Sorbonne (building)

About

The name Sorbonne (French: La Sorbonne; sor-BON, US also sor-BAWN; French: [sɔʁbɔn] ) is commonly used to refer to the historic University of Paris in Paris, France, or one of its successor institutions (see below). It is also the name of a building in the Latin Quarter of Paris which from 1253 onwards housed the College of Sorbonne, part of one of the first universities in the Western world, later renamed University of Paris and commonly known as "the Sorbonne". The Sorbonne building and the “La Sorbonne” trademark are owned by the Chancellerie des Universités de Paris.

In recent times the name "Sorbonne" came to refer to the group of liberal arts faculties of the University of Paris, in contrast to the vocational faculties of law and medicine. "Sorbonne" is also used to refer to the main building of the University of Paris in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, which houses several faculties created when the university was divided into thirteen autonomous universities in 1970.