| Katholieke Universiteit Leuven |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN | |
| flemish brabant | |
| leuven | |
| roman catholic universities and colleges in belgium | |
| pontifical universities | |
| 1425 establishments | |
| educational institutions established in the 15th century | |
| coimbra group | |
| catholic university of leuven | |
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (''Catholic University of Leuven'' in English - also the translated name of its French-speaking sister University ) or '''K.U. Leuven''' is a Flemish University , located in the town of Leuven in Flanders , the Dutch -speaking (northern) region of Belgium . It was founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V as the first university in the Low Countries and is nowadays the oldest Catholic university in the world still in existence. In its early days this university was modeled after the universities of Paris , Cologne and Vienna . In 2006 , more than 30,000 students were attending classes at the 14 Faculties of the University of Leuven. The K.U. Leuven is a member of the Coimbra Group as well as of the LERU Group . Since August 2005 , the university is led by Marc Vervenne who replaced former Rector André Oosterlinck . The Belgian Archbishop , Cardinal Godfried Danneels is ''Grand Chancellor'' and member of the Board . The K.U. Leuven is dedicated to Saint Mary , the mother of God , and organises an annual celebration on February 2nd in her honor. On that day, the university also awards its Honorary Doctorates . In Polarized Flanders, the K.U.Leuven is considered catholic, while the University Of Ghent ("UGent") is Atheist , the University Of Antwerp ("UA") Pluralist and the Free University Of Brussels ("VUB") Freemasonic . However, nowadays these polarized classifications are less relevant than they once were: students and staff tend to choose a university rather for pragmatic reasons - like the quality of education, the distance to the campus or even the offered opportunities - than purely for religious or philosophical reasons. It is nevertheless still unthinkable that priest-professors would teach at the VUB or the UGent or that lodge-professors would teach at the KUL. The main , the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Afdeling Kortrijk ( KULAK ). The first library was located in the university halls, and was enlarged in 1725 in Baroque style. In 1914 , during World War I , Leuven was plundered by German troops, and a large part of the city was put to fire, effectively destroying about half of the city. The library was lost, as well as about 300,000 books, and a huge collection of manuscripts collected since the university's founding in 1425. The new main library was built between 1921 and 1928 and designed by the American Architect Whitney Warren in Low Countries Neorenaissance style. Its monumentality is a reflection of the victory against Prussia n Germany . It is one of the largest university buildings in the city. However, in 1940 , ironically, during the German armed forces invasion of Leuven, the building largely burnt down, including its (at that time) 900,000 manuscripts and books. After the reconstruction and the split of the university in 1968, nowadays the library owns about one million works. , part of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.]] K.U.Leuven is a strongly research oriented university (notwithstanding it has more than 30,000 students), and its ambition is to be among the top Europe an universities in terms of scientific output. For instance, Rijndael , the Cipher chosen as the Advanced Encryption Standard , was developed at K.U.Leuven. The university is a member of the Coimbra Group and the LERU . ALUMNI
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