Leuven Town Hall
The Leuven Town Hall was built in 1439-1468 under the direction of Sulpitius van Vorst and Matheus de Layens in Leuven, Belgium. It is considered one of the most beautiful buildings of the late Gothic period in Europe and is one of the most famous city halls in the world. The Town Hall stands at the Great Market ( Grote Markt ) directly across from the St. Peter's Church. The model was originally been the Brussels City Hall, as evidenced by sources from the 15th century; but the construction should not exceed the model of figure wealth. The architectural style means are largely the church buildings of the late Gothic period.
The Louvain Town Hall has - unlike many city halls of the time - no high central tower, but has at the four corners of the two gable sides a slender, towering tower. In addition, the pediment itself are surmounted by a spire similar, so that the overall construction of six towers will be crowned. The facades are varied divided: vertically by ten window bays at the eaves and three window bays on the gable ends, horizontally through three floors. The niches for the numerous figures already come from the original construction; their consoles show biblical scenes, which should largely address the issue of guilt and punishment and urge the viewer to repentance. The 236 statues in the niches themselves have been used until after 1850 and show a typical for the historicism of the 19th century image program, a kind of " Louvain Pantheon ": The statues in the bottom row represent artists, scholars and other famous personalities of the Leuven city's history, the statues of the second row of the cartridge Louvain parishes and individuals campaigning for the municipal liberties; in the third row, the counts of the county lions and the dukes of Brabant are seen. The towers are biblical figures.
Inside the town hall today's Hall was originally almost a covered continuation of the Great Market, intended as a meeting place for the inhabitants. Today it serves as a space for receptions and ceremonies, with sculptures, among others, by Constantin Meunier. The carvings of the support beams of Willem Ards depict scenes from the Old Testament. Behind the entrance hall are three established in the 19th century salons with paintings by Otto Venius and Gaspar de Crayer. Upstairs is the large Gothic hall; its beamed ceiling with also carved by Willem Ards scenes from the New Testament dating from the 15th century. In the 19th century neo-Gothic room was remodeled and fitted by André Hennebicq with historical scenes from the city's history. Today he serves as the meeting place of the City Council of lions and the County Council of Flemish Brabant. Behind the little Gothic Hall is with its wooden Gothic vaulted ceiling.
The historic rooms of the Town Hall can be visited every day in a guide once.