students you would never have spotted. Anna Maria van Schurman, a brilliant scholar who lived just around the corner on Achter de Dom 8, was so exceptional that professor Voetius let her attend lectures in 1636. But the university had one condition: she sat hidden behind a wooden screen in a niche beside the hall. The first woman to study in the Netherlands, concealed behind a curtain.

The current Neo-Renaissance building was designed as a gift for the university's 250th anniversary in 1886. Disputes over architectural style and the sudden death of lead architect Cornelis Vermeijs pushed the completion to 1894. Eight years late, and the building ended up literally folded into a corner of the square, its façade kinked by the awkward plot. Even landmark gifts apparently come with complicated assembly instructions.