dusty

Casa Riposo S

Near the end of the 1870’s an industrialist built a luxurious villa in the mountains near a small community. The villa was surrounded by a beautiful botanical parc and had a stunning central hall with a skylight.

Today, the large building remains empty. In the later-built wings many of the rooms are the same. By now, many windows have been smashed by vandals who found their way onto the secluded premises and in one wing we found traces of a fire. Only the main entrance and central hall remind of the once glorious villa and were worth photographing. Read More

Castello Neogotico

Located on a island, this neogotic castle was built. An already present church and monastery were merged into the new build of which construction began in the 1880’s. It got built as summer residency for a politician and was dedicated to his wife.

The castle, whose territory occupies about 1/5th of the island, was very luxuriously furnished and housed numerous collections including art, weapons, coins and antiques. Read More

Cinema d’Altri Tempi

Right on the main street of a small Italian village, surrounded by shops and restaurants, lies this forgotten cinema. Because of its location right on a busy streets, with cars driving by and people on the terraces it was a challenge to get in quick and unseen. Read More

Convento dei Morti

The Convento dei Morti is an abandoned monastery from the 15th century. The courtyard is surrounded by open galleries which are decorated with frescoes from religious caracters and coats of arms of the local noble families. In one of the galleries we found two old hearses. Read More

Jungle Factory

Welcome to the mini jungle in this old wool mill, where the old halls are slowly being reclaimed by nature. Ferns and little trees are enjoying the humidity in here and turned the old factory into a little oasis.

This wool mill was established in the late 19th century and shut down after almost 8 decades of production. A part of the production was already moved to a different location, which kept operating until the end of the century. Read More

Hotel AV

Located not far from the highway we find this hotel. Since the owner passed away 10 years ago, the park of over 3 hectares has turned into a real wilderness. It was a challenge to find our way through the jungle, to get to the lake and the pool. Read More

Volvo House

Sometimes when driving, you think you see something out of the corner of your eye. And this one definitely was worth taking a closer look at.

Next to the road, this semi-detached house stands. Both of the houses are abandoned and locked. Through the window I could only see some stacks of moving boxes. On the front I found the two old cars which caught my attention. Read More

Miniera Rospo Grasso

You have to know that I don’t visit abandoned mines too often. This was only my second underground mine explore. In this mine, we found three old Rocker Shovels which were pretty cool, two locomotives and a lost ore cart. We were underground for more than four hours and even found some living creatures deep inside the mine! Read More

Stazione Troposcatter

In 1964/65 the NATO set up a radiocommunication and warning system called ACE High. Multiple troposcatter antennas were built from Norway to Turkey, through the allied countries. The system provided encrypted radio communication among NATO leaders. Read More

Lanificio GB

In the late 1830’s this wool mill was established. It was mainly focussed on the production of wool fabrics and later also on silk fabric. Around the 1920’s it merged with another wool mill. At the time, it had around 150 looms, a couple thousand spindles and about 250 employees. Read More

Teatro Balconi

This is presumably Italy’s most famous abandoned theatre. The beautifully decorated interior with red private viewing boxes and the slowly collapsing balcony make this a popular destination among urban explorers.
This historical theatre, built in the mid-19th century is a beautiful piece of art. There was room for over 300 visitors. On both sides of the stage there were VIP-boxes for the wealthy visitors who wanted the best view. Next to the VIP-boxes there were three layers of private boxes and opposite of the stage there was a balcony which offered space for about 50 spectators. Read More

Gasthaus Natur

Little is know about this abandoned hotel. It was built after the Second World War as a hotel and was owned by the DDR government. After the reunification it was sold and turned into a Chinese/pizza restaurant but eventually abandoned in 1995. Read More

Power Plant Luce Verde

Big industrial sites need a lot of energy. Sometimes it’s worth investing in an own power plant. In the 1940’s construction of this power plant started. Five turbines supplied power to the adjecent factory and in the 50’s one more turbine was added. 10 years later the big hall was expanded on the north side with space for one turbine and on the southern end with space for 2 turbines. Read More

Château B

This château was built at the end of the 1860’s and it got abandoned after the last owner passed away after it’d been in the same family for over a century.

