Mercator's Secret
SORRY THIS ACTIVITY IS TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE COMING BACK FROM SUMMER 2025
Gerard Mercator wrote us an enigmatic letter. Take a mysterious treasure hunt through Leuven and experience a wondrous journey through time.
Time travel through Leuven
What is a forgotten Lovenaar doing in Siberia four centuries ago? Why, according to a Leuven map, are there pygmies at the North Pole? And who on earth invited the Little Ice Age?
A lost ancient atlas was recovered in a Leuven archive. Nice, you might think, but still not that special. Were it not for the fact that it contained a folded letter signed by one.. Geeraert Mercator.. One of the greatest scientists of all time!
In writing
In 1530, at 18, he was enrolled as a “pauper,” or poor student, at the University of Leuven. But it soon became apparent that he had much to offer. Even during his lifetime, he would become famous as a geographer and maker of globes, maps and atlases. After his studies, Mercator lived and worked in this city for about twenty more years, then he sought other places.
The letter of his hand, miraculously found in April 2017, is mysterious, and leads Leuven around. Mercator writes about places and buildings in the city, about his family and about encounters with fellow scholars and other notable figures. He writes about everyday trivia but equally about spectacular events.
But what does he really want to tell you?
Good to know!
- Bookable from October!