Architecture sights in Leuven
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Town Hall
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 - that 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.
reviewed
-
B
St Pieterskerk
One of the main edifices is St Pieterskerk, a late-Gothic structure. Construction started in 1425, the same year that the university was founded, but the church never reached full throttle as unstable subsoil forced the builders to abandon a 170m-high tower. Inside, highlights include an elaborately carved stone rood screen and an equally impressive wooden baroque pulpit. However, it's the church's treasury that most people come to see.
reviewed
-
C
Beguinage of Leuven
The cobblestoned 'Groot Begijnhof', a UNESCO World Heritage site, is secured behind large walls near the Dijle River to the south of the town 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
-
St Jan de Doperkerk
Visit the church, St Jan de Doperkerk in Groot Begijnhof, whose Gothic façade hides an elaborate baroque interior.
reviewed
