11 Comments CherryPie on Aug 13th 2015
Leuven is the home to Belgium’s oldest botanical garden.
In 1738 the University created this botanical garden for students of Medicine. Now the garden is used for scientific research as well as being a green oasis in the centre of the city for locals and visitors alike.
You will find an amazing collection of trees and shrubs in the 2.2 hectare garden. In addition to the collection of herbs, water and tub plants the 450 msq.m. greenhouse complex showcases the diversity of tropical and subtropical plants.
I will follow up this general view of the garden with posts of specific areas of the garden.
8 Comments CherryPie on Aug 12th 2015
19 Comments CherryPie on Aug 11th 2015
16 Comments CherryPie on Aug 10th 2015
With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things.
William Wordsworth
14 Comments CherryPie on Aug 9th 2015
In 1860, the superior of the Priests of the Sacred Hearts bought the 14th-century Sint Antonius Kapel (Saint Anthony’s Chapel).
He transformed it into a place of pilgrimage in honour of Saint Joseph. As a result of the popularity of the pilgrimages here, expansion and renovation of the chapel became a necessity in the 1960’s. Still today thousands of pilgrims descend on the chapel every March to honour Saint Joseph.
But even more people from all over the world visit Saint Anthony’s Chapel for the crypt of Father Damien, whose remains have rested here since 1936. In the church, you can follow the life journey of this ‘Greatest Belgian of all time’ which is depicted here on several photo panels.*
Father Damien was a Belgian priest who devoted his life to missionary work among the lepers of Molokai in Hawaii.
In place of his brother, Father Pamphile, who had been stricken by illness, he went as a missionary to the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands in 1863. He reachedHonolulu in 1864 and was ordained a priest the same year. Moved by the miserable condition of the lepers, whom the Hawaiian government deported to Kalaupapa on Molokai Island (1873), he volunteered to take charge of the settlement. He served as pastor and physician, improved water and food supplies and housing, and founded two orphanages, receiving help from other priests for only 6 of his 16 years on Molokai. In 1884 he contracted leprosy and refused cure because it would have necessitated his leaving the lepers. His remains were transferred to Leuven in 1936.
Father Damien was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995 and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
*From Out and About in Leuven walking guide.
10 Comments CherryPie on Aug 8th 2015
As I mentioned in my Leuven travelogue I enjoyed the experience of the longest day celebrations whilst walking to and from Leuven station.
We were able to enjoy Leuven’s longest day celebrations (‘De Langste Dag 2015′) as we walked from the station to the city centre. We really enjoyed the street artist entertainment which included two strange pseudo-strippers wearing skin coloured body suits with accompanying hair; they were darting through the streets pretending to be embarrassed by their ‘nakedness’. However the stars of these shows were the fabulous dinosaur puppets strolling through the streets, feeding from the trees and bending their heads down to engage with the crowd. At one point a dinosaur head bumped against my head so I bent down to let it pass by. The dinosaur had other ideas and put its head on top of mine so that I could not move. The operator of the dinosaur head was grinning at me. At this moment Mr C’s camera decided to have a flat battery so there are no photographs of the moment.
This year was the 30th anniversary of the event and the locals are rightly proud of the event.
On Saturday, June 20th right in the center of Leuven, the 30th edition of the Longest Day instead. This event has grown into the largest city street fair of Belgium which the concept of ‘heads’ adds a new dimension. Street theater, a big auto show, stalls for shopping, a traditional market, a hairdresser village, contests with great prizes suit … You come short of eyes. It therefore promises to be pretty busy in Leuven, all in the pedestrianized center of the city.
It ‘was’ very busy in Leuven that day!
I will leave you with a sequence of the fabulous dinosaur puppets that I mentioned in my quote above…
6 Comments CherryPie on Aug 7th 2015
