Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the historical city of Leuven and the adjacent villages of Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, a part of Korbeek-Lo, Wilsele and Wijgmaal.

Attractions

• The Town Hall, built by Sulpicius van Vorst, Jan II Keldermans and after both of them died, Matheus de Layens between 1439 and 1463 in a Brabantian late-Gothic style. The reception hall dates from 1750.
• The Church of Saint Peter (1425–1500) was finished by Jan Keldermans and Matheus de Layens. During the Second World War the church was damaged; during the restoration a Romanesque crypt from the 11th Century was found. In the Church itself there are several paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries (amongst others Dirk Bouts famous painting of the last supper and the grave of Duke Henry I of Brabant. The 50 meter high tower—which was meant to be 169 meters but was never completed—is home to a carillon. The tower was included in UNESCO's list of "Belfries of Belgium and France" in 1999.
• Saint-Anthony's Chapel, Pater Damiaanplein, from the 17th to the 20th centuries, contains the tomb of Father Damien, the "leper priest" of Molokai, beatified by Pope John Paul II. The Catholic priest's remains were returned in Belgium with great fanfare in 1936 after having been originally buried on the Hawaiian Island of Maui where he had served the outcast lepers and died.
• The Linen-hall in an early-Gothic style, with baroque addition, is today the University Hall.
• The Church of Saint Michael was built in the typical Jesuit Baroque Style.
• The Church of Saint Quinten incorporates remains of a Romanesque Church built in the 13th Century.

• The University Library was built by the American architect Whitney Warren. The tower houses one of the largest carillons in the world.
• There is a ducal castle dating from the 12th century on the Keizersberg ("Emperor's Mountain") which was demolished in the 17th Century. Today there is a neo-romanesque Abbey where the castle once stood.
• The Large Beguinage is one of the world's best remaining examples. It was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1998.
• There are several other smaller churches and chapels around town.
• "Fonske" is a statue near the centre of town. Its full name is Fons Sapientiae, Latin for "fountain of wisdom." The statue represents a university student who, while reading a book, lets wisdom flow into his head as liquid from a glass. Just like Manneken Pis in Brussels, Fonske is from time to time dressed in costumes appropriate for the occasion.