Leuven Things to Do

The Louvain city hall... reportedly to be built as Louvain's answer to Brussels' Gothic city hall, that, in its turn, got into rivalry in elegance, with Brugg City hall. At last, the latter had borrowed from Ypres' city hall (the Cloth hall, in fact) its style... dixit our guide at the City Hall.

Now, between Brussels and Louvain... a rivalry dating back to the 15th century. The construction of Brussels city hall epitomized the ever-increasing power of Brussels as the capital of the Dukedom of Brabant. Thing is, also Louvain aspired to the title of 'capital of Brabant' and had constructed a massive and prestigious city hall.

And yes, beautiful it was. A facade that resembles some lacework. I noticed even more impressive work on it than on Brussels' town hall. Still, Brussels' is my favourite... I'm used to it, to the Grand-Place.

Facade of Louvain city hall: lots of "nests" where are housed historical characters, artists, geniuses (Mercator with his globe), popes, guilds officials. The upper nests' layers are dedicated to both local and foreign dynasties that ruled the country (French, Dutch, Belgian ones)... plus a saint.

Oooh! "The capital of Brabant" thingy... after centuries of existing as a whole province, Brabant province was divided in 3 distinct areas (two Brabants and Brussels region) in 1995.... with Leuven as the capital city of Flemish Brabant. So far, Brussels was the capital city of the Brabant. Please, check below website to know more...

St Peter is the patron saint of the city.

In Louvain, you can't miss this church. It's on the main place, the Grote Markt place, neighbouring the city hall and the Tafelrond (cf next tips).

If you come to Louvain by train and step down at Leuven station, just head to the place where stand the buildings that look of another era (rebuilt, not renovated). This place is Martelarenplein. From there, you may see the church from afar. That is, through Bondgenotenlaan, the main street that links Martelarenplein to the Grote Markt.

Of course, as you get close to the Grote Markt, you would see more details of the church till you arrive in front of it. Many streets lead you there so to give angles to shoot. You can shoot from Bondgenotenlaan or, closer, from Maarschalk Fochplein.

The seven chapels on the front (pic) remind me of sharply pleated papers or accordeon. Each time I go to Leuven, they fascinate me. A closer look at the top of the chapels would remind you of some terraces with tiny balusters. :) Drinks anyone?

Like many landmarks of Louvain, the church paid huge tolls of bombings in both WW. In 1914, the roof and nave burnt down. In 1944, the north aisle was damaged too.

The present Brabantine Gothic building is reported to be nearly completed in 1497. In 1425, work began at the choir, under the supervision of Sulpicius Van Vorst. Then, other architects played an important part in this respect. Plans included the rise of three towers, of which one should reach 170 meters. They never succeeded in doing that for the subsoil being not stable enough to support a heavy mass. In 1541, with a height of 50 meters, work was stopped. Check below website for more.

Also, if you look at the church standing in front (but back to) the City Hall (the Gothic building with a spire and an amazing lace-like facade :), you would notice a figurine. If you are lucky enough, you will see the little figurine on top moving, hammering to indicate the hours. A gift from KBC, branded "the bank of the peasants" in Belgium.

While visiting the city of Leuven, we had two guided tours: one of the City hall and a second, of the central University Library. They were interesting.. at least for me, since I could learn some bits of Belgian history.

We visited the Library first, in the morning. Though we walked in the Grote markt area when we stepped out of the train, this visit was booked for the afternoon.

This is one of the statues in the entrance of the city hall, from Belgian sculptor, Jef Lambeaux, reportedly to have roots in Leuven area. There were woodcarvings from Constantin Meunier too, another Belgian artists, namely interested and specialized in depicting the industrial and rural life.

Oddly enough, those artworks (all reportedly from 19 century) were there without any protection, at disposal of who interested to touch, to get close to them. That was what surprised me in the city hall.

Apart from that, it was a normal city hall, with the flags (of the country, the Flemish community, the Flemish Brabant region whose capital city is Leuven). Also, the flags of towns which make up the Groot Leuven (Greater Leuven).

To know more of the city and city hall, check below website. Some info on (un)guided tours there as well.

The Univercity is of course the reason why many foreigners know Leuven. It is one of the oldest still existing catholic universities in the world, founded in 1425. The univercity buildings are not concentrated in one building, but in many locations in and around the city.

The students make of Louvain a mess, but they also make louvain live. There's always something to do...

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Much can be found about the 'Groot Begijnhof' here on VT as well as the internet in general.
I experienced a huge step back in time. The quiet cobbled streets, hardly a soul around (it is summer time after all and most inhabitants are away). The Great Beguinage is populated by students and professors of the Leuven University. In fact, the area is owned by the university, who restaured it and made the houses habitable for modern living.

The Groot Begijnhof is free of charge.
A mere detail: Groot Begijnhof is a World Heritage Site.

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All summer there are midday concerts from July 3 - August 26th at 12.15 hrs. The concert is about 45 minutes.
It takes place in the choir of the Pieterskerk and entrance costs 4 euro.
The series is called: Summer of Sint Pieter.

We enjoyed musicians Sharman Plesner (fiddle/singing) and Jonathan Dunford (banjo/singing). Their programme was raw American folk music. However, these two are actually top baroque performers, they play in the most well known baroque ensembles in the world.

It was a very informal concert. The performers encouraged people to dance, a little boy was dancing on his chair, while an Einstein-lookalike drew pictures of the performers in his little sketchbook.

Unfortunately, you are not allowed to go and see the treasury of the church once the concert is over. Oddly enough, you need to buy a new ticket for that, enter through the same entrance to see! You can try to duck the supervisors but we didn't succeed in that.

This church is situated within the Great Beguinage.
We could not visit inside because it wasn't open. It will be something to look forward to during a next visit to Leuven.

This church has a new carillon since autumn 2009. There are concerts there.
More information (in Dutch) at
this website

If you are an organ player or a carillon player who wants to specifically visit one or both of these instruments, you may want to contact someone via above website.

The visitor's information may be useful:

Open from 1 April-30 September from 13.30-16.30 hrs.
Guided visits (all year): phone +32(0)16211540

Mass:
Saturdays at 18.15 hrs
Sundays at 11.00 hrs

For more information about the church or the University Parish (UP): see details below.

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When I saw the Town Hall, I thought how wonderful, personally I love details and decorations. Here you will find an abundance of detail. During the 2nd half of 19th century statues of 236 persons were placed in niches. They all wear costumes from the period they lived in. The images reflect the different classes of society and in the church. Very nice.

For more information and pictures:
http://filipdemuinck-kristelpardon.blogspot.com/2010/04/town-hall-leuven.html