9  January 1976: Dies Natalis of Maastricht University. A retrospect based on the picture series by Jos Nelissen.

11 January – 10 June 2016

Location:
The main administrative building of Maastricht University (groundfloor)

From 11th January onwards you can take the opportunity to visit an exhibition about the dies natalis of Maastricht University. 

A great honour! The young Maastricht photographer Jos Nelissen was invited to take pictures at the opening ceremony of State University Limburg, held in the Basilica of Saint Servatius on 9 January 1976. It was the dies natalis of Maastricht University, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2016. Nelissen shot over 250 black-and-white photographs of that long day, not just of the ceremony, but also of the big public party afterwards. At the time, the new university purchased several of the photos, but meanwhile all photos have been recovered, including those of the non-ceremonial part. The photos can be viewed on the website of the Art and Heritage Commission of Maastricht University, and they can be downloaded free of charge by everyone (their resolution is excellent!). Also available on this website is the (abridged) film about the university’s opening day made by Dirk Jan Braggaar – which was recently recovered after having been lost for years.

Watch the movie and take a look at all photos here
Download high resolution photos (zip-file)

The establishment of State University Limburg (Rijksuniversiteit Limburg) was the culmination of a lobby by Limburg politicians which lasted for years. The unusual name already underlined the close connection between the residents of Limburg and their university, which was expected to provide a new cultural, social and economic stimulus to the region. From the start, however, the significance of the new university went beyond regional interests. That Queen Juliana was willing to inaugurate the university by signing a document underscored the national importance of this event. No wonder the newcomer among Dutch state universities was deemed to provide a major contribution to the innovation of Dutch higher education.

By playing the political game well, Maastricht had managed to attract the Eighth Medical Faculty ‘within the framework of a prospective university’ based on three arguments: spread of academic education throughout the country, compensation for the closure of the nearby state coal mines, and the need for a university in Maastricht located as it is at the crossroads of three cultures. In the course of the 1970s, however, doubts had grown about the need of training more physicians. The economic recession also forced one to pursue cutbacks. Finally, the country’s other universities were not eager to see additional competition from a new university.

The university’s eventual establishment was largely owing to the great effort made by the Maastricht politician Sjeng Tans. Tans was chair of the commission which had to realize the Eighth Medical Faculty ‘within the framework of a prospective university’. This militant Catholic socialist, a nationally prominent educational specialist with the Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid), displayed great inventiveness in winning the political establishment in The Hague for the Maastricht experiment. He managed to gain sufficient political support for a ‘point of no return’, and in 1974, with legislative backing, the medical faculty had started on an experimental basis, enrolling fifty so-called ‘course members’ (cursisten).

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The first official academic session on that 9th of January 1976 was scheduled to begin at 1 o’clock. The Limburg Symphony Orchestra, directed by André Rieu (senior), added lustre to the ceremony with music by Gabrieli (‘Canzon septimi toni à 8’), Brahms (‘Akademische Festouverture’) and Mozart (‘Symphonie in einem Satz’). Tans, the first chairperson of the Executive Board, gave a word of welcome. Next, Jos van Kemenade, minister of Education and Sciences and a fellow party member of Tans, stressed that it was up to State University Limburg to break with traditional patterns in higher education. The minister challenged the new institution, being a ‘contemporary university’, to strike a balance between societal engagement and the nineteenth-century academic ideal of freedom. Queen Juliana next signed the inaugural document. Photographer Jos Nelissen was standing close by and still remembered her asking Tans ‘where should I sign it?’ This explains that at one point Tans bended over towards her, as is well captured on one of the photos.

Many offered their congratulations: Christiaan van Rooy, the queen’s provincial governor, who on behalf of the Academic Research Foundation Limburg (Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Limburg) handed the chairman’s gavel, the rector’s chain of office and the beadle’s mace to Harmen Tiddens, the first rector; Dolf Cohen, the rector of State University Leyden, who spoke on behalf of the Dutch universities; Bishop Jo Gijsen, who spoke on behalf of the different church communities of Limburg; and Fons Baeten, mayor of Maastricht.

In his speech, Tiddens explained the so-called basic philosophy of the new faculty: emphasis on ambulatory care (eerstelijnszorg) and inclusion of behavioural and social sciences in its research. In education there was to be an emphasis on problem-orientation, self-activation and attitude development. It was too early, according to Tiddens, for a firm evaluation of the benefits and drawbacks of this mode of education.

The address by Cohen was also special. In his speech he reminded the audience that it was ‘well enough known’ that the sister universities in the Academic Council had first taken ‘a negative position’ on the new university’s establishment. But now the university was there after all, this ‘youngest sister’ was welcome of course, whereby he highlighted its ‘special identity’. The practical implications of the basic philosophy would turn the medical faculty and the soon to be established general faculty into ‘an experimental field for the future of higher education’. Precisely the experimental character of the new curricula thus linked the newcomer with ‘the comprehensive world of academic education’. Moreover, according to Cohen, Maastricht offered ‘cross-border opportunities’ because of its geography, not only in the area of research, but also in the area of education ‘within our not yet unified Europe’. The message was clear: State University Limburg had to sustain a focus on being ‘innovative’ in its projected further growth and expansion, so as not to interfere with the established interests of the other Dutch universities.

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After the ceremony, there was a reception in city hall on Markt Square. On the steps of city hall, the ‘Limburg Jagers’, the Dutch army trumpet band stationed in Germany, stood ready to blow their horns. At night there was a big party in the Eurohal (no longer existing). The Queen entered by walking across a tapestry of banners. With over 4500 visitors, the hall was packed. Local celebrities Truus and Raymond Willems did a performance, the Maastricht operetta society was present, as well as various citizen’s militias, such as the Nightwatch Guild. A theatre play was performed in Maastricht dialect, entitled ‘The Emperor on St. Pieter’, about the visit of Emperor Charles V to the tiny nearby community of St. Pieter. As many as 2000 Limburg residents in medieval dress participated in this spectacle. When at ten p.m. Mayor Baeten bade farewell to the Queen, he turned to the nearby photographer and said with relief: ‘Time for a glass of beer.’ After half past eleven all local residents could freely enter. From that moment, the party – ‘of the people and for the people’ – really took off, with everyone dancing and drinking and doing polonaises.