Jan and I decided that it would be fun, as a Christmas Eve adventure, for us to take a short little trip to the town of Leuven. About 45 minutes away by train from Antwerp, Leuven is a quick and enjoyable journey. Besides being the headquarters of InBev, (the largest beer producer in the world), Leuven is also home to the 450 year old Katholieke Universiteit (Catholic University). The fact that Leuven is a ‘college town’ was quite evident on our trip, as indicated by the low number of people wandering through the shops and streets of the old town center. However, don’t mistake the lack of crowds, for a lack of things to see. Leuven is full of winding narrow and crooked streets, and magnificent architecture waiting around every corner. From the modern design of the train station to the imposing elegance of the university library, there is must to see and experience in this gem of a town.
History
The earliest mention of Leuven ("Loven") is from 891 when a Viking army was defeated by the Frankish king Arnulf of Carinthia in the “Battle of Leuven”. According to the city legend, its red-white-red colors 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.
In the 15th century a new golden era began with the founding of the largest and oldest university in the Low Countries, the Catholic University of 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. Upon German entry in WW1, the town was heavily damaged due to German Schrecklichkeit policy. The Germans shot the burgomaster, university rector and all the city's police officers. The university library was deliberately destroyed by the German army on August 25, 1914, using petrol and incendiary pastilles. Hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable volumes and Gothic and Renaissance manuscripts were lost. 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.
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