The Mgr. Ladeuzeplein (English: Mgr. Ladeuze Square) is the largest square in the centre of Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Belgium. [1] The square was named after a former rector of the Catholic University of Leuven, Mgr. Paulin Ladeuze. The central library of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) is located on this square.
Among the local population the square was known as the Jerkarlisse. This name is derived from the Clarisse religious order who used to have a monastery at this location, when it still was a sandy hill (jer refers in the local dialect to dirt, thus unpaved, as contrary to the adjacent Stiënkarlisse, the former paved Graanmarkt, now the Herbert Hooverplein).
In 1783, the monastery was abolished and the city of Leuven bought the estate from the authorities, who had inherited it, in order to establish a market dedicated to the sale of wood. The hill was levelled off and the first house on the square was erected in 1812. At this time, the square was named the Place Napoleon ("Napoleon Square"). Later, it was renamed the Volksplaats ("People's Place"), before acquiring its current name after World War II.
The square is dominated visually by the monumental central library of the KU Leuven. Even though the neo-Renaissance exterior implies otherwise, the building is relatively recent, dating from 1921. The library was a gift from the American people to the city of Leuven, after the original 17th-century library near the Grote Markt was burned down by the German occupying forces in August 1914. The fire destroyed not only a large part of the cultural patrimony of the medieval city, but it also caused the loss of countless and irreplaceable historical manuscripts and books, many dating back centuries.
This act of violence caused uproar throughout the world and several, mostly American, charities were established to compensate the loss, so in 1921 work was begun to build a new library, on the square now known as Ladeuzeplein. The new building also contains one of the largest carillons in Europe, it was created and offered as a gift in 1928, by US engineers as a monument of remembrance for all colleagues who lost their lives during World War I. The carillon originally contained 48 bells, that being the number of states in the Union at the time of the gift. The main bell, which rings every hour on the hour, is named the Liberty Bell of Louvain and the fourth largest bell contains an inscription calling for world peace.
In May 1940, in the first year of World War II, the German occupiers again destroyed, almost completely, the (new) University Library. After the war, the building was reconstructed almost completely along the original plans. After a substantial renovation from 1999 to 2003, the exterior, carillon and roof structure are once again restored to their former beauty and dominate views of the square.
In January 2014, a permanent exhibit on these wartime events was installed over five floors of the bell tower.
In 2005, the KU Leuven celebrated the 575th anniversary of the foundation of the Old University of Leuven, and decided to thank the city of Leuven for its hospitality by asking renowned artist Jan Fabre to create a fitting sculpture and present it as a gift to the city. Fabre designed a modern art installation called the Totem. It consists of a huge Thai jewel beetle stuck on a 75-foot (23 m) high steel needle. According to the author, the juxtaposition of the surreal view of the "bug on a needle" in front of the neo-classical library building perfectly captures the spirit of the city and university of Leuven. [2]
The ancient art of citywide musical recitals also still is very much alive. There are regular recitals carried out on the carillon, which was completely restored in 1983 and expanded to 63 bells.
Leuven or Louvain is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of 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, with more than 100,244 inhabitants.
The Catholic University of Leuven or Louvain was founded in 1834 in Mechelen as the Catholic University of Belgium, and moved its seat to the town of Leuven in 1835, changing its name to Catholic University of Leuven. In 1968 it was split into two universities, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Université catholique de Louvain, following tensions between the Dutch and French-speaking student bodies.
Louvain-la-Neuve is a planned town in the municipality of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Wallonia, Belgium, situated 30 km southeast of Brussels, in the province of Walloon Brabant. The town 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 Leuven, which remained in Leuven, and the Université catholique de Louvain.
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.
Jan Fabre is a Belgian multidisciplinary artist, playwright, stage director, choreographer and designer.
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven associatie Kortrijk, or short Kulak is a university satellite campus of the KU Leuven in the city of Kortrijk (Courtrai) in the Belgian province of West Flanders and therefore also is officially a Dutch-speaking institution.
The Institute of Philosophy is the faculty of philosophy at the KU Leuven in the Belgian city of Leuven. It was founded in 1968 when the Institut supérieur de Philosophie - Hoger Instituut voor Wijsbegeerte of the Catholic University of Leuven (1835–1968) was split into a Dutch-speaking entity and a French-speaking entity. Its main buildings are located in the center of Leuven, Belgium at the Kardinaal Mercier Square, the founder of the original institute.
The Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" is a music school in Mechelen, Belgium, that specializes in the carillon. It is the first and largest carillon school in the world. The Belgian government defines it as an "International Higher Institute for the Carillon Arts under the High Protection of Her Majesty Queen Fabiola". The school has trained many of the foremost carillonneurs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and houses a rich archive and library.
Peeter van der Phaliesen, Latinised as Petrus Phalesius, French versions of name Pierre Phalèse and Pierre de Phaleys was a Flemish bookseller, printer and publisher. Aside from a number of literary and scientific works, his printing press is mainly known for its publications of music. Phalesius was the principal publisher of music active in the sixteenth-century Low Countries.
The Century Tower is a 157-foot-tall (48 m) bell tower containing a carillon in the center of the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida, United States.
The Grote Markt is the central square of Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Belgium. It is situated between the Oude Markt and the Rector De Somerplein and near both the Bondgenotenlaan and the Muntstraat.
The Leuven Faculty of Theology was a branch of the Catholic University of Leuven, founded in 1834 in Mechelen by the bishops of Belgium as the Catholic University of Belgium, that moved its seat to the town of Leuven in 1835, changing its name to Catholic University of Leuven.
KU Leuven is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, law, canon law, business, and social sciences.
Universitair Ziekenhuis Leuven or University Hospitals Leuven, often shortened to UZ Leuven, is an academic hospital in Leuven, Belgium, associated with the university KU Leuven. It consists of three campuses as of 2022; Gasthuisberg, Pellenberg and Sint-Rafaël.
The Institut supérieur de Philosophie (ISP) is an independent research institute at the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. It is a separate entity to the UCLouvain School of Philosophy.
Vlierbeek Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey to the north-east of Leuven in Belgium, in the sub-district Kessel-Lo.
The Irish College of St Anthony, in Leuven, Belgium, known in Irish: Coláiste na nGael, French: Collège des Irlandais à Louvain and Dutch: Iers College Leuven, has been a centre of Irish learning on the European Continent since the early 17th century. The college was dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua.
The Aula Magna is a postmodern building of the University of Louvain located in Louvain-la-Neuve, a section of the Belgian city of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, in Walloon Brabant. It holds one of the country's largest auditoria, with a maximum capacity of 1050 seats, and Wallonia's largest stage. Inaugurated in 2001, the complex was designed by Philippe Samyn.
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.
The Faculty of Architecture, Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning, often called LOCI, is the 14th faculty of the University of Louvain, Belgium. It became an independent faculty in 2009, with the merger of three institutes founded between 1867 and 1882, and is active in Brussels (Saint-Gilles), Tournai and Louvain-la-Neuve.
