Totem is the giant beetle skewered on a steel needle in the middle of Ladeuzeplein, Leuven's largest square, right in front of the KU Leuven University Library. The Belgian artist Jan Fabre made it for the university's 575th anniversary, and the needle stands about 23 metres tall. Students and visitors simply call it the beetle.
Totem at a glance
- Where: Mgr. Ladeuzeplein, in front of the University Library, a few minutes' walk from the Grote Markt.
- Created: for the 575th anniversary of the University of Leuven, founded in 1425; it has stood on the square since 2004.
- By: Jan Fabre, the Antwerp-born artist and theatre maker known for working with insects.
- What it is today: a public sculpture owned by the city, given to Leuven by the university, and a meeting point on the square.
- Time needed: 5–10 minutes for the sculpture, more if you also visit the library and its tower.
A beetle, a library and a university
Leuven is above all a university town. The library behind the sculpture was a gift from the American people after German troops burned the old university library near the Grote Markt in August 1914. It was designed by the American architect Whitney Warren, building started in 1921, and it was largely destroyed again in May 1940 before being rebuilt to its original plans. For its 575th birthday the university wanted a work of art for the square in front of this symbolic building, and it gave Fabre's Totem to the city.
Insects run through Fabre's whole career. In 2002 he covered the ceiling of the Hall of Mirrors in the Royal Palace in Brussels with the shimmering wing cases of jewel beetles, a work called Heaven of Delight. Totem shows a giant Thai jewel beetle. One common reading is that a library is like an insect collection: knowledge carefully chosen, labelled and kept. Fabre himself described the work as a tribute to beauty, science and knowledge. In April 2022 a Belgian court convicted Fabre of violence, harassment and sexual misconduct at work. Calls to remove the sculpture had been heard since 2018, but the city decided to keep it, saying the work about science and research stands apart from the artist.
What to look for
- The beetle: a shiny green insect at the top, pierced through the body like a specimen pinned in a museum drawer.
- The needle: a thin steel shaft about 23 metres high. Step back towards the edge of the square to see the beetle and the library tower in one view.
- The University Library behind it: a neo-Flemish Renaissance façade with a tall bell tower, built in the 1920s with American money.
- The carillon in the tower: it was given in 1928 by American engineers in memory of colleagues killed in the First World War, and it now has 63 bells. Listen for it on the hour.
- The square itself: once a hill with a convent of Poor Clares, it was levelled into a wood market after 1783 and later named after Paulin Ladeuze, a rector of the university.
The balustrade that was smashed twice
Look up at the top of the library façade. The architect Whitney Warren wanted a Latin inscription along the balustrade: 'Furore Teutonico diruta, dono Americano restituta', roughly 'destroyed by German fury, restored by American gift'. Rector Ladeuze refused, and a neutral balustrade was ordered for the opening on 4 July 1928. On 16 July 1928 a local building foreman, Felix Morren, climbed the façade and smashed it with a sledgehammer; he became a local hero and did it again in 1933. The inscription was never put up, but a few surviving letters are on display in the library courtyard.
Tips for your visit
- Come on a Friday morning to see the square at its busiest, with the weekly market around the sculpture.
- For the best photo, stand near the library steps and shoot back across the square, or frame the beetle against the library tower from the far side.
- Climb the library tower if it is open: the exhibition on the library's wartime history is spread over five floors on the way up, and the view at the top takes in the whole city.
Nearby
- University Library and its tower: right behind the sculpture, with the exhibition on the burning of the library in 1914 and 1940.
- M Leuven: the city's art museum, a few minutes' walk away, mixing old masters from the region with contemporary art.
- Grote Markt and the Town Hall: Leuven's main square with its Gothic town hall covered in statues, and St Peter's Church opposite.
- Fonske: the statue of a student pouring water from a glass into his head while reading, a cheerful nod to Leuven's students, on Rector De Somerplein.
See Leuven with World City Trail
Our Leuven scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 2 hours, with about 25 minutes of walking. Ladeuzeplein and the University Library, where Totem stands, are one of the stops, and the route also includes the M Leuven museum. You can play in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Leuven.
Play the Leuven scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Leuven →
Play the outdoor escape game in Leuven →
Facts checked in October 2026.