The New Student's Reference Work/Louvain

Louvain (lo͞o′văn′), a city of Belgium, 19 miles east of Brussels. It was a rich and extensive city of 200,000 citizens in the 14th century, as the capital of Brabant and the seat of the manufacture of fine cloth. Heavy punishment for a revolt drove large numbers of its citizens to England in 1382. The great university, with 20 colleges, a library of 250,000 volumes, botanic garden and museums, was founded in 1426 and at one time had 6,000 students. It still is the principal Roman Catholic institution in Belgium, with about 1,400 students. The industries are bell-founding, brewing and the manufacture of leather, paper, lace and starch. Population 42,100.