This walk took place on 28 May 2024 - click here for some impressions.
Join us on a walk through Leuven and get to know more about water through the city – through the ages. We look how Leuven started as a hinge point on the Dijle between lower and middle Belgium. How in the Middle Ages the Dyle powered 20 water mills in conflict with goods transport by flat boats, while heavy floods occurred 2 to 3 times a century. How pollution in the 19th century and the belief in the Miasma theory led to covering the Dijle. Recently functions thoroughly changed until the current approach against flooding and the Dijle veins Leuven with space for greenery and water.
We will start at the ‘Spuye’ and walk to the centre of the city along the Dijle in about two hours. During the walk, Guido Wyseure, an experienced city guide and professor emeritus in soil- and water management at the KU Leuven will guide us around and tell us more about the history of water in the city and the needs for the future.
A healthy public debate about important societal challenges requires a common and scientifically sound basis.