History
The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of ULiège is the result of a long history.
T
his story begins after the independence of Belgium in 1830. At this date, King Leopold I creates a commission to examine the candidates and issue the official diplomas of veterinary medicine. This commission is made up of two doctors and three veterinarians, and in 1832 it led to the creation of the school of rural economy. For a few years, this school occupies the premises of the Commission which created it, at 18 rue d'Assaut, before emigrating to an old riding arena on the site of the current Palais des Beaux-Arts. The presence of a veterinary school in the middle of the urban fabric quickly poses problems and in 1836, the Government decided to transfer at the expense of the State this school in an old factory located in Cureghem, along the current boulevard Poincaré. These buildings are at the time on both sides of the Petite Senne. This new site will host the veterinary school for about sixty years. However, it will be abandoned given the frequent overflows of the Senne and Petite Senne that affect the hygiene of the premises and secondly because the site of the school is an obstacle to the development and liaison of Cureghem towards the center of the capital.
In 1892, the Minister of Agriculture Mr. de Bruyn made the decision to build a new institution in Anderlecht. The development of the plans and the direction of the works are entrusted to the architect Seroen. The site consists of a set of pavilion structure initially comprising 19 buildings, separated by courtyards and gardens. All facades are in Flemish neo-renaissance style. The administrative building, recognizable by its Byzantine-inspired lantern which crowns the middle of its roof, originally sheltered the administrative services, the academic hall and the Library.
The Veterinary School of Cureghem is administratively attached to the University of Liège since 1969. Indeed, this independent institution was to be attached to a state university. As Brussels does not have one, the University of Liège was chosen. It was during the summer of 1991 that the big move took place. All departments of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine gradually joined their current location on the heights of Sart-Tilman in Liège with 6 other faculties of the University of Liège. Since then, successive investments by the University of Liège, the Walloon Region and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation have made it possible to develop infrastructures in order to give them their today appearance. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Liège now hosts more than 1,600 students from all over the world.
Sources: ULiège; Municipality of Anderlecht, monuments and sites, "the Veterinary School"
