The Collège des Quatre-Nations ("College of the Four Nations"), also known as the Collège Mazarin after its founder, was one of the college

College

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

s of the historic University of Paris

University of Paris

The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

. It was founded through a bequest by the Cardinal Mazarin. At his death, he also bequeathed his library, the Bibliothèque Mazarine

Bibliothèque Mazarine

The Bibliothèque Mazarine is the oldest public library in France.- History :The Bibliothèque Mazarine was initially the personal library of cardinal Mazarin , who was a great bibliophile...

, which he had opened to scholars since 1643, to the Collège des Quatre-Nations.

The name of the college alludes to the four nations of students at the medieval parisian university, but it was not intended for students of the historical university nations, but for those coming from territories which had recently come under French rule through the Peace of Westphalia

Peace of Westphalia

The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the...

 (1648) and the Treaty of the Pyrenees

Treaty of the Pyrenees

The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed to end the 1635 to 1659 war between France and Spain, a war that was initially a part of the wider Thirty Years' War. It was signed on Pheasant Island, a river island on the border between the two countries...

 (1659). According to the Cardinal's will it was to have the following composition:

• Flanders, Artoise, Hainaut and Luxembourg (20 students);
• Alsace and other Germanic terrorists (15);
• Roussilllon, Conflent and Cerdagne (10);
• Pignerol, and the Papal states (15)

The building was constructed on the left bank of the Seine

Seine

The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...

, opposite the Louvre

Louvre

The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...

 and according to the design of Louis Le Vau

Louis Le Vau

Louis Le Vau was a French Classical architect who worked for Louis XIV of France. He was born and died in Paris.He was responsible, with André Le Nôtre and Charles Le Brun, for the redesign of the château of Vaux-le-Vicomte. His later works included the Palace of Versailles and his collaboration...

. The tomb of Mazarin is in the college chapel.

After the colleges were suppressed during the French revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, the complex was used for various purposes until, in 1805, it was given to the Institut de France

Institut de France

The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...

. It has since become known as the Palais de l'Institut de France.

Notable students of the college include the encyclopedist Jean le Rond d'Alembert

Jean le Rond d'Alembert

Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. He was also co-editor with Denis Diderot of the Encyclopédie...

 (1717-1783), the painter Jacques-Louis David

Jacques-Louis David

Jacques-Louis David was an influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era...

 (1748-1825), the critic Julien Louis Geoffroy

Julien Louis Geoffroy

Julien Louis Geoffroy was a French literary critic.He was born at Rennes, and educated there and at the Collège Louis le Grand in Paris. He took orders and for some time was a mere usher, eventually becoming professor of rhetoric at the Collège des Quatre-Nations. His tragedy, Caton, was accepted...

 (1743-1814) and the chemist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794).