LOUVAIN, a city in the Austrian Netherlands, in the province of Brabant, pleasantly seated on the river Dyle, in a plentiful and agreeable country. The walls are about eight or nine miles in circumference; but they include several fields and vineyards. The castle stands on a high hill, surrounded with fine gardens, and has a charming prospect all over the country. This town contains nine market-places, 14 water-mills, 126 streets, 16 stone bridges, and several handsome palaces. The town-house is a venerable old building, adorned with statues on the outside; and the churches are very handsome, particularly the collegiate church of St. Peter: but the principal ornament is the university, there being 60 colleges, which have two courts each; the students in divinity constantly wear gowns and caps, but the rest only at public exercises. The English have a nunnery here, which is reckoned the best in the Netherlands. This town was taken in the year 1746, by the French. E. Long. 4. 40. N. Lat. 51. 12.