Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam—known to most people simply as the VU Amsterdam—is a public research university founded in 1880. The Dutch name, “Vrije Universiteit,” translates as “Free University,” and “free” meant independence from both the State and the Dutch Reformed Church. It was established as the first Protestant university in the Netherlands, created by a group of Calvinists led by Abraham Kuyper, who also personally chose the university’s seal: “The Virgin in the Garden.” That seal uses the image of a virgin in freedom to point toward God, linking the symbolism to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries. Although founded as a private institution, the VU has received government funding on a parity basis with public universities since 1970. In October 2021, it counted 29,796 registered students and 2,263 faculty and researchers. …
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