A Library with Staying Power

Libraries are so much more than a collection of books. When it comes to intellectual preeminence for example, The British Library in London is iconic unto itself. Not only does the library have an enormous collection of books, it also has a rare collection of relics and maps found nowhere else on the globe. Still other libraries are symbols of architectural magnificence. The Strahov Library in Prague, Czech Republic is contained within an ancient hilltop monastery that overlooks the city and the Rhine River.

Stunning ceiling frescoes, intricate stucco work, and elaborate wooden shelves make this library one of the most aesthetically pleasing that exist today. The Library of Alexandria (Egypt) differs in that it is recognized as the epicenter of  discovery and learning in antiquity. That reputation is a result of its exceptional manuscript collection and the ability to draw researchers from around the world.  But when it comes to an example of a library with a dramatic past, few can surpass the Leuven University Library. Consider…

With roots that trace back to 1425, the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) has the double honor of being the first university in the Low Countries and the oldest existing Catholic university in the world. The University Library’s tumultuous past however began in the late 1500’s as the Dutch provinces in the north became increasingly Protestant while the southern provinces remained  primarily Catholic. 

Protestant writings ( read: Lutheran and Calvinist) writings were forbidden resulting in a book burning tirade. Despite this religious censorship, much of the rich history of the Low Countries was preserved within the University Library in the form of valuable books, manuscripts, and rarities. The impact of the French Revolution (1790’s) however forced the closure of the Library with  many of these treasures shipped off to the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris.

French Revolutionaries shut the doors to the Leuven University and its coveted Library to make way for their new centralized education system called “Ecoles Centrales.”

Catastrophe struck again in 1914 with the start of World War I. During the early days of that nightmare, the German 1st Army made its headquarters in Leuven with about 15,000 troops occupying the university town.  The troops were mostly volunteers and conscripts without military training. Accounts suggest that they took hostages from the University of Leuven and municipal administrators and the local citizenry. But on August 25th,1914, a false report circulated that some entity—either Allied troops or civilians— fired on some German soldiers.

The untrained German troops panicked and discipline evaporated. Resisting civilians were shot or  bayoneted, fires were started resulting in 1100 buildings destroyed—including the University Library. Located in the 14th Century Cloth Hall, the Library lost over 230,000 texts and significant collections of medieval manuscripts called incunabula or books printed  in the early stages of printing in Europe. Some 248 civilians were killed and many of Leuven’s population was exiled into the countryside or deported to German prison camps.

The atrocities and cultural destruction—especially to the University Library—caused worldwide outrage. The British newspaper Daily Mail called it the

“Holocaust of Leuven.”

Other press organizations proclaimed the destruction “a sin against the spirt.” Many neutral countries began to  distance themselves from Germany. Across the Atlantic, there was widespread sympathy for the martyred city of Leuven.  American universities were the first to come to action. The National Committee of the United States for the Restoration of the University of Leuven was formed and over time, raised the necessary funds to rebuild.

Under the direction of American architect Whitney Warren— the man responsible for much of Manhattan’s skyline architecture (e.g. Grand Central Station, The Biltmore Hotel, etc.)—the new design combined the exterior elements of Flemish and Dutch Renaissance architecture and the functional interior of American libraries. The first stone was laid in 1921 and the building was completed in 1928. It was deliberately “supersized” to remind the public of a golden age when figures such as Erasmus, Andres Vesalius, Gerardus Mercador and Justus Lipsius were on the Leuven University faculty.

Tragically, not even twelve years after the reconstruction, the University Library was once again reduced to rubble. When German forces entered the city in May of 1940 at the beginning of World War II (again ignoring Belgium’s neutrality) the Library was set aflame after an artillery barrage. The entire building was gutted to its core for the second time.

Only 21,000 out of the library’s 900,000 book collection survived. Hundreds of manuscripts—including some of those which miraculously survived the 1914 tragedy —were destroyed. Despite the occupation the University of Leuven stayed open and efforts to gather new books began immediately. Students went around the streets with handcars collecting books. Assistance came from other Belgian universities as well.

The universities in Ghent and Brussels contributed book collections and funding. Help also came again from abroad — especially from the U.S.A. After the war, reconstruction got under way. Henry Lacoste, a Belgian architect and archaeologist, took charge and completed the second reconstruction by 1950.

In 1968  KU Leuven Library witnessed yet another chapter to its record of tumult and disorder. Although the University is in Dutch -speaking Flanders, French was the lingua-franca of instruction in the classroom, the dominant language of the Library’s collection and the university administration. Dutch speaking students, contending that the University had become entirely monolingual, demanded an enhanced status. Student unrest,  driven by linguistic and cultural differences, reached a peak with violent clashes between  students and police.

Ultimately a compromise was reached whereby the university split resulting in a majority Dutch-speakers and all its library texts staying in Leuven and  the creation of Université Catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la- Nueve.

 Like the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes, the University Library is a living/breathing metaphor for rebirth and resilience. Today the University Library and its collection stand as the most recognizable symbol of endurance of Leuven’s learning community.  Appropriately, the Library’s reading room still carries its centuries old inscription: Sapientia aedificavit sibi Domum—Wisdom hath built herself a House.

Did You Know?

• The cause of the World War II destruction of the University Library is controversial. Some believe the retreating British deliberately set the library ablaze to later use as propaganda in blaming the Germans. Others believe it was bombed by mistake by the Allies. However, when the University Library’s destruction was investigated  at the Nuremberg Tribunal, it was determined that it was indeed destroyed by  Nazi artillery who targeted it as an anti- German monument.
• The Wallon/Flemish confrontations in 1968 caused a political crisis at the highest level. The Varlen Boeynants collation government collapsed as a result.
• Whitney Warren and Henry Lacoste were both alumni from the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

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