Discover 600 year of university history in two exhibitions
The exhibitions Routes to Knowledge and The Pursuit of Knowledge look back at the history of 600 years of Leuven University. Discover the stories, objects and people who have been pushing boundaries - and continuing to surprise the world - for six centuries.
Routes to Knowledge - Universiteitsbibliotheek
The Pursuit of Knowledge - M Leuven
In Routes to Knowledge in the University Library, you follow the trail of six centuries of KU Leuven and the small and big stories of special people who worked or studied there. In The Pursuit of Knowledge in M Leuven, you stand eye to eye with the rich heritage from the multifaceted academic collections.
Routes to Knowledge
University Library
For six hundred years, KU Leuven and its students, professors and other staff have faced challenges, setbacks and victories. The exhibition Routes to Knowledge presents the university as a crossroads where thousands of personal journeys have intersected over the course of the centuries. What obstacles lay in the path of women or people of colour? What milestones are celebrated or commemorated?
The exhibition tells the stories of the great and small paths taken at the university in three chapters. 'Imagine' reveals the role of traditions, rituals and symbols, and how they have made their mark on the university’s self-image over the centuries. 'Overcome' considers barriers and exclusion: who was allowed to study or work at the university, and who was not? Finally, 'Explore' sets its sights on the wider world: students who have come from far and wide, research that travels around the globe and also ways in which the university has moved beyond its own walls.
The Pursuit of Knowledge
M Leuven
Over six hundred years, the university has collected thousands of items. The Pursuit of Knowledge gives you a unique opportunity for a close-up look at an exclusive selection from these treasure troves. Admire fluorescent minerals, a giant deer, model dinosaurs, a model of an electric motor or objects of a colonial origin. An immersive experience brings the Leuven Chansonnier – a prestigious mediaeval songbook – to life. End your tour with a walk through a gallery of statues, with casts of world-famous sculptures.
These objects once played a key role in education and research. Studying them enabled students, professors and scientists to enrich their knowledge of history, distant cultures, the Earth, scientific phenomena or the human body. At M Leuven, these items invite you to take a critical look at the past and consider the way we gain knowledge now or how it was done in the past.
You will find the same critical gaze in the work of the artist Alicja Kwade. Her solo exhibition runs concurrently at M Leuven. She explores the limits of knowledge with sculptures and installations that challenge science and philosophy. Kwade’s work is also featured in the new art and science route And So, Change Comes in Waves. This permanent route takes you past sixteen newly commissioned artworks and poems at unexpected locations in and around the university city.
Curatorial team: Annelies Vogels, Liesbet Nys, Tjamke Snijders, Joris Vandendriessche, Rajesh Heynickx
More exhibition tips
Exhibition Dusty Die by Alicja Kwade at M Leuven
Until 22 February 2026
What if the unknown is not a boundary, but a starting point? In her first solo exhibition in Belgium, Alicja Kwade invites us to see the world – and our attempts to understand it – differently.
She departs from scientific and philosophical concepts and translates them into sculptures and installations that challenge gravity, time and matter.
Exhibition HAPPY U! about 600 Years of UCLouvain at Musée L
Until 22 February 2026
UCLouvain is also celebrating its 600th anniversary this year with the exhibition HAPPY U! at Musée L. Discover the history of the university, the stories behind the scenes and remarkable pieces from its collection.
It’s the perfect opportunity to visit the iconic, brutalist Musée L building and explore the vibrant university city of Louvain-la-Neuve. Well worth the trip!
Header image: Sedes Sapientiae – M Leuven/ Saint Peter's Church © Dominique Provost & Shell Collection KU Leuven © Karin Borghouts
Other images by © Elias Derboven for KU Leuven and M Leuven and © A. Delsoir for Musée L.
Information about accessibility
Please consult the exhibition websites for more information about accessibility.
