St Pieterskerk & Museum voor Religieuze Kunst

The oldest church in Leuven, the current Gothic building was built in the 15th century, on the site of the old church, although it took many years to complete properly due to lack of funds and the fact that the foundations were not stable enough to support the tall towers. As a result of having to shorten the towers, the church now has a slightly truncated look about it. Housed in the church is the Museum of Religious Art which contains three paintings by Dieric Bouts (1415-75) who was the town’s official artist; of particular interest is his painting of The Last Supper showing Christ and his disciples in a Flemish dining room with the half-built Stadhuis just visible through one of the windows. Also contained within the Museum is the shrine of St Margaret of Leuven, otherwise known as Proud Margaret, the patron saint of serving girls whose story is illustrated in a series of paintings.

St Michielskerk

Built for the Jesuits in the middle of the 17th century, this pretty church is an excellent example of Baroque architecture. Particularly worth seeing is the 1660 carved woodwork around the altar and choir.