Last updated Coat of arms of the Leiden Student Corps, the Female Union for Students in Leiden, and the Minerva Association
The Leiden Student Association Minerva (Dutch: De Leidse Studenten Vereniging Minerva), also known as LSV Minerva or Minerva, is a traditional co-ed student fraternity in Leiden. The organization's motto is Virtus, Concordia, Fides (virtue, harmony, and loyalty). LSV Minerva is considered one of the most elite organizations in the Netherlands. In 2010, two-thirds of all influential people in the country had been members of the student association, including many members of the Dutch royal family.[1] In 2025, the association had just under 2,700 members.[2]
The Minerva Society, a student fraternity for graduates of the University of Leiden, was founded in 1814 as the first student fraternity in the Netherlands and was named after the Roman goddess Minerva. In 1846, the society moved into its current headquarters at Breestraat 50 in Leiden. Following a speech by university lecturer Rudolph Cleveringa against the exclusion of Jewish professors and a student strike, the Minerva Society was banned by the National Socialist occupiers in 1940 and its property was confiscated by the Germans. It was not until the end of the war in 1945 that it was revived, and the following year Winston Churchill visited the society and said “I see tremendous forces in this room.”[3]
After a major fire on the night of December 2-3, 1959, the society's new clubhouse, built in a brutalist architectural style, was opened in 1965. The LSV Minerva in its current form was founded on January 1, 1974, and marked the merger of the Leiden Student Corps (which was male-only) with the VVSL (Female Union for Students in Leiden, founded in 1900). In 2014, the association celebrated its 200th anniversary.[3]
Structure
Main building in Breestraat 50 in Leiden
Since 1994, the board of Minerva (the Collegium Civitates Academicae Lugduno-Batavae Supremum) and the board of the Minerva Society (the Commission) have formed a single administrative body under the leadership of the Praeses Collegii (chairman).[4]
Club life primarily takes place within the student body. Each academic year, new Minerva members establish several gender-segregated year clubs with an average of twenty women or men. The year group club forms the basis for the activities of the society and within Minerva. In addition to the horizontal structure of a year group club, Minerva also has a vertical structure, known as “associations.” These vertical structures comprise year group clubs from different years.[4]
The association has several sub-associations that focus on a specific activity, sport, or topic, including the music group Sempre Crescendo, the student militia Pro Patria, and the rowing club Njord.[5] During the Cold War and the student movement of the 1960s, controversy arose over the militaristic and nationalistic orientation of Pro Patria, even within the university, which is why there were even calls at times for the militia to be disbanded.[6][7]Prince Bernhard was patron of Pro Patria for many years. After Prince Bernhard's death, the Inspector General of the Dutch Armed Forces became patron of Pro Patria. In addition to these sub-associations, there are several sports clubs (association football, hockey, rugby) affiliated with the organization.[8]
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