Townhall Leuven - Leuven - Brabant - Belgium.
Posted by: 
lopac44
N 50° 52.743 E 004° 42.070
31U E 619676 N 5637753
Gotic townhall of Leuven in Brabant
Waymark Code: WMGK13
Location: Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium
Date Posted: 03/14/2013
Views: 25
English
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The Town Hall 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 Town Hall has three main stories, lined with pointed Gothic windows on the three sides visible from the Markt. Above is a gallery parapet, behind which rises a steep roof studded with four tiers of dormers. At the angles of the roof are octagonal turrets pierced with slits allowing for the passage of light.
Statues in canopied niches are distributed all over the building. The corbels supporting the statues are carved with Biblical scenes in high relief. While the niches and corbels are original with the building, the 236 statues themselves are relatively recent, dating from after 1850. Those of the first floor represent personages of importance in the local history of the city; those of the second, patron saints and symbolic figures; those of the third, the Counts of Leuven and Dukes of Brabant from various ages.
The main façade has an entrance staircase, and two portals in the center, above which are figures of Saint Peter (left) and Madonna and Child (right), the former in compliment to the patron of the church opposite.
The interior accommodates an interesting collection of artwork, including sculptures by Constantin Meunier and Jef Lambeaux. Inside can also be seen the portraits of the Leuven mayors since 1794.
Nederlands
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Het stadhuis van Leuven is een van de bekendste gotische stadhuizen ter wereld en staat op de Grote Markt van Leuven.
De plannen voor het stadhuis van Leuven zijn gebaseerd en geïnspireerd op het Stadhuis van Brugge. Het Brugse stadhuis is één van de oudste in België en stond, naast dat van Leuven, model voor onder meer het stadhuis van Oudenaarde, Brussel en Gent.
Het stadhuis telt drie verdiepingen. Tussen de vensters zijn telkens twee nissen, die lichtjes uitspringen. Drie van de vier hoektorens hebben ook nissen. De kraagstenen zijn gebeeldhouwde voorstellingen uit de bijbel. Het steeds terugkerende onderwerp is schuld en boete. Ze hadden een belerende en vermanende functie. Tijdens de eerste restauratie in de negentiende eeuw werd het merendeel ervan vervangen; op de zolder van het stadhuis berusten evenwel de oorspronkelijke kraagstenen.
Date Built: 1448
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Visit Instructions:Logging requirements: Please upload your own personal photo of the building. You or your GPS can be in the picture, but it’s not a main requirement.
This category is focused only to original Gothic architecture, not to pseudo-Gothic, neo-Gothic or Gothic Revival. You can not find this kind of architecture outside of "Old World", moreover this architecture appeared in ca XIIth century (early Gothic) and the last buildings are from cca XVIth (late Gothic) century...