city centre contains many buildings that are in use by the University of Leiden. The Academy Building is housed in a former 16th-century convent. Among the institutions connected with the university are the national institution for East Indian languages, ethnology and geography; the botanical gardens, founded in 1587; the observatory (1860); the museum of antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden); and the ethnographical museum, of which P.F. von Siebold's Japanese collection was the nucleus (Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde). This collection is now housed in a separate museum called the SieboldHuis. The Bibliotheca Thysiana occupies an old Renaissance building of the year 1655. It is especially rich in legal works and vernacular chronicles. Noteworthy are also the many special collections at Leiden University Library among which those of the Society of Dutch Literature (1766) and the collection of casts and engravings. In recent years the university has built the Leiden Bio Science Park at the city's outskirts to accommodate the Science departments. Other buildings Stadhuis (City Hall), a 16th-century building that was badly damaged by a fire in 1929 but has its Renaissance façade designed by Lieven de Key still standing Gemeenlandshuis van Rijnland (1596, restored in 1878) De Waag (weigh house in Dutch), built by Pieter Post Gravensteen – a former 15th century jail at the Gerecht square (former court-house) Stedelijk Gymnasium (aka Latijnse School) – the old gymnasium (1599) Stadstimmerwerf – the city carpenter's yard and wharf (1612), both built by Lieven de Key (c. 1560–1627) Heilige Geest Weeshuis (a former Holy Spirit Orphanage) – a complex of 16th century buildings. Molen de Valk – a corn-grinding windmill, now home to a museum (1743) Pesthuis, which was built during 1657–1661 at that time just outside the city for curing patients suffering the bubonic plague. However, after it was built the feared disease did not occur in the Netherlands anymore so it was never used for its original purpose. The building has been used as a military hospital, prison, national asylum and army museum. Until 2019, it served as the entrance of Naturalis. This museum, one of the largest natural history museums in the world, was recently renovated and is a building of interest in itself. Culture Museums Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities) Museum Volkenkunde (National Museum of Ethnology) Naturalis Biodiversity Center Rijksmuseum Boerhaave Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal Japan Museum Sieboldhuis Museum de Valk Leiden American Pilgrim Museum Corpus (in Oegstgeest,