University of Harderwijk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The University of Harderwijk (1648-1811), also named the Guelders Academy, was located in the town of Harderwijk, in the Republic of the United Provinces (now: the Netherlands). It was founded by the province of Guelders (Gelre).
Some well-known graduates of the University of Harderwijk are
- explorer Jacob Roggeveen (1690)
- physician Herman Boerhaave (1693)
- Swedish scientist Carolus Linnaeus (1735)
- statesman Herman Willem Daendels (1783)
- poet A.C.W. Staring (1787)
The university of Harderwijk didn't have a good reputation, because of its low standards. Nevertheless, it attracted many students with its low fees. Many students of other countries went to Harderwijk to graduate; the most famous graduate, Linnaeus, stayed only a week, much of which time was spent printing his dissertation. The saying was that rich students could afford Leiden University and the poorer ones had to make do with Harderwijk. In many European cities, it was not possible to get a doctor's degree, and the Netherlands had a reputation for producing very good doctors.
The university was closed during the French occupation. Later, king William I tried to re-establish the university, without success.
[edit] Modern culture
In the 1990s in the Dutch children's television program Het Klokhuis Prof. Fetze Alsvanouds regularly appeared. ("Als vanouds" means something like "as it used to be".) Alsvanouds was a professor at the University of Harderwijk, he was played by Aart Staartjes.
