The Dijle in Leuven: a Curse or a Blessing?

The Dijle, then and now
Leuven owes its origins and economic prosperity in the Middle Ages to the Dijle: ships moored in the harbour near the Vismarkt, millers used the river’s water to power their mills, and brewers used it to make beer. But the Dijle also caused problems: cellars regularly flooded, and at times severe flooding left entire neighbourhoods under water. Throughout the centuries, the city has always tried to bring this fast-flowing, winding river under control. Views on the best way to do so have evolved too: major infrastructure projects have given way to an ecological approach that restores the wet valley grounds upstream of Leuven as a natural floodplain.