Louvain-la-Neuve

Louvain-la-Neuve (, French for New Leuven; ) is a planned town in the municipality of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Wallonia, Belgium, situated 30 km southeast of Brussels, in the province of Walloon Brabant. The town was built to house the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) which owns the entire territory of the town; following the linguistic quarrels that took place in Belgium during the 1960s, and Flemish claims of discrimination at the Catholic University of Leuven, the institution was split into the Dutch language Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), which remained in Leuven, and the Université catholique de Louvain. To a great extent, it still lives following the rhythms of the university that is its raison d'être. However, with the construction of L'Esplanade shopping complex, the Aula Magna exhibition centre and auditorium, a large cinema complex, and five museums, it is beginning to grow beyond its academic roots. History Language crisis Louvain-la-Neuve was born as a result of the Leuven Crisis, which led to the split of the Catholic University of Leuven. Following the elections prompted by this affair, the expansion of the French-speaking part of the Catholic University of Leuven was voted upon and approved on 18 June 1968. A few weeks later, the separation was made official. It resulted in the creation of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), the Dutch-speaking university, that would stay in Leuven, and the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), which had to move to the future site of Louvain-la-Neuve, except for the French-speaking medical faculty, which moved to Woluwe-Saint-Lambert (often called "Louvain-en-Woluwe"), in the suburbs of Brussels. The first blueprints of Louvain-la-Neuve were made in a hurry and under dramatic times.