This article is about the Catholic University of Leuven before its split in 1968. For the current Dutch-speaking university in the city of Leuven, Belgium, see KU Leuven. For the French-speaking counterpart in Louvain-la-Neuve, see Université catholique de Louvain.
Mechelen is a city and municipality in the province of Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel (adjacent) and Battel, as well as the villages of Walem, Heffen, Leest, Hombeek, and Muizen. The Dyle flows through the city, hence it is often referred to as the Dijlestad.
Leuven or Louvain is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in Belgium. It is located about 25 kilometres east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic city and the former neighbouring municipalities of Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, a part of Korbeek-Lo, Wilsele and Wijgmaal. It is the eighth largest city in Belgium and the fourth in Flanders with more than 100,244 inhabitants.
Pierre de Ram, first rector of the new Catholic University of Belgium, founded in Mechlin in 1834 and then of the new Catholic University of Leuven (1835).Castle Arenberg, part of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.
An earlier University of Leuven was founded in 1425 by John IV, Duke of Brabant and chartered by a Papal bull of Pope Martin V.[2] It flourished for hundreds of years as the most prominent university in what would become Belgium, and one of the more prominent in Europe. Once formally integrated into the French Republic, the law of 15 September 1793 had decreed the suppression of all the colleges and universities in France and it was abolished by Decree of the Departement of the Dijle on 25 octobre 1797[3].
The Old University of Leuven is the name historians give to the university, or studium generale, founded in Leuven, Brabant, in 1425. The university was closed in 1797, a week after the cession to the French Republic of the Austrian Netherlands and the principality of Liège by the Treaty of Campo Formio.
John IV, Duke of Brabant was the son of Antoine of Burgundy, Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg and his first wife Jeanne of Saint-Pol. He was the second Brabantian ruler from the House of Valois.
University charter is a charter given by provincial, state, regional, and sometimes national governments to legitimize the university's existence.
A new institution, the State University of Louvain, was established in the city in 1816, but closed in 1835. With the closing of the State University, the Catholic University of Mechelen moved its seat to Leuven, adjusted its name and declared itself as a "re-founding" of the 1425 University of Leuven. This claim to continuity with the older institution was challenged in the courts, with Belgium's highest court issuing rulings (in 1844, 1855 and 1861) that the Catholic University of Leuven was a different foundation created under a different charter.[4] Nonetheless, the Catholic University of Leuven is very frequently identified as a continuation of the older institution.[5]
The Court of Cassation is the main court of last resort in Belgium.
In 1968, the Catholic University of Leuven split to form two institutions:
The Université catholique de Louvain is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It is located in Louvain-la-Neuve, which was expressly built to house the university, and Brussels, Charleroi, Mons, Tournai and Namur. Since September 2018, the university has used the branding UCLouvain, replacing the acronym UCL, following a merger with Saint-Louis University, Brussels.
Louvain-la-Neuve is a planned city in the municipality of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, situated 30 km southeast of Brussels, in the French-speaking part of the country. The city was built to house the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) which owns its entire territory; following the linguistic quarrels that took place in Belgium during the 1960s, and Flemish claims of discrimination at the Catholic University of Leuven, the institution was split into the Dutch language Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven which remained in Leuven, and the Université catholique de Louvain.
This entry deals with the historic university/universities, 1425–1797 and 1834–1968. For the current successor institutions and their separate development since 1968, see the individual articles linked above.
The Holy See, also called the See of Rome, refers to the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, known as the pope, which includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome with universal ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the worldwide Catholic Church, as well as a sovereign entity of international law.
Pope Martin V, born OttoColonna, was Pope from 11 November 1417 to his death in 1431. His election effectively ended the Western Schism (1378–1417).
A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by a pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal (bulla) that was traditionally appended to the end in order to authenticate it.
In the time of the Directory, by the Treaty of Campo Formio, this region was ceded to the French Republic by Austria in exchange for the Republic of Venice.[6] Once formally integrated into the French Republic, a law from 1793 which mandated that all universities in France be closed came into effect. The University of Leuven was abolished by decree of the Département of Dijle on October 25, 1797.[7].
