Louvain

The city is the capital of the Belgian province of Brabant, situated on the Dijle River and connected by canal with the Schelde River. It is about 16 miles east of Brussels. The settlement was founded in the ninth century at the site of a fortress built by the German emperor to halt advancing Normans. In the eleventh century it was the residence of the counts of Leuven, and later of Brabant from 1190. It grew to be a major cloth producer and one of the largest cities in Europe in 14th century, but declined after a citizens' revolt in 1379 was put down and many of its weavers fled to England and Flanders. The Catholic University of Leuven was founded in 1425, making the city famous as a seat of learning. In1914, when Germany invaded it, the university's famous library and the Cloth Workers' Hall, built1193, were burned. It sustained much damage in both World Wars. It nevertheless continues to be a center of culture, famed for its pointed Gothic town hall, built by Mathieu de Layens, the master mason, from 1448 to 1463. The Church of St. Peter, built first in the early 11th century, was twice destroyed before being rebuilt as a Gothic structure in1425-97, and it was again damaged in both world wars. The church contains two fine paintings by Dirck Bouts and fine ironwork and brasswork, much of it by Quentin Massys. Other notable medieval buildings include the "Round Table," churches of St. Gertrude, St. Quentin, Saint-Michel, and St. James, two monasteries, and a béguinage, or retreat for secular nuns, with a 1305 church. The city's manufactures include food processing, beer brewing, leather goods, machinery, and chemicals, as well as sawmilling and bell founding. The population by a 2003 estimate is around 89,400.