University of Franeker

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De academia van Vrieslant (Friesland Academy), 1622
De academia van Vrieslant (Friesland Academy), 1622

The University of Franeker (1585 - 1811) was a university in Franeker, West Frisia, presently part of the Netherlands. It was the second oldest university of the Netherlands, founded shortly after Leiden University.

Also known as 'Academiae Franekerensis' or the University of Friesland, it was the stopover for many Puritan colonists, such as Peter Stuyvesant, escaping the persecutions of Bishop Laud on their way to, eventually, the American Continent. It consisted of departments of Theology, Law, Medicine, Philosophy, Mathematics and Physics.

Initially the university had an excellent reputation, attracting students from far and wide, but from 1700 its fortune changed. The university was disbanded by Napoleon in 1811, along with the University of Harderwijk.

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