The Directory or Directorate was a five-member committee that governed France from 2 November 1795, when it replaced the Committee of Public Safety, until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, and replaced by the French Consulate. It gave its name to the final four years of the French Revolution. On the other hand, according to the mainstream historiography - for example F. Furet and D. Richet in “French Revolution” - with the aforementioned terms is indicated also the regime and the period from the dissolution of the National Convention of Tuileries Palace on 26 October 1795, which was superseded by the two new elected Councils, and the coup d’état by Napoleon. Only in 1798 the Council of Five Hundred moved to the Palais Bourbon.
The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on 18 October 1797 by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treaty followed the armistice of Leoben, which had been forced on the Habsburgs by Napoleon's victorious campaign in Italy. It ended the War of the First Coalition and left Great Britain fighting alone against revolutionary France.
Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in Central Europe comprising nine federated states. Its capital, largest city and one of nine states is Vienna. Austria has an area of 83,879 km2 (32,386 sq mi), a population of nearly nine million people and a nominal GDP of $477 billion. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The terrain is landlocked and highly mountainous, lying within the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 m (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 m (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other regional languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene.
UNIVERSITAS CATHOLICA LOVANIENSIS 1834-190975e ANNIVERSAIRE DE LA RÉINSTALLATION DE L’UNIVERSITÉ CATHOLIQUE 75e VERJAARDAG van de HERSTELLING des KATHOLIEKE HOOGESCHOOL 1834-1909
In 1830, Belgium was formed as a new nation out of the Southern Provinces of the Netherlands.
In 1835 the recently founded Catholic University of Mechlin moved to Leuven, and changed its name to Catholic University of Leuven, where the State University had been closed. This is nowadays generally seen as a refounding of the old University of Leuven,[5][failed verification] although the Belgian Court of Cassation has ruled that the two entities are legally distinct,[11] and at the time, Liberals protested the attempts of the new Catholic university to usurp the heritage and identity of the historical University of Leuven.[12].
Thursday 3 November 1859, the Catholic University celebrated its 25 years of existence[13]. A banquet with more than five hundred guests offered by the students to the Rector and the faculty, took place the 23 November 1859 in the great festival hall of the Music Academy of Louvain[14].
In the year 1884 the Catholic University of Louvain celebrated solemnly its 50th anniversary[15].
In 1909, the Catholic University celebrated its 75th anniversary, and struck a medal where for the first time it officially used the term "resettlement" ("reinstallation" - "herstelling"), beginning of a new "official" history.
In 1914, during World War I, Leuven was looted by German troops. They set fire to a large part of the city, effectively destroying about half of it. The library was lost, as well as about 300,000 books, about 1000 incunabula;[16] and a huge collection of manuscripts, such as the Easter Island tablet bearing Rongorongo text E or the oldest Czech Bible In the early stages of the war, Allied propaganda capitalized on the German destruction as a reflection on German Kultur.
From its beginning in 1834, the Catholic University of Louvain provided lectures only in French. Latin was sometimes used in the theology faculty, but it was essentially a French-language institution. Lectures in Dutch, the other official language of Belgium and the language spoken in Leuven, began to be provided in 1930.
In 1962, in line with constitutional reforms governing official language use, the French and Dutch sections of the university became autonomous within a common governing structure. Flemish nationalists continued to demand a division of the university, and Dutch speakers expressed resentment at privileges given to French-speaking academic staff and the perceived disdain by the local French-speaking community for their Dutch-speaking neighbours. At the time, Brussels and Leuven were both part of the officially bilingual and now defunct Province of Brabant; but unlike Brussels, Leuven had retained its Dutch-speaking character. Tensions rose when a French-speaking social geographer suggested in a televised lecture that the city of Leuven should be incorporated into an enlarged bilingual 'Greater-Brussels' region. Mainstream Flemish politicians and students began demonstrating under the slogan 'Leuven Vlaams - Walen Buiten' ("Leuven [is] Flemish - Walloons out"). Student demonstrations escalated into violence throughout the mid-60s. Student unrest fueled by the history of discrimination against Flemings eventually brought down the Belgian government in February 1968.