After the abandonment, a fire destroyed half of the attic which accelerated the decay. The place became a hotspot for the local youth and adventure seekers and three years later a second fire destroyed another part of the attic. Read More

Château des Démons

The unique exterior of this château features statues of dogs with wings and dragons are overlooking the premises from the tower. The interior is well decorated and worth showing as well. On the ground floor there’s a big fireplace surrounded by beautiful woodwork and in the hallway the walls are decorated with tiles showing all kinds of animals. Read More

Bureau d’Or

The Bureau d’Or was built near the end of the 19th century and got expanded around the 1930’s in a 17th century style to match the château nextdoor. It served as the administration building for the adjecent blast furnace. Read More

Palazzo G

This historical villa is centuries old. Originally it used to be a castle, which has been extensively renovated several times to what it is today under the different ownerships it had. Read More

Sala VF

This hall was part of a large chemical factory which settled here in the 20th century. The large factory occupies more than 10 hectares and even had its own power plant.

The machines in this hall were used to extract nitrogen from air. Some other halls are now being used for storage and some were opened up for sports clubs. Read More

Centrale Piccola Torre

In the 50’s, this thermoelectric power plant was built to use the lignite excavated from the adjacent mining field. Because of the lignite running out, a new power plant was built just around the corner. This one closed down in 2001. The turbines were dismantled and a part of the building was demolished. Only the control room and a small cooling tower remain. The rest of the buildings were gutted as well and vandals already found their way onto the premises. Read More

Palazzo di L dei Conti M

In a village with less than 1500 inhabitants we found this old palace from the 17th century. It was the summer residency of a count which lived the rest of the year in Turin. Read More

Città Storica

Italy is full of ghost towns, most of them have been abandoned due to earthquakes. This town dates back to at least the 8th century and has been hit by many earthquakes over the centuries.

In the 18th century it was hit by a severe earthquake which led to the loss of several tens of inhabitants. The town was rebuild but in the last half of the 20th century two massive earthquake destroyed many homes and killed over a dozen inhabitants. Read More

Ardoisière SB

This slate mine was opened 150 years ago and consists of a shaft of about 175 metres and a workshop where slates were chopped and cut. In the 1910’s the mine employed a few hundred workers and produced more than 10 million slates per year. Read More

Château Pentagon

Château Pentagon is a French château, built in the 14th century with various parts being added until the 17th century. During renovations the facades were redecorated in neo-Gothic style giving the château its current appearance. Read More

Château du Blason

This château dates back to the 14th century and has been in the same family for centuries. The last resident was a journalist, writer, philosopher and poet. He passed away at the end of the 1990’s and a couple of years later his château was sold. Unfortunately it was left abandoned and the building has suffered a lot from the elements. Read More

Centrale Idroelettrica V

This hydroelectric power station was built in the 1910’s to supply power to the chemical plant on the premises. The power station consisted of seven Francis turbines that together produced almost 200 million kWh of electricity per year.

During the Second World War the station was damaged heavily. After restorations the capacity was reduced by 30%. In the 70’s the power station was replaced by a new power station. Copper thieves then looted the abandoned site and took everything valuable. Read More

VW Beetle Garage

Next to a regional road in Belgium you can find this old garage. Attached to the garage there is a house which is also abandoned, but not worth a visit. Inside the garage there was an old red Volkswagen Beetle, just left behind. The plants hanging from the ceiling gave the scene an interesting look. Read More

Les Calèches

On my way to an abandoned manoir which I didn’t know anything about, I walked past another abandoned building. Looking through the windows I could see some old horse carriages. I found my way into the building and these two old carriages were standing here, between all kinds of decor elements. Read More

Château des Singes

Somewhere in the French countryside in a small village lies this vacated château. It was built in the 17th century and has quite an unique design. Featuring a beautiful entry hall with a stunning staircase and well-decorated rooms, this famous abandoned château attracts urbexers from all over Europe. Read More

Scala Santa

Scala Santa means “Holy Stairs”; the Holy Stairs consist of a set of stairs which pilgrims go up on their knees, praying on each step. On both sides, a normal set of stairs is leading down.

