The Town Hall (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ) of

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, is a landmark building on that city's ''Grote Markt'' (Main Market) square, across from the monumental St. Peter's Church. Built in a Brabantine Late Gothic style between 1448 and 1469, it is famous for its ornate architecture, crafted in lace-like detail.

The building

The Town Hall has three main stories, lined with pointed Gothic windows on the three sides visible from the Markt. Above is a gallery

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

, behind which rises a steep roof studded with four tiers of

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable space ...

s. At the angles of the roof are octagonal

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

s pierced with slits allowing for the passage of light. Statues in canopied

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

s are distributed all over the building. The

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

s supporting the statues are carved with

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

scenes in high relief. While the niches and corbels are original with the building, the 236 statues themselves are relatively recent, dating from after 1850. Those of the first floor represent personages of importance in the local history of the city; those of the second,

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

s and symbolic figures; those of the third, the Counts of Leuven and

Dukes of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

from various ages. The main façade has an entrance staircase, and two portals in the center, above which are figures of

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

(left) and

Madonna and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...

(right), the former in compliment to the patron of the church opposite. The interior accommodates an interesting collection of artwork, including sculptures by

Constantin Meunier Constantin Meunier (12 April 1831 – 4 April 1905) was a Belgian painter and sculptor. He made an important contribution to the development of modern art by elevating the image of the industrial worker, docker and miner to an icon of mode ...

and

Jef Lambeaux Jef Lambeaux or Josef Lambeaux (14 January 18525 June 1908) was a Belgian sculptor. His best known work is ''Temple of Human Passions'', a colossal marble bas-relief. Early life and education Lambeaux was born in Antwerp, Belgium, on 14 January ...

. Inside can also be seen the portraits of the Leuven mayors since 1794.

History

The building today known as the Town Hall was the ''Voirste Huys'' (front house) of a larger complex of municipal buildings on which construction started in 1439 at the site of an existing Town Hall. The first architect, Sulpitius Van Vorst, died soon after the back wings of the complex got started and was succeeded briefly by Jan Keldermans II, whose death in 1445 ended the first construction campaign. The project resumed in 1448 under the direction of

Matheus de Layens Matheus de Layens (d. Leuven, 3 December 1483) was a Brabantine architect from the 15th century. He was employed in Leuven from 1433, first under the architect Sulpitius van Vorst (d. 1439), and afterwards under Jan Keldermans II, whom he succe ...

. The first stone of the ''Voirste Huys'' was laid on 28 March of that year. The cellars of some demolished houses were incorporated into the new construction and can today be accessed through a small door at the left side of the Town Hall. The initial plans, influenced by Brussels' Town Hall, included a belfry tower at one of the corners. This design was modified by de Layens, resulting in the symmetrical arrangement of turrets observed today. The exterior masonry and roof were finished in 1460, and in 1469 the building was complete. In the 19th century, the Town Hall underwent renovations made necessary by centuries' worth of decay. The building remained standing amid the devastation of Leuven during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, escaping with only minor damage. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, a bomb strike in front of the building caused yet more damage; it took until 1983 before repairs were completed.

References

Footnotes

Sources

*Grant Allen, ''Cities of Belgium'' (London, 1897)
550 jaar Stadhuis Leuven
{{coord, 50.8789, N, 4.7012, E, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1469 City and town halls in Belgium Buildings and structures in Leuven Gothic architecture in Belgium Tourist attractions in Flemish Brabant 1469 establishments in Europe