The dispute was resolved in June 1968 by turning the Dutch-language section of the university into the independent Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, which remained in Leuven. The French-speaking university, called the Université catholique de Louvain, was moved to a greenfield campus called Louvain-la-Neuve ("New Leuven"), farther south in the French-speaking part of the Province of Brabant. Acrimony about the split was long-lasting. Nowadays, however, research collaborations and student exchanges between the two "sister universities" take place with increasing frequency.
Library
The ruins of the library of the Catholic University of Leuven after the library was burned by the German army in 1914.
The holdings of the modern Catholic University of Leuven date back to 1834. Its main collections were held in a building on Naamsestraat dating back to the 17th century. It was only the collections of the university since its founding in 1834 that were lost. The manuscripts and most valuable works of the pre-revolutionary Old University, were transported[17] to the National Library in Paris, while the bulk of the holdings (at least officially) was transferred to the Central School of Brussels, the official legal successor of the Old University of Leuven. The library of the Central School of Brussels had about 80,000 volumes, which then became part of the library of Brussels, and then the future Royal Library of Belgium where they are still found. The extensive archives of the Old University are now part of the State Archives in Belgium.[18]
The library building designed by Whitney Warren and built from 1921–1928, now the KUL's central library.
Following the destruction of the library, a new library building was constructed on the Mgr. Ladeuzeplein. It was designed by the American architect Whitney Warren in a neo-Flemish-Renaissance style, and built between 1921 and 1928.[19] Its monumental size is a reflection of the Allied victory against Germany, and it is one of the largest university buildings in the city. The library's collections were rebuilt with donations from all around the world, outraged by the barbaric act which it had suffered. In 1940, during the second German invasion of Leuven, the building largely burnt down, including its 900,000 manuscripts and books. The building was rebuilt after the war in accordance with Warren's design.
The library's collections were again restored after the war, and by the fission in 1968 had approximately four million books. The split of the university into separate French-language and Dutch-language institutions in 1968 entailed a division of the central library holdings. This was done on the basis of alternate shelfmarks (except in cases where a work clearly belonged to one section or the other, e.g. was written by a member of faculty or bequeathed by an alumnus whose linguistic allegiance was clear). This gave rise to the factoid that encyclopedias and runs of periodicals were divided by volume between the two universities, but actually such series bear single shelfmarks.
The building on the Mgr. Ladeuzeplein is now the central library of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
Armand Thiery[nl] (1868-1955), Catholic priest, theologian, philosopher, architect, lawyer, founder of the Philosophy Institute and of the first Red Cross hospital in Belgium.
↑ Encyclopédie théologique, tome 54, Dictionnaire de l'histoire universelle de l'Église, Paris: éd. J.P. Migne, 1863, sub verboGrégoire XVI, col. 1131: "Après sa séparation de la Hollande en 1830, la Belgique libérale a vu son Église jouir d'une véritable indépendance. Les évêques s'assemblent en conciles, communiquent avec le Saint-Siège en toute liberté. Sur l'article fondamental des études, ils ont fondé l'université catholique de Louvain, où les jeunes Belges vont en foule puiser aux sources les plus pures toutes les richesses de la science". And: Edward van Even, Louvain dans le passé et dans le présent, Louvain, 1895, p. 606: "Par lettre collective du 14 novembre 1833, le corps épiscopal s'adressa à Grégoire XVI, à l'effet d'obtenir l'autorisation nécessaire pour ouvrir l'école. Cette autorisation fut octroyée par un bref du 13 décembre suivant. Une circulaire épiscopale, datée du 20 février 1834, annonça aux fidèles la fondation d'une Université catholique".
↑ Jan Roegiers et al., Leuven University, Leuven, Leuven University Press, 1990, p. 31: "With the Law of 3 Brumaire of Year IV, which reorganized higher education in the French Republic, there was no place for the University of Louvain, and it was abolished by Decree of the Departement of the Dijle on 25 october (1797)".
