Today, the blue griffin dominates as the Vrije Universiteit's emblem. But for those who look more closely, the classic university seal, 'the virgin in the garden', can also still be found in many places. Very prominently, it is visible on my favorite heritage object. That's not a near-forgotten manuscript or rare piece of equipment, but the wooden shield incorporated into the lectern in the auditorium.
Before the university moved to its current location in Buitenveldert in the 1960s and 1970s, that shield adorned the door of the 17th-century canal house on Keizersgracht that was the main building of VU Amsterdam from 1883 to 1966. After that building was purchased, it was made suitable as a university building and the wooden shield was attached above the entrance. The image mark with the virgin had been chosen by Abraham Kuyper, the founder of the VU, as the university seal. And it still functions as such: it can be seen, for example, on official documents such as bullets and certificates, the rector's chain of office, and the beadle's staff. Around the image on the shield are the words: "Onse hulpse sij in den naam des Heeren", the biblical text (psalm 124 verse 8) that is also pronounced as a votum at official ceremonies. The official seal has an edge lettering in Latin: 'Sig. Univ. Lib. Ref. Amst.' and 'Auxil. Nostr. In Nom. Domini'
Abraham Kuyper, in the late 19th century, in his efforts to revive time-honored Calvinism, liked to reach back to the time of the Eighty Years' War. The virgin was a symbol for the Netherlands in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In the 'garden' she had found a safe place where she could live in freedom. She points her finger upwards: she wants to expect everything from God.
Today, the virgin is no longer the only symbol of the VU. Since 1989, the corporate identity has been dominated by the winged fable "the griffin. But the virgin remains present, such as on the pulpit in the auditorium. It is one of the places where the VU makes its tradition visible and keeps it alive.
