Living in Leuven

We want to share a little bit with you about the town we're living in. 

the Leuven 'De Lijn' bus station

Leuven is the capital of Flemish Brabant, one of the five provinces that make up Flanders. It's situated about 25 kilometers east of Brussels, or a short 20 -minute train ride away. 

a youth symphony plays downtown in front of St. Peter's Church

When people talk about Leuven, they often mean the entire township, which is made up of the Leuven city center and its surrounding communities: Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, part of Korbeek-Lo, Wilsele, and Wijgmaal. The whole township has a population of close to 100,000 people, with most of them living in the city center, Kessel-Lo, and Heverlee (where we live!). The Leuven city center is defined by a road that goes around it, commonly referred to as "the ring," so people often refer to a location being "in the ring" if it's in Leuven proper.

a typical street in the Leuven city center

People here love to bike everywhere. It's not quite like the Netherlands, but still there is quite a biking culture and the city is designed to accommodate it.

a city street (and some construction!) in Leuven

In the above photo, you can see the road, the red-paved bike path, and the sidewalk. Much of the city has these red bike paths and you have to treat them like a street -- look both ways before crossing or you might collide with a bike!

a bike with a baby seat -- a common sight

a fancy bike with a little carriage for small kids

Leuven is famous for a couple things. It is home to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, or KU Leuven. It's the world's oldest Catholic university that's still in existence and it's also the largest and oldest university in Belgium. It was founded in 1425! On a different note, Leuven is also home to Anheuser-Busch InBev, which is the world's largest brewery. It takes more than just the local student population to keep it in business. :) 

the student bar street -- that's the psychology students' bar in the background

University buildings are scattered throughout the center, and there also is a large area of campus known as Campus Arenberg in Heverlee. This area takes its name from the Kasteel van Arenberg (Castle Arenberg, in English) which is found on campus. This lovely building and surrounding garden are less than ten minutes walking from our current apartment. 

Kasteel van Aarenberg