The Oskaloosa herald., 1914-09-03
THE CITY OF LOUVAIN
Its Destruction Means A Great Loss
To History.

One of the Quaintest and most pic
turesque memorials OF the days Of
feudalism has been lost to modern
civilization through the burning Of
Louvain by the Germans. The little
town of 42,2O0 population. which mes,
tied within a circle of hills in the
valley Of the Dyle, was a veritable
storehouse of art treasures and ram,
parts, but which breathed the air OF
antiquities which can never be re-
placed.
! There was hardly "a building within
the city, which did not figure in
some romance of the middle ages
or marked a stepping stone in its stir
| ring history. Once before war rob
bed il of its commercial prestige, only
| to permit it to rise phOeniX-like as the
center of learning during the six
teenth century. At the opening of the
present war it still boosted OF the
largest university in Belgium, in
which thousands of antique volumes
and prints were stored. Its museums
and its churches housed scores Of
painting OF the old Flemish masters
LOuvain has passed through success
sive periods of culture and barbarity
ever since Julius Caesar established a
permanent camp there during his
campaigns against the Belgians and
the Germans.
In the eleventh century it became
! the residence of the long line Of
dukes of Brabant and was the CAPT
tai until Brussels wTested this dis
tinction from it during an uprising Of
weavers against their feudal masters.
| In the fourteenth century ii had
gained a population of between l00,-
600 and 100000, and there were no
| less than 2,400 wooden manufactures
The weavers were a turbulent lot,
however and when they rose against
the Duke Wencelaus he conquered
them and forced thousands OF then
TO fee to Holland and England. 1t
was then that Brussels became the
capital and Louvain lost its prestige
as a center of the clOthmaking in
dustry.
Scholars began to pour into the
town, however, to CLEAN what learn.
ing they could from the old parca-
ments and books which it's castles
contained In 1923 Duke John ". Of
Brabant founded Louvain university.
Students flocked there from all over
the world In the sixteenth century
it had 1000 students and forty-three
colleges. Until the German invasion
many of these old buildings were
still standing.
1t was given up by the government
in 1884, and since that time has been
conducted by the Catholics. Last
year il had an enrolment of upward
of 1000 students. The building in
which it is now conducted was re,
modelled from an old warehouse OF
tie Cloth Makers build in 1877. Up
per stories were added in 1880. The
arcnes and pillars on the ground floor
the entrance from the. Rue DIES Cor
des. still bore a wealth of carvings
sculptures and bas.reliefs OF the old
masters.
The library occupied large room
with fine wood panels, carved in intri
cate designs. 1t held 10000 vol
tunes and thousands of manuscripts
valuable beyond price. In the center
of the room stood a colossal grouI
representing scene from the food
sculptured by Geerts in 1889. AROUND
the room and through the main en-
trance corridor hung portraits of the
professors since the founding of the
institutions and hpsts of learned
scholars who had studied there.