University of Groningen new owner of Beursgebouw Leeuwarden

The agreement was signed on Thursday 2 November by Alderman Friso Douwstra of the municipality of Leeuwarden and Vice President of the Board of the University of Groningen (UG) Jan de Jeu, paving the way for the UG Campus Fryslân to realise its ambitions in the heart of Leeuwarden.

From trade centre to faculty building
The building, designed as trade centre (Beursgebouw) by the famous urban architect Thomas Romein in 1880 has served as a public library for the past decades. It will soon be transformed into a faculty building for Campus Fryslân , the new Faculty of the University of Groningen (UG). The Municipality of Leeuwarden will sell the building to the UG and on 2 November the University is set to announce more plans about the design and renovation of mainly the interior of the building. The building will eventually provide teaching rooms and research facilities for a faculty of around 1,000 Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD students.