DOSSIER REUSING URBAN CONVENTS AS STATE SCHOOLS IN BELGIAN TOWNS (1773-1803) 1 REUSING URBAN CONVENTS AS STATE SCHOOLS IN BELGIAN TOWNS (1773-1803) REINOUT KLAARENBEEK PhD‑candidate at the department of Architecture, KU Leuven, Belgium
[email protected] THOMAS COOMANS Professor at the department of Architecture, and Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation, KU Leuven, Belgium
[email protected] ABSTRACT The suppression of the urban convents in the Southern‑Netherlands occurred in three phases (1773, 1783/85, 1796) and ran parallel with a large transfer of societal functions to the new lay states. This contribution focuses on the urban and architectural consequences of the reuse of former convents to new schools for secondary education. Three case cities, Antwerp, Bruges and Brussels, are examined for the late Austrian (1777‑1792/93) and early French period (1792/94‑1803). The paper reveals firstly that reuse of convent buildings to educational purposes, only resulted in minor architectural changes because of its short‑lived character. The Theresian College in Brussels is a notable exception. Secondly, at the level of the urban block, differences in educational programs could result in division (Royal Colleges and Royal Boarding Colleges, 1777‑96) or (re) unification (Central Schools, 1796‑1803). Finally, locational choices in the crucial period following suppression could heavily have stirred further development, whether former convents were assigned as state school or not. KEYWORDS REUSE OF CONVENTS | EDUCATION | URBAN TRANSFORMATION | JESUITS | BELGIUM 2 RHASÉRIE W05 he ideas of the Enlightenment promulgated by the Austrian (1773‑94) and French Trulers (1794‑1815) over current‑day Belgium, brought about a definite change of relations between the church and the state.