| Catholic University Of Leuven |
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HISTORY In the 15th century the city of Leuven requested for a university and signed by Pope Martin V on 9 December 1425 the Leuven University was founded as a ''Studium Generale''. As such it is the oldest Catholic university in the world still in existence today. In its early days this university was modeled after the universities of Paris , Cologne and Vienna . The university flourished in the 16th century due to the presence of famous scientists and professors, such as Adriaan Florenszoon Boeyens ( Pope Adrian VI ), Desiderius Erasmus , Joan Lluís Vives , Andreas Vesalius and Gerardus Mercator . In , and the Belgian bishops founded a new Roman Catholic university in 1834 , at Mechelen , but already in 1835 , the catholic university returned to Leuven, where the ''Rijksuniversiteit'' had been closed. The next milestone came in (K.U.Leuven), remained in Leuven ( Flanders , north part of Belgium), and Pieter De Somer became the first rector of the new university. The French-speaking Université Catholique De Louvain (UCL), moved to Louvain-la-Neuve at Ottignies ( Wallonia , south part of Belgium). Now there is about a thirty minute drive between the two universities. Library 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. NOTABLE ALUMNI
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