The municipality itself comprises the sub-municipalities of Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, Leuven proper, Wilsele, Wijgmaal and part of Haasrode and Korbeek-Lo.

[3] The city is home of the headquarters of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest beer brewer[4] and sixth-largest fast-moving consumer goods company.

Situated beside this river, and near to the stronghold of the Dukes of Brabant, Leuven became the most important centre of trade in the duchy between the 11th and 14th centuries.

[7] Prestigious buildings like the Town Hall and the Saint Peter's Church (itself designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999) were constructed.

By the turn of the 16th century, Leuven had become a major European center for art and knowledge with humanists like Erasmus and Hieronymus van Busleyden working there.

Leuven became a leading centre for the fabrication of precision astronomical instruments, such as the planetaria and the terrestrial and celestial globes built by Gaspard van der Heyden and Gualterus Arsenius.

Despite this the university continued to excel in disciplines like theology with Johannes Molanus and classical studies with Justus Lipsius.

[20] In World War II, after the start of the German offensive, Leuven formed part of the British Expeditionary Force's front line and was defended by units of the 3rd Division and Belgian troops.

[22] Given the presence of the KU Leuven, Europe's most innovative university according to Reuters,[24] much of the local economy is concentrated on spin-offs from academic research.

As a result, dozens of companies in high technological fields such as biotech, robotics, additive manufacturing and IT, are located near these research institutes on the Arenberg Science Park and Haasrode Research-Park.

Quite a few international companies such as Siemens,[25] Huawei,[26] Nitto Denko, JSR Corporation or Commscope have important, often research oriented branches, in Leuven.

As a result, large numbers of private service providers are active in the medical, financial and legal fields.

Because it is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant, many governmental institutions are located in Leuven, as well as the regional headquarters of transport corporations such as De Lijn.

As one of Flanders Art-Cities,[27] with a large range of cafés, restaurants, cultural institutions and shopping neighbourhoods, Leuven also attracts a growing number of tourists.

InBev's Stella Artois brewery and main offices dominate the entire north-eastern part of the town, between the railway station and the canal to Mechelen.

It is a multi-channel bank-insurance group, with a geographic focus on Belgium and Central Europe, catering mainly to retail clients, SMEs and local midcaps.

[29] One of Belgium's conservatories is based in Leuven: the Lemmens Institute, which is described as "Faculty of Music, Performing Arts and Education".

Kunstencentrum STUK is a cultural centre and venue in the city center for music, theatre, sound art, and dance.

It has hosted exhibitions by international artists such as Angus Fairhurst, Sol LeWitt, Roe Ethridge and Charles Burns as well as Belgian artists such as Ilse D'Hollander, Jan Vercruysse, Antoon Van Dyck and Freek Wambacq.

The city's prime basketball team is the Leuven Bears, they play their home games at the SportOase.

This GAA club is part of a wider European league, Gaelic Games Europe, which is in itself part of the global organisation, The Gaelic Athletic Association The Old University of Leuven used to have 40 constituent colleges and 4 pedagogies, some of which are still being used by KU Leuven.