Louvain

 

(lūväN') , Du. Leuven, city (1991 pop. 85,018), Flemish Brabant prov., central Belgium, on the Dijle River. It is a commercial, industrial, and cultural center, as well as a rail junction. Mentioned in the 9th cent., Louvain was a center of the wool trade and of the cloth industry in the Middle Ages. For a time it was the capital of the duchy of Brabant, and in 1356 the Joyeuse Entrée, a charter of liberties, was granted there. In the 14th cent., strife between the nobles and the weavers was prevalent; after the nobles gained authority most of the weavers emigrated to Holland and England, and the city declined. In 1426, Duke John IV of Brabant founded a Roman Catholic university. Its library was destroyed by the Germans in World Wars I and II, but was rebuilt after each. In 1968, as a result of a long-standing dispute between Dutch- and French-speaking sectors, the university was divided into two autonomous units. The Dutch-speaking Universiteit de Leuven remained in Louvain, and the French-speaking Université Catholique de Louvain was established at Ottignies. Among the noted buildings of Louvain are the Gothic city hall (15th cent.; damaged in both world wars); the 14th-century Cloth Workers' Hall, and several medieval churches.

Leuven
Geography
Country	Belgium
Community	Flemish Community
Region	Flemish Region
Province	Flemish Brabant
Arrondissement	Leuven
Coordinates	50°53′N 04°42′E / 50.883, 4.7Coordinates: 50°53′N 04°42′E / 50.883, 4.7
Area	56.63 km²
Population (Source: NIS)
Population – Males – Females - Density	90,706 (January 1, 2006) 49.32% 50.68% 1602 inhab./km²
Age distribution 0–19 years 20–64 years 65+ years	(01/01/2006) 19.59% 63.45% 16.95%
Foreigners	9.43% (01/07/2005)
Economy
Unemployment rate	8.67% (January 1, 2006)
Mean annual income	15,183 €/pers. (2003)
Government
Mayor	Louis Tobback (SP.A)
Governing parties	SP.A-Spirit, CD&V-N-VA
Other information
Postal codes	3000, 3001, 3010, 3012, 3018
Area codes	016
Web address	www.leuven.be

Leuven  listen? (Dutch Leuven, English Louvain, French Louvain, German Löwen) is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in Flanders, Belgium. It is located about 30 kilometers east of Brussels, with as other neighbouring cities Mechelen, Aarschot, Tienen, and (English and French) Wavre, (Dutch) Waver.

It is one of the Flanders' Art Cities.

The municipality comprises the historical city of Leuven and the adjacent villages of Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, a part of Korbeek-Lo, Wilsele and Wijgmaal.

History

The first mention of Leuven goes back to 891 ('Loven'), when a Viking army was defeated by the Frankish king Arnulf of Carinthia (see: Battle of Leuven). According to the city legend, its red-white-red colours depict the blood-stained shores of the river Dijle after this battle.

Situated at this river and nearby the stronghold of the Dukes of Brabant, Leuven became the most important centre of trade in the duchy between the 11th and the 14th century. A token of its former importance as a centre of cloth manufacture, is nicely reflected in the typical Leuven linen cloth, known in late 14-15th century texts as lewyn (other spellings: Leuwyn, Levyne, Lewan(e), Lovanium, Louvain)^[1].

In the 15th century a new golden era began with the founding of the largest and oldest university in the Low Countries: the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U.Leuven, or Catholic University Leuven) in 1425.

In the 18th century Leuven became even more important because of a flourishing brewery that would later become Interbrew (recently renamed to InBev), the largest brewery company in the world. In fact, InBev's Stella Artois brewery and main offices dominate the entire north-eastern part of the town, between the railway station and the canal to Mechelen.

In the 20th century, both world wars inflicted major damage to the city, destroying the university library twice. The world was outraged over this and the library was completely rebuilt after World War I with American charity funds and German war indemnities. After World War II, the burnt down building had to be restored again. It still stands as a symbol of the wars and of Allied solidarity.

