Leuven

The siege of Leuven (24 June – 4 July 1635) was an important siege in the Thirty Years' War in which a Franco-Dutch army under Frederick Henry of Orange and the French Marshals Urbain de Maillé-Brezé and Gaspard III de Coligny, who had invaded the Spanish Netherlands from two sides, laid siege to the city of Leuven, defended by a force of 4,000 comprising local citizen and student militias with Walloons, Germans, Spanish and Irish of the Army of Flanders under Anthonie Schetz, Baron of Grobbendonck. Poor organization and logistics and the spread of sickness among the French, along with the appearance of an Imperial-Spanish relief army of 11,000 under Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand and Ottavio Piccolomini, forced the invading army to lift the siege. This failure allowed the Spanish forces to take the initiative and soon the invaders were forced into a headlong retreat.

The Battle of Leuven, also called the Battle of the River Dyle, was fought in September 891 between East Francia and the Vikings. The existence of this battle is known due to several different chronicles, including the Annales Fuldenses and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The Annales Fuldenses are royal chronicles of the East Frankish kingdom covering the years 714-901 AD. The Battle of the Dyle occurred near the present-day location of the city of Leuven in Belgium. In the 880s the Vikings established a camp there that they used as a base of operations from which to launch raids into the fractured Frankish kingdom. Efforts to verify the report of the battle from the Annales Fuldenses, specifically the huge loss of life on the Viking side, have been hindered by the lack of archaeological excavations in Belgium.

St Gertrude's Abbey is a complex of former monastic buildings in Leuven, Belgium. An Augustinian priory founded in 1206 was suppressed in 1797. After restoration, the monastic buildings were used between 1917 and 1968 by Benedictine nuns as a house of studies and student residence.

The Collegium Trilingue, often also called Collegium trium linguarum, or, after its creator Collegium Buslidianum (French: Collège des Trois Langues, Dutch: Dry Tonghen), was founded in 1517 under the patronage of the humanist, Hieronymus van Busleyden. The three languages taught were Latin, Greek and Hebrew. It is located in Leuven, Belgium.

The Head of Christ from the Crooked or Brown Cross is a sculpted head of Christ, the only remaining part of one of the most worshipped crucifixes in Leuven, Belgium. It played an important role in the city's history. The head is found in St. Peter's Church in Leuven.

Saint Peter's Church (Dutch: Sint-Pieterskerk) in Leuven, Belgium, is a Roman Catholic church built in the 15th century in the Brabantine Gothic style. The church has a cruciform floor plan and a low bell tower that has never been completed. It is 93 metres (305 ft) long. It is located on the city's 'Grote Markt' (Grand Square), opposite the Town Hall. In 1999, the belfry and bell tower of the church was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Belfries of Belgium and France site, in recognition of the civil importance and architecture of the belfries in the region.

The Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus is a triptych panel painting by the Flemish painter Dieric Bouts in the collegiate church of Saint Peter's in Leuven, Belgium. It commemorates the martyrdom and death of a European Christian figure from the fourth century, Saint Erasmus. It shows the Emperor Diocletian as one of four observers in the background of the center panel, as well as Saints Jerome and Bernard of Clairvaux in the wings of the altarpiece. All nine figures appear to express an exceptional tranquility and calm, in a landscape setting that is contiguous across the three panels. The altarpiece was probably made prior to 1464, shortly before the artist would have begun his Last Supper altarpiece for a neighboring chapel in the church. The altarpiece has remained in place almost continuously since its installation in the chapel, and is overseen by the nearby M – Museum Leuven.

The Grote Markt listen (Dutch for "Grand Square") of Leuven, Belgium is situated between the Oude Markt (Old Square) and the Rector De Somerplein (De Somer Square, named for Pieter De Somer, the first rector of the autonomous Dutch-speaking Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven in 1968) and near both the Bondgenotenlaan (Avenue of the Allied Forces) and the Muntstraat (Mint Street). Its location on the crossing of some of Leuven's most famous and most touristic spots makes the Grote Markt one of the city's busiest squares. However, it has been pedestrian-friendly for some years; only public transportation buses from De Lijn are allowed to use the square.

Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family.

The Town Hall (Dutch: Stadhuis ) of Leuven, Belgium, is a landmark building on that city's Grote Markt (Main Market) square, across from the monumental St. Peter's Church. Built in a Brabantine Late Gothic style between 1448 and 1469, it is famous for its ornate architecture, crafted in lace-like detail.

The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ-Aarschot made the Arenbergs the wealthiest and most influential noble family of the Habsburg Netherlands. The family's Duchy of Arenberg was mediatized in 1810. As such, the Arenbergs belong to the small group of families that constitute the Hochadel (German for 'high nobility'). The current head of the house bears the title of Duke of Arenberg, while all other members are princes or princesses. They all enjoy the style of Serene Highness.

The Oude Markt (Dutch for "Old Market") is a rectangular square in the centre of Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, that largely consists of catering establishments. This is why it is nicknamed the "longest bar in the world".