The university town of Louvain-la-Neuve is a product of the conflict between the Walloons and the Flemish. When this confrontation reached another zenith in 1968 the Flemish expelled their Walloon colleagues from the Catholic University of Leuven founded in 1425. The Walloons looked for a fresh place and found it 30km/19miles southeast of Brussels in the French part of Belgium and Louvain-la-Neuve, "New Leuven", was founded; it was the first newly set up town in Belgium since the foundation of Charleroi in 1666. Building went on from 1971, and between 1972 and 1979 all the French-speaking faculties moved out of Leuven with the exception of the medical faculty which was accommodated in the Brussels suburb of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. Today in this town, which was conceived for 35,000 people, about 4,500 permanent residents and 18,000 students live. It can be seen that the aim of a homogeneous structure of residence has not been achieved and as a consequence at weekends and in the university holidays it can be very quiet in the town.
A little further to the west of Rixensart lies La Hulpe where the Belgian paper industry had its beginnings. Today it is an elegant residential quarter of Brussels with eight little châteaux. A walk in the Domaine Solvay, named after the industrial family, who in the 19th C. owned the château in the middle of the park, is well worth while. Today the château is a cultural center.
A little outside Rixensart lies the Lac de Genval which is a favorite rendezvous at weekends for the people of nearby Brussels; it has excellent facilities for angling and a considerable number of good restaurants.
In the township of Rixensart, 8km/5miles northwest, the pretty red brick Château de Mérode was built between 1631 and 1632. It is square with four corner towers and many windows and is open to the public. It is impressive because of its tasteful furnishings which include Gobelin tapestries, Louis XV pieces, pictures (including some by Nattier and Tischbein) as well as a collection of weapons which the French mathematician Monge brought back from Napoleon's Egyptian campaign.
Wavre, 6km/4miles to the north of Louvain-la-Neuve, has three attractions: the museum of living water plants in the suburb of Limal, the Walibi Adventure Park and the Aqualibi aqua park.
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La Hulpe, Belgium
Lac de Genval, Louvain-la-Neuve
Rixensart - Château de Mérode, Louvain-la-Neuve
