A bit of history: from 1824 to present day...

1817: A university in the centre of Liège

Vue intérieure de l'église des jésuites.

Interior view of the Jesuit church. Photograph reproduction, 33 x 23 cm. Collections artistiques ULiège, inv. 1476.

In 1816, William I, King of the Netherlands to which the Principality of Liège was attached, established the University of Liège and assigned to it the former buildings of the Walloon Jesuit college, which were already used successively by several institution of education.

The official inauguration ceremony took place on 25 September 1817 in the former Jesuit church. The 259 students were split between four faculties:  Philosophical and Literary Sciences, Law, Medicine, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

March 31, 1821: the Rector Denzinger announced to all professors that the King had just accepted the demolition of the church and the construction of a great academic hall in its place. The works were entrusted to Jean-Noël Chevron, architect of the City of Liège

The "Palais de l'Université", originally

Palais de l'Université de Liège, lithographie

CHEVRON Jean-Noël, "Palais de l'Université de Liège", lithography, 19 x 30.8 cm, s.d., Collection artistiques ULiège, inv. 20363

At its inception in 1824, the academic hall, also known as the "Palais de l'Université" (University Palace), is an isolated building of parallelipipedique form of 26m by 31, with blind walls. The facade of the building was composed of a portico with 8 ionic columns. On the flat frieze is a sentence in bronze letters: "UNIVERSIS DISCIPLINIS", imagined by the professor Gall. The south wall is the beginning of the chorus of the former church, whose architect retained elements for the sake of savings. An open gallery supported by a double row of columns connects the academic hall to the main wing of the former Jesuit church, conceived by the architect Paquay Barbière. On the other end of this "Jesuits" wing, and along the Meuse, at the location of the current Roosevelt Quay, extend gardens.

Vue axonométrique de l'Université de Liège, lithographie de COUNE J.

COUNE J., according to SCHMIT J.P., Vue axonométrique de l'Université de Liège, lithography, 17 x 24,7 cm, 1869, Collections artistiques ULiège, inv. 1873

From 1889 to 1892, the University built the support of the University square, adjacent to the academic hall, currently the central building, place du 20-Août. The peristyle of the Academic Hall, its vestibule and a part of the roof will disappear.

The interior

Salle académique de L'Université de Liège, CHEVRON J-N, lithographie en couleurs

CHEVRON Jean-Noël, "Salle académique de l'Université de Liège",
lithography in colour, 36,5 x 53 cm, 1827, Collections artistiques ULiège, inv. 29468

This large hemicycle room in neoclassical style is made up of tiers and adorned with a walkway on two floors, with Ionic columns on the ground floor and Corinthian columns on the 1st floor. Originally, one sat directly on the tiers; the benches were only installed later on.

Salle academique, carte postal 9,3 x 13,9 cm

Salle académique de l'Université de Liège, postcard, 9,3 x 13,9 cm, s.d., Collections artistiques ULiège, inv. 36739

Salle académique, photographie 17 x 22,5 cm, 1935

JULIN A., Salle académique de l'Université de Liège, photograph, 17 x 22,5 cm, 1935, Collections artistiques ULiège, inv. 36741

It must be destroyed!

In 1874, the properties commission qualified the academic hall as a damper and sad monument, going as far as foreseeing its demolition: "No one, we believe, will think to stand up for this building, whose only merit is the inscription that it bears.”

The 24 January 1983, the Academic hall became a protected monument, considered the most prestigious building of the University and one of the most remarkable examples of neoclassical architecture in the country.

Sources :

  • Marie de Selliers, Les bâtiments de l'Université de Liège au XVIIIe et XIXe siècle, Master's Thesis (unpublished)
  • Pierre Horion, Histoire et description de la salle académique (unpublished texts)
  • Pierre Horion, La salle académique de l'Université de Liège in Le patrimoine exceptionnel de Wallonie, Namur, 2004.
  • Thanks also to Edith Micha, from Collections artistiques de l'ULiège.

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