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 Eupedia Top > Belgium Guide Top > Province of Flemish Brabant > Leuven |
 Leuven
Leuven (Louvain in French, Löwen in German; pop. 90,000) is a university town. The Catholic University of Leuven was founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V. It is one of the oldest university in the world (the oldest catholic university) and remains one of the best European university. HistoryThe town first appears in documents in 891 as 'Loven', the same year as the Vikings were finally defeated nearby, on the shores of the Dijle River. It is thought that Leuven's red-white-red city flag depicts the blood-shed of this battle.Leuven grew as an important center of trade from the 11th to 14th century , then became known for its linen cloth, known in late 14-15th-century texts as lewyn . The cloth trade was faltering in the late 1300's, but the founding of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KULeuven) in 1425 brought renewed fame to the city. Beer brewing developed in the 18th century and aquired world-wide fame with its local Stella Artois. In the 20th century, Stella Artois merged with Walloon-based brewer Piedboeuf to form Interbrew. Interbrew went on to become the largest brewing company in the world, owning such brands as Labat (Canada), Beck's (Germany), Staropramen (Czech Rep.), Bass (England), Leffe (see Dinant) and Hoegaarden (from the nearby town of the same name). Leuven suffered a lot from the two World Wars in the 20th century, when the university library was destroyed twice, although completely rebuilt thereafter. In 1968, increased tensions between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities led to the split of the university. The French-speakers founded the Université Catholique de Louvain and moved to the newly built campus in Louvain-la-Neuve, in what is now Walloon Brabant. K.U.Leuven now hosts around 29,000 students, more than 10% of whom are international students (from over 100 nations), making it one of the liveliest town in the country from October to June. SightseeingThe Groote Market (great market square) and Oude Markt (old market square) both have magnificient 15-16th century architecture. The Stadhuis (town hall) on the Grote Markt is the most impressive building in Leuven and quite simply one of Belgium most beautiful construction. It dates from 1439 and has 236 statues (added after 1850) in niches representing people in Burgundian clothes. The Town Hall has guided tours (in Dutch, 2 euro) every day from 3pm, as well as from 11am on weekdays from April to September.St Peter's Church, on Groote Markt, was founded around 986. The present Gothic building was errected between 1425 and 1497, although the three towers, one of whic planned to rise to 170 meters, were never completed. The church was severely damaged in both World Wars. It is open from 10am to 5pm (until 4:30pm on Saturdays, and 2pm to 5pm on Sundays and public holidays). It is closed on Mondays from 16 October to 14 March. The Treasury of Saint Peter (entry 5 euro) contains the 15th century paintings "The Last Supper" and "Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus" by Dirk Bouts. The Beguinages ('Begijnhof' in Dutch) were built between the 13th and 16th century. Some 300 Beguines, i.e. women who lived a religious life but kept their own property and supported themselves, lived there in the 17th century, as in many other places throughout the Low Countries. The numerous buildings of the Beguinages were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2000. Other noteworthy buildings include the St.-Gertrude's Church and Abbey, the Park Abbey, the Vlierbeek Abbey. How to get thereLeuven is on the train line Ostende-Brussels-Leuven-Liege-Cologne. Trains takes 29 to 43min from Brussels and 33 to 52min from Liege.By car, Leuven is on the E40 Leuven-Liege.
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