Willem Van Croy

This room is located on the second floor of the Convent van Chièvres. To reach this building, you walk from the car park some distance into the Grand Beguinage. In view of the location’s historical character, the streets are paved with authentic cobblestones. Faculty Club does not have a lift.

A little history

Willem van Croÿ (ca. 1458-1521) was a nobleman and one of the leading figures in the period of the Spanish Netherlands. He was lord of Aarschot, Heverlee and Chièvres, among other lands. He was the husband of Maria Magdalena van Hamal, after whom the largest room on the ground floor is named.

As a councillor of Philip the Fair (King of Castile and Duke of Burgundy), he was entrusted with international diplomatic missions from 1500 onwards. However, he had to step back after Philip’s death, when Philip’s father Maximilian of Austria again became ruler of the Netherlands because Philip’s son, who later became Charles V, was still too young to rule at that time.

Willem van Croÿ was appointed as governor of the young Charles by Maximilian, and was as a result to exert a significant influence on the emperor for many years, not always for the good, although he did succeed in improving relations with both France and England. In Spain he was not popular, however, partly because after Charles V returned to the Netherlands he put down a rebellion with much bloodshed. Croÿ was to Spain what the Duke of Alva was to the Netherlands. He died in suspicious circumstances in Worms in 1521.

The largest meeting room in the Convent van Chièvres is located in the former attic, originally only intended as a storage place, which occupies the entire rectangular area of the building. The whole space illustrates the remarkable craftsmanship of 16th century carpenters, who had a perfect understanding of balanced, stable and durable structures and a thorough knowledge of their materials.

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