Close to the former Sint-Pietersziekenhuis in Leuven there is another place with a long and rich history: the Vesalius Institute (or the Vaardigheidscentrum Anatomie). Both the hospital and the institute are part of the Hertogensite, a large urban renewal project in the city center.

The local residents are not keen on an expansion, there are complaints about the transport of corpses from the Sint-Pietersziehuis. That is why a new building is opened a little further down the Minderbroedersstraat in 1877: the Vesalius Institute. There is now a direct road from the new institute to the hospital. The corpses can be transported without having to cross the public road.

The building designed by Joris Helleputte has an anatomical theatre with room for 200 students. It is the first cutting house in Europe with electric lighting. In 1906, the complex is joined by the Pathological Institute designed by architect Vincent Lenertz, which is built right next to it.

In 1950, rector Gerard Van de Schueren reorganizes the anatomical education at the university. The Vesalius Institute and the Pathological Institute form one institution from then on. The building complex is expanded again and the old building of the Vesalius Institute is furnished as a clubhouse, library and dining hall.

After the university split in 1968 and the establishment of the UZ Gasthuisberg, the buildings became vacant one by one. Most services have now moved to the new campus on Gasthuisberg, only pathology still uses part of the old buildings. This department will move in 2021. Resiterra will then start the reconversion of the complex. The use has not yet been fully determined, but the HistarUZ museum will definitely be housed there. In addition to the museum, there will mainly be residential accommodation.