On 8 January 1632, Gerardus Vossius opened the Athenaeum Illustre, the predecessor of the University of Amsterdam, with his inaugural lecture De historiae utilitate (On the usefulness of history). The next day, Caspar Barlaeus gave his famous lecture on the wise merchant, Mercator Sapiens. It was with these two professors, who were already well known figures in the international world of learning, that the history of the University of Amsterdam started around four centuries ago.

Vossius came to Amsterdam from the University of Leiden, where he had become a renowned scholar. The City seems to have been very keen to tempt him to join the Athenaeum, as they offered him an annual salary of 2600 guilders, making him the best paid professor in the Republic of the United Netherlands. Barlaeus, on his part, was a celebrated orator and poet who was also at home in the academic environment.

Barlaeuss inaugural lecture was an ode to the City government, which had the wisdom to bring together successful tradesmanship and letters and philosophy within the Athenaeum. The bond that was forged then between the University and the City would always remain strong in the centuries to come.

• Anthropology
• Arabic
• Archaeology
• Art History
• Astronomy
• Biology
• Book Studies
• Business
• Chemistry
• Child Development and Education
• Classical Languages
• Communication Science
• Computer Science
• Conservation and Restoration
• Cultural Studies
• Dentistry
• Dutch
• Earth Sciences
• Economics
• English
• European Studies
• French
• German
• Hebrew
• History
• Human Geography, Planning and International Development
• Italian
• Law
• Linguistics
• Literary Studies
• Logic
• Mathematics
• Media Studies
• Medicine
• Modern Greek
• Musicology
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Religious Studies
• Scandinavian Studies
• Sign Linguistics
• Slavonic Studies
• Sociology
• Spanish
• Theatre Studies

The new City Centre University Library will offer students and employees all the facilities they need to work and study effectively: 

7 km of collection resources stored in an open configuration: books, audio, video, films, magazines and digital information. 

various types of study places, situated both amongst the collections and in separate study and project rooms. 

Small and large tutorial rooms, individual study rooms and study places where visitors can view the collection on special media. 

The library will feature a total of approximately 1000 study places with modern ICT facilities. The University Library will also be accessible to local residents. 

Bicycle parking facilities

The bicycle parking facility beneath the Second Surgery Clinic forms a key part of the City Centre University Library on Binnengasthuisterrein. A ramp from the Vendelstraat with a gradual slope will lead directly to the bicycle parking facility. The new facility will offer space for approximately 950 bicycles, offering parking space for both University Library visitors and Faculty of Humanities staff and students from the surrounding buildings.

Liveability measures

Various measures will be taken in order to ensure accessibility of the bicycle parking facilities and improve the liveability of this part of the campus. For example, the façade adjacent to the bicycle parking entrance will be fitted with a noise-absorbing green carpet: a vertical garden. Various green features will be installed around the entrance in order to prevent visitors from parking their bicycles against the facade. The bicycle parking facility will be locked during the night.