UG buildings: the former Laboratory for Hygiene

The University of Groningen as we know it now is more than the Academy Building alone. In this series, based on the podwalk and the Dutch booklet In the footsteps of the Academy , we will put the spotlight on various buildings—and a work of art—of the UG and their history. In this episode: the former Laboratory for Hygiene.

To the left of the Academy Building, you can find the former Laboratory for Hygiene, built in 1883. It is currently used by the Faculty of Arts as lecture rooms and as accommodation for archeologists. It is now the oldest building in the direct vicinity, because it escaped from the devastating fires that destroyed the previous Academy Building in 1906 and in the Astronomical Laboratory in 1988.

Above the main entrance is a sandstone relief depicting Hygieia, made by Emilius Bourgonjon. Hygieia is one of the daughters of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. Hygieia is the goddess of health, cleanliness, and hygiene. On the relief, she is surrounded by attributes: a rooster—that was often sacrificed to her father—a pile of books, jars, bottles, a flask, and medicinal plants. In her left hand, she is holding a rod with a serpent wound around it: the asklepian, symbol for doctors and pharmacies, as is the mortar that can be seen on the right of the relief.

High up on the roof of the building, two statues look down on the bustle of the street: a lion figure and a human shape.

Want to find out more?

Check out the previous edition on

• The Academy Building

• The Ubbo Emmius monument

• The University Library
• The Röling Building

Are you interested in the buildings and history of the UG? You can download the podwalk ‘In the footsteps of the Academy’ for free. Go to the App Store (Apple) or Google Play (Android) and search for ‘Op stap met Aletta’. The walking route is also available as a book from the I-Shop (University shop) for €9.95.