Editing University of Harderwijk (section)

==History==

The university of Harderwijk was founded during the [[Dutch Republic]] by the [[Provincial Council of Gelderland|States of Gelre]] at the end of the [[Eighty Years' War]], in 1648. The universities of Leiden (1575), Franeker (1585), Groningen (1614) and Utrecht (1636) had already been founded earlier. Harderwijk was the fifth Dutch university. It was always to be small, with never more than sixty new students, and a max of 150 each year. 

In the 18th century, the university of Harderwijk attracted students with its low fees. Many students went to Harderwijk to graduate. In the time of [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], the 18th century Swedish [[biologist]], a doctorate could not be obtained in Sweden, or in many other European countries. Often, graduates went to the Dutch Republic, where the universities had a good reputation. The wealthy usually travelled to [[Leiden University|Leiden]]; the less fortunate could go to Harderwijk, where the doctorate was less expensive, and could be attained much faster.

One of the professors of Harderwijk was [[David de Gorter]], who was friends with Linnaeus. He was royal physician to Empress [[Elizabeth of Russia]].

The university was closed in 1811 during the French occupation. Later, king [[William I of the Netherlands|William I]] tried to re-establish the university, without success.