↑ Several rulings of the Belgian Courts, of Cassation and Appel, forbid the identification of the Catholic University with the Old University: "L'université catholique de Louvain ne peut être considérée comme continuant l'ancienne université de Louvain; et lorsqu'un acte de fondation a désigné pour collateur un professeur de cette ancienne université, il y a lieu d'y pourvoir par le gouvernement", (Table générale alphabétique et chronologique de la Pasicrisie Belge contenant la jurisprudence du Royaume de 1814 à 1850, Bruxelles, 1855, p. 585, colonne 1, alinea 2. Voir également: Bulletin Usuel des Lois et Arrêtés, 1861, p.166.) See also the ruling of the Cour d'Appel of 1844: La Belgique Judiciaire, 28 july 1844 n° 69, p. 1: "Cour d’Appel de Bruxelles. Deuxième chambre. L'université libre de Louvain ne représente pas légalement l’antique université de cette ville. Attendu que cette université (l’ancienne Université de Louvain), instituée par une bulle papale, de concert avec l'autorité souveraine, formait un corps reconnu dans l'État, ayant différentes attributions, dont plusieurs même lui étaient déléguées par le pouvoir civil; Attendu que ce corps a été supprimé par les lois de la république française; Attendu que l'université existant actuellement à Louvain ne peut être considérée comme continuant celle qui existait en 1457, ces deux établissemens ayant un caractère bien distinct, puisque l'université actuelle, non reconnue comme personne civile, n'est qu'un établissement tout-à-fait privé, résultat de la liberté d'enseignement, en dehors de toute action du pouvoir et sans autorité dans l'État...".
↑ Jules Delhaize, La domination française en Belgique, Bruxelles, 1909, tome III, p. 171: " Les articles 3 et 4 du traité de Campo-Formio consacrèrent enfin, au point de vue international, la réunion de la Belgique à la France. Voici ces articles. Art. 3 - Sa Majesté l'Empereur, Roi de Hongrie et de Bohême, renonce pour elle et ses successeurs en faveur de la République française, à tous ses droits et titres sur les ci-devant provinces belgiques, connues sous le nom de Pays-Bas autrichiens. La République française possédera ces pays à perpétuité, en toute souveraineté et propriété, et avec tous les biens territoriaux qui en dépendent'".
↑ Jan Roegiers et al., Leuven University, Leuven, Leuven University Press, 1990, p. 31: "With the Law of 3 Brumaire of Year IV, which reorganized higher education in the French Republic, there was no place for the University of Louvain, and it was abolished by Decree of the Departement of the Dijle on 25 octobre (1797)".
↑ Edward van Even, Louvain dans le passé et dans le présent, Louvain, 1895, p. 606: "Par lettre collective du 14 novembre 1833, le corps épiscopal s'adressa à Grégoire XVI, à l'effet d'obtenir l'autorisation nécessaire pour ouvrir l'école. Cette autorisation fut octroyée par un bref du 13 décembre suivant. Une circulaire épiscopale, datée du 20 février 1834, annonça aux fidèles la fondation d'une Université catholique".
↑ John Bartier, Guy Cambier, Libéralisme et socialisme au XIXe siècle, Université libre de Bruxelles, Institut d'histoire du christianisme, 1981, p. 17. And Emiel Lamberts and Jan Roegiers, Leuven University, Louvain, 1990, p. 194: "There were demonstrations in protest, especially at Ghent and Louvain" (...) " and the Liberals responded by setting up a parallel university in Brussels".
↑ Père V. De Buck S.J., Mgr de Ram, recteur magnifique de l'université catholique de Louvain, Paris: Ch. Douniol, 1865: "Naturellement, on songea à lui pour lui confier une charge dans l'université catholique dont on projetait la fondation. On n'a pas écrit jusqu'ici et nous ne rechercherons pas qui, le premier, osa concevoir cette idée, une des plus hardies qui aient jamais été mises à exécution. Le pays est petit, et il possédait déjà trois universités soutenues par l'autorité et l'argent du gouvernement (….)et de faire apprécier les énormes difficultés qui s'attachaient à la fondation de l'université catholique".
