History of our buildings

• Following the deaths of Aert van Liere and his wife, the Hof van Liere became the property of the city. It was first made available to a banking family from Milan, and later to the English guild. When the English guild left the city after the sacking of Antwerp, a new era began for the Prinsenhof.
• The design of the Prinsenhof – Prince’s Court – is credited to architect Dominicus de Waghemaeckere, but the building’s realisation actually occurred in a number of phases. The oldest part of the building is the internal courtyard on the west side. It has a gallery with five 3-lobed arches and slender columns. The well likely indicates where the kitchen would formerly have been located. 
  
• The Jesuits founded a secondary school in Antwerp in 1575, but it quickly outgrew its buildings. Consequently, the rector set his sights on the Hof van Liere. The complex of buildings was extended and adapted to suit the needs of a boarding school. This new era came to an abrupt end, however, when the Pope dissolved the Jesuit order. The Prinsenhof became a military academy, and even served later as a military hospital.
• The courtyard's tower must have been a landmark in its time, being much higher then than it is now: in 1660, however, the tower was demolished, as it had become too dilapidated.
  
• In 1929, history repeated itself. Jesuits from the Saint Ignatius College of Commerce were looking for new accommodation, and found it in the Hof van Liere. They restored the shabby buildings and adapted them to meet modern educational and research requirements. The results are reminiscent of the renowned colleges of Oxford and Cambridge. 
• In 1988, the Prinsenhof was bought by the University Faculties of Saint Ignatius (UFSIA). The wings around the inner courtyard were once again restored and renovated. 
• In 2003, Antwerp’s three big universities merged to become one institution: the University of Antwerp. 
• In 2007, the University of Antwerp’s department for Catering and Convention Halls opened the university’s exclusive restaurant, the University Club, in the Hof van Liere. 
• Since 2009, ten different spaces within the Hof van Liere are available for hire, with corresponding catering services. The venues' unique setting offers added value for national and international conferences.

Long ago, nuns cared for victims of the plague within the convent's gloomy, grey walls. But when the last ‘Grey Sister’ left the convent in 1999, the Flemish Government sought a new purpose for this building. The condition was that the new occupants should continue the building’s great tradition of providing services to society. It was the ideal place for the University of Antwerp, which was looking for premises in the city centre at that time.

Symbiosis of historic and modern architecture

The façade of the Klooster van de Grauwzusters has remained almost unchanged, and its interior has also retained its authentic intimacy. Architects Van Broeck and Meuwissen managed to find a balance between historic and modern architecture: the courtyard, with its glass roof, is now a stylish reception and catering space.

Around the patio run criss-crossing galleries, formed by removing the glass in high window arches. Walking through the highest corridor, you come across a number of strange grey blocks lined with bright red cushions. Even further up, we see that the architects have envisioned the wooden roof structures as decorations, cheering up the convention rooms below.

The cellars down in the lowest level of the building have been transformed into an ultramodern auditorium (Graduation Hall) and an extra space for catering at conventions. The deconsecrated chapel has been restored to its original state and now serves as a convention room and concert hall with a piano.