St. Jacob's Square

The Sint-Jacobsplein is a square in the Belgian city of Leuven. It is located in the western part of the Leuven city center. The Kruisstraat, the Pelgrimstraat, the Wagenweg, the Biezenstraat, the Sint-Hubertusstraat, and the Hertstraat all converge on the square. The Sint-Jacobsplein was formerly known as the Biest, a collective term for "bies," referring to the place overgrown with bulrushes near the Dijle and the Voer. With the construction of the second city wall in the 14th century, the area was incorporated into the city. A ditch ran across the Biest until 1774, which diverted water from the Doelage, a pool nearby the rectory, to the Voer. A second ditch ran in the same direction along the current Biezenstraat and was bridged there by the Ezelsbrug. In 1774, permission was granted to fill in the ditch and replace it with sewage. Part of the square that was surrounded by variably high embankments and shrubbery was then leveled to the same height. In 1793, it was decided to establish a cattle and horse market there; a decision that was only implemented in 1824. In the meantime, part of the vacant lot was used as a vegetable garden.

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