Architectural, Cultural sights in Leuven
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Stadhuis
Leuven's main sight is the 15th-century Stadhuis. This flamboyant late-Gothic structure resembles an overblown wedding cake full of terraced turrets, delicate statues, fancy stonework and colourful flags. The 236 statues represent prominent locals throughout the ages - scholars, artists and nobility - but were added as an afterthought in the mid-19th century.
Incredibly, the stadhuis survived relatively unscathed during the wars (although a bomb, which failed to explode, scoured part of the façade). There's not all that much to see inside; most notable are the few sculptures by Constantin Meunier. More of Meunier's work is located in Minderbroedersvest, where he had a wor…
reviewed
-
B
Groot Begijnhof
The cobblestoned Groot Begijnhof, a Unesco World Heritage site, is secured behind large walls near the Dijle River to the south of the city centre. It was founded by the Beguines in 1232, though most of the houses date from the 17th century when around 300 Beguines still lived here. The restored, somewhat sober houses are now a university residential quarter.
reviewed