↑ Table générale alphabétique et chronologique de la Pasicrisie Belge contenant la jurisprudence du Royaume de 1814 à 1850, Brussels, 1855, p. 585, column 1, alinea 2. See also: Bulletin Usuel des Lois et Arrêtés, 1861, p.166
↑ (in French)Maurice Voituron, Le parti libéral joué par le parti catholique dans la question de l'enseignement supérieur, Brussels, 1850: "et alors aurait paru plus évidente encore aux yeux du pays l'intention du parti catholique de tuer l'enseignement de l'État, afin de ne laisser debout que l'Université catholique de Malines, qui allait prendre le titre d'Université de Louvain, pour y usurper la renommée de l'ancienne, ainsi que ses fondations de bourses. Cependant, malgré lui, le parti catholique laissa échapper cet espoir par la bouche de son rapporteur M. Dechamps, lorsqu'il disait: "la confiance entourera de telle façon les établissements privés que les Universités de l'État, par exemple, deviendront à peu près désertes"
↑ Souvenir du XXVe anniversaire de la fondation de l'Université catholique: Novembre 1859, Louvain, typographie Vanlinthout et Cie, 1860: "Inaugurée à Malines, le 4 novembre 1834, l'Université catholique a célébré à Louvain, le jeudi 3 novembre 1859, sa vingt-cinquième année d'existence"
↑ Souvenir du XXVe anniversaire de la fondation de l'Université catholique: Novembre 1859, p. 24: "Banquet offert par les étudiants au Recteur et au Corps professoral le 23 novembre" ; and: Emiel Lamberts, Jan Roegiers, et alii, Leuven University, "The Catholic University", Leuven, 1990, p. 199 (illustration 11)
↑ E. Descamps, in: Université catholique de Louvain: Liber Memorialis: 1834-1884, Louvain: Peeters, 1887, p. V: "les fêtes du cinquantième anniversaire de l'Université catholique de Louvain ont eu un brillant éclat et un immense retentissement".
↑ Leuven University, p. 31: "The university colleges were closed on 9 november 1797, and all items of use, with all the books, were requisitioned for the new École Centrale, in Brussels"
University of Leuven or University of Louvain may refer to:
Pierre François Xavier de Ram, was a Belgian papal prelate, Canon and historian, best known for being the first rector of the new Catholic University of Mechlin (1834) and then of the new Catholic University of Leuven (1835).
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The Leuven Faculty of Theology was a branch of the Catholic University of Leuven, established following the Belgian Revolution of 1830, on the initiative of the Belgian bishops. The faculty traces its history back to the Faculty of Theology founded in 1432, with a hiatus between 1797 and 1834 due to the French Revolution. In 1968 the faculty was divided into Flemish and French speaking departments, and they exist today as faculties of two separate universities : the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and the Faculty of Theology of the University of Louvain (UCLouvain), which moved to Louvain-la-Neuve.
The State University of Leuven was a university founded in 1817 in Leuven in Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was distinct from the Old University of Leuven (1425-1797) and from the Catholic University of Leuven, which moved to Leuven after the State University had been closed in 1835.
The Catholic University of Belgium, usually said Catholic University of Mechelen, was an university that was founded in Mechelen, Belgium, on November 8, 1834 by the bishops of Belgium.
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The city of Leuven in Belgium was not only the seat of three different universities, but also through them, the seat of notable academic libraries.
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The Catholic University of Leuven was one of Belgium's major universities. It split along linguistic lines after a period of civil unrest in 1967–68 is commonly known as the Leuven Affair in French and Flemish Leuven, based on a contemporary slogan, in Dutch. The crisis shook Belgian politics and led to the fall of the government of Paul Vanden Boeynants. It marked an escalation of the linguistic tension in Belgium after World War II and had lasting consequences for other bilingual institutions in Belgium within higher education and politics alike. In 1970 the first of several state reforms occurred, marking the start of Belgium's transition to a federal state.
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The Louvain School of Engineering or École polytechnique de Louvain (EPL) is a faculty of the University of Louvain, Belgium, founded in 1864. Known as the Faculty of Applied Sciences prior to 2008, it currently operates on the campuses of Louvain-la-Neuve and UCLouvain Charleroi.
Louis Defré (1816-1880), was a burgomaster mayor of Uccle, Belgium, from 1864 to 1872, and deputy
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