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Title: Leuven Tourist Information
Author: Meredith Booney
Article:
General summary of the city:
Leuven (Louvain in French) is a university town and the capital
city of the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The Katholieke
Universiteit Leuven (Catholic Univeristy of Leuven) is the
oldest catholic univeristy in the world. It is also one of the
world's oldest universities. With respect to the adage "old is
gold", the univeristy which is the hallmark of Leuven, is one of
the most beautiful sights in the whole of Europe.
An ancient town Leuven, grew industrially from 11th century
onwards. The town soon became famous for linen production (known
as lewyn, then) by the late 15th century. Historians argue that
linen is actually a corruption of the word "leuven". By the 18th
century, the Beer brewing industry came into existence. The
local "Stella Artois" brand of beer became a household name.
Things turned out even better for Stella Artois when it merged
with the Walloon based brewer Piedboeuf to manufacture
Interbrew. The brand Interbrew grew exponentially as one of the
most famous brewing companies in the world offering some of the
most popular beer brands in Europe. Couple of years ago,
Interbrew merged with a Brazilian brewer AmBew to merge InBev
which is now the largest and the most popular brewer company in
the world with a sizeable marketshare.
The city of Leuven suffered setbacks during the World Wars and
the library of the university was destroyed and rebuilt twice.
Ten percent of the students attending the university in Leuven
are international students. All in all, Leuven is an
historically gifted intellectual place for learning and
spreading of knowledge.
Places of interest:
St.Peter's Church on Grotte Markt ( Great Market Square) founded
in the later part of the tenth century is a Gothic building. The
Church bore the brunt of warfare during the world wars and had
to be renovated. The best part about the church is the treasury
of St.Peter which houses the 15th century paintings like the
"The Last Supper" and the "Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus".
The Grotte Markt and the Oude Markt (Old Market) reflect the
ethos and splendor of the 15th and 16th century BC. No visitor
worth his salt should miss the Stadhuis, the townhall of Grott
Markt. The Stadhuis is the most beautiful building in Leuven and
one of the most popular structures of Belgium. You can take a
guided tour of the Stadhuis everyday from 3pm. During the months
of April through September, the Stadhuis is open for guided
tours from 11 am on weekdays.
The Beguinages built during the period between the 13th and 16th
century are the collection of small buiding used by Beguines.
They were more than 300 women during those times who lived
religious lives, without taking monastic vows. A visit to the
Beguinage reminds people of how these sisters dedicated their
lives to God without isolating themselves from the world. Quite
recently the Beguinages have been able to hold public interest
because of their inclusion to the World Heritage List by UNESCO.
Things to do:
Leuven is one place which can make you feel young. There is a
continous feeling of learning and education. No prizes for
guessing why; Leuven is a "student city" with most of the
citizens being students. The Old Market is famous for bars and
cafés. Onder den Toog is well known for being Belgium's smallest
bar and a haven visitors who want to absorb the folklore and
ambience of the Louven culture.
A visitor cannot afford to miss the Rock Werchter festival held
for three days in July. Though the city radiates a Catholic
sentiment, the festivals in Leuven do not have any religious or
historic appeal. They are purely indulged in for fun, merriment
and get-togethers. The Rock Werchter features rock bands from
parts of Europe and the USA. The other music festival known as
Beleuvenissen play more jazz and blue, folk and classical
concerts. Come August, and you can see the rise of pop fever in
this city with interntional pop and rock bands coming together
for the rock festival Marktrock. If you are into sports
especially football, then you can pay a visit to the
Oud-Heverlee Leuven, a Belgian football club, from the
municipality of Leuven. You can also head to listening to some
pleasing orchestra like the famous Arenberg Orchestra in Leuven.
Food and Drink:
The Belle Epoque and the Orange par Roland Debuyst restaurants
are famous for gourmand delights. Also famous is the French
restaurant offering the best in French cuisine called Ramberg
Hof. Oesterbar is another beautiful eatery offering the choices
of seafood and oysters for people who love seafood.
Since the place is famous for its cosmopolitian outlook, Leuven
brims with the choicest international and ethic cuisinE ranigng
from Italian, Mexican, Spanish to Chinese, Moghlai and Indian.
There are around 1765 cafes and more than 215 restaurants in
Leuven. The quality standards for food and drink are quite high
as they are strictly monitored under the watchful eyes of the
Leuven Catering Inspectorate.
The popular starters consists of soupe à la bière (beer soup)
made with chicken stock and onions; a cold pate made of veal,
pork and rabbit; flamiche, a tasty cheese pie with leeks or
onions; and tomatoes filled with mayonnaise and shrimps. The
main course include chicken stew or fish stew, lean beef cooked
in a casserole with onion and beer among other favorites. A
popular sweet dish is the Gaufres which are waffles served with
chocolate syrup or icing sugar. Frijtes is a popular snack here.
Like the rest of Belgium, beer reigns high among the list of
favorite drinks in Leuven, the most popular brand being the good
ol' Stella Artois. There is also a good demand for French and
Luxembourg variety of wines. Other popular drinks are gin and
coffee. Leuven Peckhke gin with peach juice and Leuvens Nootje,
gin with hazel nut are quite popular among jins. Popular brands
of Coffee are Margogyp and Mysore.
Hotel and Accomodation:
Het Klooster Hotel Hotel Ibis Leuven Centrum Hotel New Damshire
Begijnhof Congreshotel Hotel Binnenhof Theater Hotel Leuven
Centrum Entertainment:
You can take your kids or friends to a beautiful recreational
partk known as Kessel-Lo Provincial Recreation Park. Children
can have a gala time playing, riding electric boats, driving
mini-cars etc. You can indulge in row-boating, pedal boating,
go-karts and playing to your heart's content in a spalsh pool.
For sports afficionados, there are football pitches, basketball
and volleybal courts, a tennis court, two skate ramps and a
roller skating rink. The eco-house along with a permanent water
exhibition attract a lot of visitor attention. Those who love
nature can also find peace and solace watching the greenery, the
tree orchard and the blooming flower garden in the recreation
park.
Those who prefer night entertainment, can visit some of the
zaniest bars which are found around the Oude Markt and the Grott
Mart. For people who love shopping, there is the Fochplein,
which is famous for popular shops selling everything from food
to outfits. There are also some smaller shops in the market area
which sell interesting as well as commonplace items. Be it the
park, the bars, the museums or the univeristy; the sheer
magnetism and the chemisty of Leuven is quite entertaining. The
friendly hospitality of the students of Leuven, the humor and
the camaraderie shown by them to visitors is really commendable.
About the author:
Meredith Booney is a freelance travel writer with over 20 years
of experience writing for travel journals, newspapers and
magazines. Website: <a
href="http://www.belgiumcities.info">http://www.belgiumcities.inf
o</a>
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