Pritzer Fac – College in Belgium

The abandoned Pritzer Fac campus was once part of the University of Liège in Belgium. The college was called Pritzker Fac, although often its name is written as Pritzer Fac.

Little information has been preserved about this place but it seems that its history began in the 1880s. During its lifetime, several worldwide experts in the fields of electrical engineering and other disciplines graduated from this college.

A discipline like electrical engineering was rarely taught at the universities in Belgium in the late 19th century. Pritzer Fac came into being after its founder visited the International Exhibition of Electricity in Paris in 1881 and decided that it was essential to create an electrical department in all universities in Belgium.

Two years later, in 1883, an electrotechnical faculty was founded at the University of Liège. Initially, the department was located in the central building of the university. However, electrical engineering quickly became so popular that the university needed to open up a whole separate building to deal with demand.

The university chose to use a nearby building that had previously been a regular school so already possessed all the classrooms they needed. Those buildings and classrooms became Pritzer Fac after they were converted into the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

The founder was so set on this idea that he even donated some of his own fortune (made through being a patent holder) in order to equip the premises ready for 300 students.

In addition, there was a hotel near the educational buildings. Sometime after the founding of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, the founder also bought the hotel and gifted the building to the Association of Electrical Engineers which comprised students who had graduated from the college.

This building also contained a library and a reading room for students.

As happens when places see a lot of use, the state of the educational establishment and all its adjoining buildings began to decline over time. Rather than fix the problems, the faculty decided simply to move to a new location in the late 1970s.

After the department vacated Pritzer Fac, the buildings became abandoned. A few decades later, in the late 1990s, the buildings were classified as monuments, although it took until 2011 for the facades to be classified as well.

The roof and facade of the roof were damaged at one point and as a result, water began to penetrate the inside of the structures. Thanks to the destructive nature of the water combined with vandalism, the academic buildings really began to suffer.

The main building was constructed in the shape of a crescent and the exterior is decorated with carvings. The administrative building and the library are in good condition compared to the other academic buildings.

The central courtyard of the training block had many trees, but sadly they have been removed now. Currently, most of the college is trashed and in a terrible state.

Early visitors to the library reported that books were piled up, ready to be removed. They are now no longer there, presumably taken away by the university. What is still in evidence is the impressive chandelier in the administration building and its stunning fireplace.

A big thank you to Sebastian for providing such beautiful photographs. Check out his Instagram page for more fascinating places.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zABkpSsB36g

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