New website: “Charter collection of the Old University of Leuven”

The core of the Charter collection of the Old University, recognized as UNESCO documentary world heritage since 2013, consists of a series of magnificent privileges issued by popes and worldly rulers for the university, from its foundation in 1425 up to its abolition in 1797. These are joined by various other judicial and financial documents, which paint a vivid picture of daily life at the Old University.

The new website has a Timeline, that documents the charters and relates them to historical events in Brabant and Leuven. The Stories section highlights relevant charters and describes valuable information about university life and regulations. Indeed, reading these documents closely reveals interesting stories about the urban context, political background and relations between students, professors and authorities. The Stories also contain contributions on the conservation and restoration project between 2018 and 2021. These illustrate how this important documentary heritage is conserved, digitised and preserved at the University Archives of KU Leuven, in collaboration with experts of the Book Heritage Lab and the Imaging Lab. Through the Catalogue, each charter on the website can be consulted in a viewer with detailed photographic documentation and the descriptions of the charters can be consulted in LIAS.

To visit the new website, please click here.