KU Leuven library
Whitney Warren, 1928
The main reading room of the KU Leuven University Library, which has been rebuilt by the Allies (under the impulsion of H. Hoover) after the Germans torched its 14th century predecessor during WWI. The library was destroyed a second time during WWII, this time due to heavy bombing by the Allies (ironically leaving only the Japanese collection intact). And they say that the third disaster was the splitting of the collections following the divorce between the French and Flemish-speaking communities, eventually leading to the creation of the Université Catholique de Louvain la Neuve... Not a quiet place to be a Librarian...
More about the breakup between the French and Flemish libraries.
KU Leuven library
Whitney Warren, 1928
The main reading room of the KU Leuven University Library, which has been rebuilt by the Allies (under the impulsion of H. Hoover) after the Germans torched its 14th century predecessor during WWI. The library was destroyed a second time during WWII, this time due to heavy bombing by the Allies (ironically leaving only the Japanese collection intact). And they say that the third disaster was the splitting of the collections following the divorce between the French and Flemish-speaking communities, eventually leading to the creation of the Université Catholique de Louvain la Neuve... Not a quiet place to be a Librarian...
More about the breakup between the French and Flemish libraries.