The Tafelrond

The Tafelrond is a building located on the east side of the Grote Markt in Leuven. Today the fourth version of the building is already standing; the first building was built in the 1480s. Its name comes from the fact that the city's citizens could meet there for centuries.The first building was Gothic, the other Neoclassical. The National Bank was located there from 1930 to 2002. The luxury hotel The Fourth is now located here.

The neo-Gothic Tafelrond, built after the First World War on behalf of the National Bank of Belgium to house its Leuven agency, closes off the eastern side of the Grote Markt.Its turbulent history began around 1479 when the city council, with a view to further beautifying the city centre, bought three buildings to the east of the Grote Markt and had them demolished to replace them with a characterful complex that had to harmonise with the new town hall (1448-1469) and the Sint-Pieterskerk, which was currently undergoing renovation. The task was entrusted to Matheus de Layens, who integrated the three new houses into a single monumental Gothic ensemble that stylistically matched the renovated architectural framework of the Grote Markt perfectly. The three rental properties "Sint-Joris", "Taefelront" and "Spaegnen" - later known by the general name "Tafelrond" - would also serve as meeting rooms for the wealthy bourgeoisie, (shooting) guilds and rhetoricians' chambers.Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Het Tafelrond, id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/42182

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