Sights

• The Town Hall, built by Sulpitius van Vorst, Jan II Keldermans, and, after both of them died, Matheus de Layens between 1439 and 1463 in a Brabantian late-Gothic style. The reception hall dates from 1750.
• The St. Peter's Church (1425–1500) was finished by Jan Keldermans and Matheus de Layens. During the Second World War the church was damaged; during the restoration a Romanesque crypt from the 11th Century was found. In the church itself there are several paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries (amongst others Dirk Bouts famous painting of the last supper and the grave of Duke Henry I of Brabant. The 50 meter high tower—which was meant to be 169 meters but was never completed—is home to a carillon. The tower was included in UNESCO's list of "Belfries of Belgium and France" in 1999.
• Saint-Anthony's Chapel, Pater Damiaanplein, from the 17th to the 20th centuries, contains the tomb of Father Damien, the "leper priest" of Molokai, beatified by Pope John Paul II. The Catholic priest's remains were returned in Belgium with great fanfare in 1936 after having been originally buried on the Hawaiian Island of Maui where he had served the outcast lepers and died.
• The Linen-hall in an early-Gothic style, with baroque addition, is today the University Hall.
• The Church of Saint Michael was built in the typical Jesuit Baroque Style.
• The Church of Saint Quinten incorporates remains of a Romanesque church built in the 13th century.

• The University Library was built by the American architect Whitney Warren. The tower houses one of the largest carillons in the world.
• There is a ducal castle dating from the 12th century on the Keizersberg ("Emperor's Mountain") which was demolished in the 17th Century. Today there is a neo-romanesque Abbey where the castle once stood.
• The Large Beguinage is one of the world's best remaining examples of its architectural type. It was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1998.
• There are several other smaller churches and chapels around town.
• "Fonske" is a statue near the centre of town. Its full name is Fons Sapientiae, Latin for "fountain of wisdom." The statue represents a university student who, while reading a book, lets wisdom flow into his head as liquid from a glass. Just like Manneken Pis in Brussels, Fonske is from time to time dressed in costumes appropriate for the occasion.

Miscellany

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

Nowadays Leuven is a real "student city", as during the academic year most citizens in its centre are students.

Leuven sports one of the liveliest bar scenes in Belgium. Besides boasting the "longest bar" in Belgium, the Old Market, tens of bars and cafés crammed into a central square in Leuven, it's also the proud home city of Belgium's smallest bar, Onder den Toog in the Noormannenstraat.

The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Catholic University Leuven) is the oldest Catholic university still in existence and one of the biggest universities in Belgium.

One of the orchestras formed by students is the "Arenbergorkest", allowing these young people to combine study and music. There are also a number of hogescholen (Vocational university, literally translated: "high schools"). These hogescholen include Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven (Catholic High School Leuven) and Groep T (Group T).

The mayor of Leuven is currently Louis Tobback, a socialist politician prominent on the national level who was once minister of internal affairs and leader of the socialist fraction in the lower chamber of the Belgian parliament, among other things.

Relations with other cities

Leuven is twinned with

• 's-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands),
• Kraków (Poland),
• Lüdenscheid (Germany), and
• Rennes (France).

Besides these twin cities, Leuven has friendly relations with other cities in the world, such as

• Tainan (Taiwan)
• Stellenbosch (South Africa)

Leuven has also "adopted" Cristian (Romania) since 1989.

Culture

Leuven is well known for its summer rock festival Marktrock. The main football club of the municipality is Oud-Heverlee Leuven, the successor of K. Stade Leuven. Leuven also has some orchestras, like the famous Arenberg Orchestra.

