Timeline Catholic University of Leuven (1835–1968)

1 timeline

1.1 old university (1425–1797)
1.2 state university (1816–1835)
1.3 catholic university (1834–1968)
1.4 split (1962–1970)

timeline
the old university (1425–1797)

in 15th century city of leuven, support of john iv, duke of brabant, made formal request holy see university. pope martin v issued papal bull dated 9 december 1425 founding university in leuven studium generale. in years, university modelled on of paris, cologne , vienna. university flourished in 16th century due presence of famous scholars , professors, such adriaan florenszoon boeyens (pope adrian vi), desiderius erasmus, johannes molanus, joan lluís vives, andreas vesalius, ferdinand verbiest , gerardus mercator.

the state university (1816–1835)

after french revolutionary wars, treaty of campo formio, region ceded french republic austria in exchange republic of venice. once formally integrated french republic, law 1793 mandated universities in france closed came effect. university of leuven abolished decree of département of dijle on october 25, 1797.

the region next became part of united kingdom of netherlands (1815–1830), , william of netherlands founded new university in 1816 in leuven state university (dutch: rijksuniversiteit).

the catholic university (1834–1968)

in 1830, belgium formed new nation out of southern provinces of netherlands. belgian bishops founded new roman catholic university in 1834, @ mechelen. in 1835 founded catholic university of mechlin moved leuven, , changed name catholic university of leuven, state university had been closed. nowadays seen refounding of old university of leuven, although belgian court of cassation has ruled 2 entities legally distinct, , @ time, liberals protested attempts of new catholic university usurp heritage , identity of historical university of leuven.

in 1914, during world war i, leuven looted german troops. set fire large part of city, destroying half of it. library lost, 300,000 books, 1000 incunabula; , huge collection of manuscripts, such easter island tablet bearing rongorongo text e or oldest czech bible in stages of war, allied propaganda capitalized on german destruction reflection on german kultur.

the split (1962–1970)

from beginning in 1834, catholic university of louvain provided lectures in french. latin used in theology faculty, french-language institution. lectures in dutch, other official language of belgium , language spoken in leuven, began provided in 1930.

in 1962, in line constitutional reforms governing official language use, french , dutch sections of university became autonomous within common governing structure. flemish nationalists continued demand division of university, , dutch speakers expressed resentment @ privileges given french-speaking academic staff , perceived disdain local french-speaking community dutch-speaking neighbours. @ time, brussels , leuven both part of officially bilingual , defunct province of brabant; unlike brussels, leuven had retained dutch-speaking character. tensions rose when french-speaking social geographer suggested in televised lecture city of leuven should incorporated enlarged bilingual greater-brussels region. mainstream flemish politicians , students began demonstrating under slogan leuven vlaams - walen buiten ( leuven [is] flemish - walloons out ). student demonstrations escalated violence throughout mid-60s. student unrest fueled history of discrimination against flemings brought down belgian government in february 1968.

the dispute resolved in june 1968 turning dutch-language section of university independent katholieke universiteit leuven, remained in leuven. french-speaking university, called université catholique de louvain, moved greenfield campus called louvain-la-neuve ( new leuven ), farther south in french-speaking part of province of brabant. acrimony split long-lasting. nowadays, however, research collaborations , student exchanges between 2 sister universities take place increasing frequency.