Built at the end of the 19C in the neo-Renaissance style, the university encompasses the old capitulary room of the cathedral (kapittelzaal, 1409) and a large modern amphitheatre (Aula). It was here that the Union of Utrecht was signed on January 15, 1579. The statue (1887) of the Count John of Nassau, brother of William the Silent, who presided over the Union of Utrecht, stands on the square in front of the university.