University Library

The University Library, a monumental library in Leuven, located on the Mgr. Ladeuzeplein, was designed by Whitney Warren. The neo-Renaissance building was constructed between 1921 and 1928. The building was a gift from the American people to the city of Leuven and to KU Leuven.

he attack of 1914 caused great indignation at home and abroad and thanks to numerous, mainly American, fund-raising campaigns, with the personal commitment of Herbert Hoover, chairman of the Commission for Relief of Belgium, the construction of a new library building on what is now the Ladeuze Square and the reconstitution of a book collection could be started in 1921.

The tower of the building, inspired by the Giralda of Seville, is 87 metres high. It contains one of the largest carillons in Europe, offered in 1928 by American engineers in memory of their colleagues who died in the First World War. The carillon had 48 bells, according to the number of American states. The seven-ton bass bell, which also strikes the hour, bears the name Liberty Bell of Louvain and the fourth bell contains an inscription calling for peace.

On 16 May 1940, during the Battle of Louvain, the University Library was severely damaged by a British-German artillery duel, during which almost the entire book collection (900,000 items) went up in flames. Afterwards, Germany and the United Kingdom accused each other of committing these acts. After the Second World War, work was done again to reconstitute the book and magazine collections. The building itself was almost completely restored according to the original plans. In 1987, it was protected as a monument by Royal Decree. From 1999 to 2003, a thorough restoration of the facades and roofs took place.

From 1970 onwards, the collection of the university library was divided as a result of the separation of the university. In the vast majority of cases, this was done by mutual agreement. In a small number of cases, no agreement was reached and it was decided to keep the book series with odd numbers in Leuven and to transfer those with even numbers to Louvain-la-Neuve. The current collection in Leuven counts about four million volumes.