As everyone knows, towns in the past were different. Leuven, which is located in Belgium, 20 km east of Brussels, is the capital of the so-called province of Flemish Brabant.
In the Middle Ages, it was protected by a huge wall, which was built during the 12th century. Its circumference was about 3/4 miles, and there were 11 town gates and 31 towers which had to keep off enemy. The construction structure is made of sand-lime stone and ironstone.
A few centuries later, the area was found out to be too cramped, so that another similar wall was built on the site where the Leuven ring road is located at present. The remains are just a few, but you can still see them nowadays.
Although the first wall had become unnecessary and had been used as a quarry by the inhabitants, we still have some imposing evidence of it, such as in the Municipal Park, located in the Tiensestraat and in the Handbogenhof, situated in the Archers’ Range.
Even if at the beginning the town became popular for various sites, such as churches, and monuments, after a while it started to be seen as a dual pole for 2 specific groups of people: religious ones and students.
That is why the first university was founded during that time, having a great blossom during the 12th and 13th centuries. They got a very strong international reputation thanks to the various efforts.
One of the most attractions, in fact, is the Great Beguinage, built around 1200, which nowadays became a student residential area, in order to keep all the buildings the town has to offer, instead of making new ones more modern and without any past history.
That’s why Leuven is very loved by tourists who visit it, and recommend this place to anyone.