Université Libre de Bruxelles means in English: "Free University of Brussels" or "Non-Denominational University of Brussels", but this translation is rarely used all the more since its Dutch-speaking counterpart, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, has the same meaning. Some facilities, shared by both universities, do use the name "Brussels Free Universities", abbreviated BFU.The history of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) is closely linked with that of Belgium itself. When the nine provinces that broke away from the Kingdom of the Netherlands formed the Belgian State in 1830, there were three state universities in the country: Ghent, Liege and Leuven. Even though Brussels had been promoted to the rank of capital, it still had no university.