LOUVAIN (Flem. Leuven), a town of Belgium in the province of Brabant, of which it was the capital in the i4th cen tury before the rise of Brussels. Pop. (193o) 38,752. Local tra dition attributes the establishment of a camp here to Julius Caesar, but Louvain only became important in the 11th century as a residence for the dukes of Brabant. In 1356 Louvain was the scene of the famous Joyeuse Entrée of Wenceslas, the principal charter of Brabant. At that time it had a population of at least 50,000 and was the centre of the wool trade in central Belgium. The gild of weavers numbered 2,400 members. The old walls of Louvain, 44 m. in circumference, have been replaced by boule vards, but within them is much cultivated ground. Soon after the Joyeuse Entrée a feud began between citizens and patricians, and eventually the duke threw in his lot with the latter. After a struggle of over twenty years' duration the White Hoods, as the citizens called themselves, were crushed. In 1379 they massacred seventeen nobles in the town hall, but this brought the vengeance of the duke, to whom in 1383 they made the most abject sur render. Many weavers fled to Holland and England, the duke took up residence in the strong castle of Vilvorde, and Brus sels prospered at the expense of Louvain. What it lost in trade it partially recovered as a seat of learning, for in 1426, Duke John IV. of Brabant founded there a university and ever since Louvain University has enjoyed the first place in Belgium. It has always
prided itself most on its theological teaching. In 1679 the univer sity was established in the old Cloth Workers' Hall, a building dating from 1317, with long arcades and graceful pillars support ing the upper storeys. In the 16th century there were 6,000 students, and four residential colleges are attached to the uni versity. The Halles Universitaires and the University Library were burnt in the German invasion of 1914. A new library has been built (1921-28) by gifts from citizens of the United States, and books and fittings have come from many nations. The library now has more than 600,000 volumes and there are 3,500 students. The John Rylands Library, Manchester, gave nearly 50,000 books.
The Hotel de Vile is one of the richest examples of pointed Gothic. Mathieu de Layens, master mason, built it (1448 to in three storeys each with ten pointed windows facing the square. Above is a graceful balustrade behind which is a lofty roof, and at the angles are towers perforated for the passage of the light.
The church of St. Pierre damaged in 1914, is being restored. It has seven chapels, in two of which are fine pictures by Dierich Bouts formerly attributed to Memling. Much of the iron and brass work is by Jean Matseys. There are other in teresting churches in Louvain, viz., Ste. Gertrude, St. Quentin, St. Michael and St. Jacques, the last with a fine De Crayer (St. Hubert).