There are 5 major ticketed sites in Leuven – Town Hall, St.Peter’s Cathedral Treasury, M Museum Leuven, University Library and Stella Artois Brewery!
The Town hall was built in 1439-69 under 3 different architects! The last one was Matthijs de Layens and he was the one who designed the outer façade as it is today with the 6 octoganal towers (but without any sculptures in the niches)! Unlike other cities in Belgium, a single tower of Belfry couldn’t be built here was the land here is marsh. This building barely escaped the bombing during World War which almost destroyed every other building in the town.
The statues were added only in 1850-1900. The ground floor is the people associated with the university, the first floor is of knights & legends and the topmost floor is of dukes & counts, totaling to 236 figures including 16 women! At the bases of the niches are scenes from Bible. Currently this is not being used as office, but only for ceremonial purposes. Only some of the rooms are open to the public to see, that too only via a guided tour. My guide was by Mr.Van Duyse.
As soon as you enter is the reception area, the wooden ceiling is unmissable and esp the carved details in the corbels!!! This belongs to the original structure of 1400s!!! Here are 7 flags of the 7 patrician families of Leuven – Knight Bastijn and his 7 son in laws!!!
Our next stop was the Wedding Room which has the paintings of Knight Bastjin and his 7 sons-in-law, followed by the Large Gothic Hall. The beam blocks here belong to 15th C CE and the flooring as well as the chimney belongs to the 19th C CE. Of the several paintings here, the important one is beside the chimney depicting the provost of St.Pieter’s Church handing over the papal sanction for the University to Mayor Vander Kelen. The funny situation – Vander Kelen was the mayor in 19th C, while this incident took place in 14th C!!!
We stopped at the Small Gothic Hall followed by the Portrait Salon which has the paintings of all the mayors since 1790s! The large chandelier here is worth a mention, which was originally lit by gas!
The last room was the most ornate which reminded me of the Arab room in Cardiff Castle and Buckingham Palace. The ceiling has an exquisite painting by Otto van Veen who was the teacher of Ruben who painted the Banqueting House in London (a post on that coming up soon)! The depiction here is Naked Truth discovered by Wisdom and Patience to the disappointment of Jealosy and Ignorance!!!
This was built originally in 986 CE. But was rebuilt with crypt and Romanesque styling in 1425 CE after a fire in 1176 CE. The crypt here is perhaps the smallest I’ve ever seen! However the church was severely damaged in both wars and was rebuilt again and again!!!
In the nave of the church, the oak pulpit is one thing of beauty, carved in 1742 CE by Jacob Berge!
Leuven did have its own Municipal Museum long back. However in 2009, it was renovated majorly under architect Stephane Beel. The new museum is now called M – Museum Leuven!
The display is quite an eclectic mix of old and modern art, which I didn’t find very pleasing on the eyes esp if you’re trained in art! The first display was an Oil on Panel by Rogier Van Der Weyden in 1440! This was followed by an Oil on Canvas by Robert Devriendt of 2015! The effort is understandable in showcasing the evolution of art since centuries in this town! There were also some products in display showcasing evolution of centuries – a silver gilt case of 1485 which has a relic of St.Gertrude and a modern projection display based art installation. But after seeing a pre-renaissance religious painting or craft, immediately seeing a modern art, back to back was a bit weird!
Another room was specialized for Leuven’s history. Another room was completely filled with pre to post renaissance paintings with a digital table that helped to explain each and every painting. The one that totally caught my attention was an Oil on Canvas, Joos Van Cleve’s Madonna and Child of 1511. Esp the fabric wrapping infant Jesus was so beautifully painted.
There was another room filled with sculptures of Jesus on cross and Jesus tied up seated on cold stone, all sculpted in wood. Research is on to decipher the actual sculptor behind the masterpieces and the most spectacular ones showing emotions have been credited to the Flemish Renaissance sculptor Jan Borman!
More rooms follow that talk about modern art, films, researches and more! There’s also a room dedicated to interactive art where you are welcome to create your own masterpieces with the objects provided!!! That’s a lot in one post, will come back with the rest 2 places in the next post. Stay tuned.
All these sites are walkable from Leuven station & bus stand (located next to each other)
On Google maps: Town Hall, St.Peter's Church, M Museum
Entry Ticket & Opening Timings:
Town Hall: 3pm everyday; €4
St.Peter's Treasury: 10:00am to 4:00pm everyday; 11:00am to 4:30pm on Sat; Free at Church; €3 for Treasury
M Museum: 11am to 6pm everyday; 11am to 10pm on Thurs; Wed holiday; €12
Combo ticket (IluvLeuven) of these 3 sites + University Library Tower together is priced at €16. Can be bought online on their website or tourism office.
P.S: I was invited by VisitLeuven to experience the city for review purposes, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.