45/50.- Brussels, The Free University of Brussels

The University of Brussels was founded in 1834 by the Freemasons as a non-confessional alternative to the Catholic University of Louvain. The hall and tower in the picture, now part of the main library, were built between the two World Wars in a style reminiscent of American colleges. Franklin Roosevelt Avenue, where the University was built, was the site of the 1905 World Fair. The statue in the foreground is of Theodore Verhaegen, the founder of the University. Every year, on Nov. 20th, students celebrate the birth of their University by a noisy, beery parade in the centre of town.

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