Famous inhabitants

Born in Leuven

• Most Dukes of Brabant in the 12th and 13th century
• Maria of Brabant, queen consort of France (1256-1321)
• Martin Margiela, fashion designer (b. 1957)
• Quentin Matsys, painter (1466-1530)
• Petrus van der Aa, jurist (1530-1594)
• Adriaan van Roomen, mathematician (1561-1615)
• Charles de Bériot, violinist (1802-1870)
• Laurent-Guillaume de Koninck, palaeontologist and chemist (1809-1887)
• Jean Stas, analytical chemist (1813-1891)
• Arthur De Greef, pianist and composer (1862-1940)
• Christian de Duve, cytologist and biochemist, recipient of the 1974 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (b. 1917)
• Arthur Berckmans, comics author (b. 1929)
• Mark Eyskens, politician and former Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1933)
• Louis Tobback, politician and mayor (b. 1938)
• Emiel Puttemans, middle- and long-distance runner (b. 1947)
• Peter Van Lancker, boat designer (b. 1952)
• Jaak Pijpen, media personality (b. 1952)
• Frank Vandenbroucke, politician (b. 1955)

Lived in Leuven

• Dirk Bouts, painter (c. 1410/20-1475)
• Matheus de Layens, architect (d.1483)
• Desiderius Erasmus, humanist and theologian (1466-1536)
• Eustace Chapuys, Imperial ambassador to England (1489-1556)
• Michel Baius, theologian (1513-1589)
• Justus Lipsius, philologist and humanist (1547-1606)
• Cornelius Jansen, father of Jansenism (1585-1638)
• Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, Irish chronicler (1590-1643)
• Philip Verheyen, surgeon and rector of the University of Leuven (1648-1711)
• Jean Baptiste Abbeloos, orientalist and rector of the University of Leuven (1836-1906)
• Jean-Baptiste Janssens, philosophy teacher, rector of the University of Leuven, and Superior General of the Society of Jesus (1889-1964)
• Koenraad Elst
• Jan Van der Roost, composer (b. 1956)
• Andreas Vesalius, anatomist, physician (1514-1564)
• Abdul Qadeer Khan, metallurgical engineer (1935-*)

References

• "Louvain", chapter from George Wharton Edwards 1911 book, Some Old Flemish Towns. (Wikisource)

1. ^ http://www.library.ucla.edu/yrl/reference/maps/blaeu/germania-inferior-nt.htm#prima_brabantiae

External links

• Official Leuven website
• Wijgmaal website
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (University of Leuven)
• Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven (Catholic University College of Leuven)
• Heilige Drievuldigheidscollege (Holy Trinity High School of Leuven)
• Groep T Hogeschool Leuven (Group T University College of Leuven)
• Lemmensinstituut (Lemmens Conservatory of Music, part of the Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst)
• Marktrock site (annual city festival)
• Drieduizend, Leuven Photoblog
• More pictures
• Detailed map of Leuven (detailed map of Leuven by the KUL)
• Free map of Leuven (partial OpenStreetMap of Leuven)

Municipalities in the Province of Flemish Brabant, Flanders, Belgium
Halle-Vilvoorde	Affligem · Asse · Beersel · Bever · Dilbeek · Drogenbos · Galmaarden · Gooik · Grimbergen · Halle · Herne · Hoeilaart · Kampenhout · Kapelle-op-den-Bos · Kraainem · Lennik · Liedekerke · Linkebeek · Londerzeel · Machelen · Meise · Merchtem · Opwijk · Overijse · Pepingen · Roosdaal · Sint-Genesius-Rode · Sint-Pieters-Leeuw · Steenokkerzeel · Ternat · Vilvoorde · Wemmel · Wezembeek-Oppem · Zaventem · Zemst
Leuven	Aarschot · Begijnendijk · Bekkevoort · Bertem · Bierbeek · Boortmeerbeek · Boutersem · Diest · Geetbets · Glabbeek · Haacht · Herent · Hoegaarden · Holsbeek · Huldenberg · Keerbergen · Kortenaken · Kortenberg · Landen · Leuven · Linter · Lubbeek · Oud-Heverlee · Rotselaar · Scherpenheuvel-Zichem · Tervuren · Tielt-Winge · Tienen · Tremelo · Zoutleeuw

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