Fondation Biermans-Lapôtre

The Fondation Biermans-Lapôtre features a striking Flemish-style facade of red brick and stepped gables, a sharp contrast to the limestone buildings surrounding it in the Cite Internationale Universitaire. Jean-Hubert Biermans and his wife Berthe Lapôtre built it in nineteen twenty-seven to house Belgian and Luxembourgish students studying in Paris. During the Second World War, German soldiers occupied the building, stripping the library of its collection and turning the rooms into barracks. A single brass plate remains near the entrance today.