This church started as a small altar, located in a cave. Eventually a church was built integrating the cave and the altar, in the 1830’s the Holy Stairs were added. Read More

Ateliers Centraux

In 1937 the nearby steelmill put these big halls in use. The building was used for their repair workshops, spare parts stock, offices and archives. In the workshop repairs and overhauls were carried out, but they had to build full machinery for the steel mill in here too.

From the 1990’s there was a decline in work at the site and several departments closed. Only the general warehouse, design office and wagon halls were active in 2005. When the last steelmill in the city closed down, the Ateliers Centraux closed its doors as well. Read More

Indiana Jones Quarry

Not much is known about this mine from the early 20th century. The sandstone mined here was used to make paving stones. On the side of the hill, you can find many entrances and signs of mining activity.

When going down the steep decline, you enter a grid system with pillars and corridors going in every direction. The urbexers before us already used rope to track their path and not to get lost. But with different colors and ropes going in literally every direction, it’s hard to guess which path leads to the well-known part with the minecarts. Read More

Repository 19

With the government being afraid of the Soviets cutting off the power for their railways during the Cold War, they decided to build secret storage tunnels throughout the country. In case of a power cut off, this 100 metres long tunnel could house a train with mobile convertors and transformers to deliver power to the railways. Read More

Repository 8

During the Cold War, the government was afraid of the Soviet Union cutting off the power to their railways. This 100 meters long tunnel was built in the 1950’s. In case of a power cut off, a diesel locomotive would drive a train with mobile convertors and transformers into the tunnel to ensure power to the railways. This equipment was quite expensive, so they figured it’d be cheaper to put them onto trains and drive them to the places where they were needed. Read More

Expédition Antarctique

These vehicles are called Sno-Cats; heavy machinery designed to withstand arctic conditions. They were used in the first Dutch-Belgian Antarctic expedition from 1964-1966.

The Belgians had been to Antarctica before, but money was a problem, so they asked the Dutch to participate. At first, the Netherlands didn’t feel like it, but eventually they agreed. On December 8, 1963 they left the harbour of Antwerp for their first expedition. Read More

Usine S

This textile factory was built in the 1900’s. Wool was treated here using a American patented technique, it was the only factory in Europe using this method.

Wool was treated in special baths to retain flexibility and elasticity. The liquid of these baths could be refined to yield a wax which was used extensively for protection and treatment of skin. Some of the samples were still in the abandoned laboratory of the factory. Read More

Villa Beemwee

Barely anything is know about this villa in the Belgian Ardennes. The building is quite small for a ‘villa’, especially compared to the other villa’s in this particular neighbourhood. Nevertheless, given the style with the ‘grand’ entrance with columns on either side and the richly decorated exterior, I think it deserves to be called a villa. Read More

Prison 1555

Before this became a prison, it used to be a medieval castle. It was constructed in the 13th century and in the 19th century it was refurbished into a prison. After expansion, it has nearly 300 cells.

Getting inside unseen was rather sketchy. With the ‘entrance’ being in front of the police station and at a busy intersection, timing and speed were crucial and we managed to get out of sight un Read More

Château de la Couronne

This neoclassical style château was built in the 19th century. It got renovated in the 90’s, but only two weeks after the renovations it burnt to the ground.

The former grandeur is still visible from the outside and among the collapsed rooms you can still find beautifully decorated fireplaces and stairwells. Read More

Rollercoaster Mine

In the 1850’s they started mining here, the coal mined was brought up with the hoist. From here, the minecarts rolled into a station where they were tipped over. The freshly mined material would then be transported into the processing plant where it would be washed and crushed into smaller chunks. From this facility, the coal was primarily transported to several blast furnaces. Read More