Editing Leuven (section)

===Early modern period===
In the 15th century, a new golden era began with the founding of the largest and oldest university in the [[Low Countries]], the [[Old University of Leuven|University of Leuven]], in 1425.<ref name="Inc2009">{{cite book|author=Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc|title=Fodor's Belgium|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b9Skyy86HOQC|date=January 2009|publisher=Fodor's Travel Publications|isbn=978-1-4000-0881-0|page=27|access-date=23 October 2015|archive-date=4 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004153524/https://books.google.com/books?id=b9Skyy86HOQC|url-status=live}}</ref> Prestigious buildings like the [[Leuven Town Hall|Town Hall]] and the [[St. Peter's Church, Leuven|Saint Peter's Church]] (itself designated a [[UNESCO]] [[Belfries of Belgium and France|World Heritage Site]] in 1999) were constructed. The art of painting flourished with painters such as [[Dirk Bouts]], [[Albrecht Bouts]] and [[Jan Rombouts the Elder]]. The painter [[Quinten Metsys]] was born and trained in Leuven.

By the turn of the 16th century, Leuven had become a major European center for art and knowledge with humanists like [[Erasmus]] and [[Hieronymus van Busleyden]] working there. In 1517 the latter founded the [[Collegium Trilingue]] in which the three ancient languages: [[Latin]], [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] were taught. It promoted the critical study of classical literature and the Bible. [[Thomas More]] published his [[Utopia (More book)|''Utopia'']] at [[Dirk Martens]] printing house in Leuven in 1516. [[Gemma Frisius]] laid the foundation for modern triangulation methods and cartography. He further made important contributions to mathematics, geography and astronomy. [[Gerardus Mercator]] and [[John Dee]] were among his students. Leuven became a leading centre for the fabrication of precision astronomical instruments, such as the planetaria and the terrestrial and celestial globes built by [[Gaspard van der Heyden]] and [[Gualterus Arsenius]]. [[Andreas Vesalius]] completed his medicine studies in Leuven, before moving to Padova and Basel. Religious persecutions of Protestants, followed by greater religious and political turmoil starting in the late 1560s, greatly affected intellectual life in Leuven. Many professors and alumni from Leuven moved abroad. The newly founded [[University of Leiden]] in Holland, amongst others, would profit greatly from this brain drain. Despite this the university continued to excel in disciplines like theology with [[Johannes Molanus]] and classical studies with [[Justus Lipsius]].