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
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
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
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
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
This mine was built in the early 20th century by the state owned mining company. For representative purposes the buildings were built with red bricks, featuring curved facades.
Already in the 1920’s, the mine produced over 1 million tons of coal per year and at the start of the Second World War the mine saw an increasing demand of coal for use in the weapon and steel industry. After the war a new shaft was dug and the mine got modernized. Read More
Welcome to the Navy Graveyard, here the navy stores their decommissioned vessels pending demolition. At the time of my visit there were eight ships on the graveyard. Read More
At the end of the 18th this pottery was established. It’s first years were difficult and in the 1800’s it got in the hands of a German man. At this time, the pottery was mainly focussed on ceramic tiles. In addition, decorative and ornamental pieces were made, as well as crockery.
The following century the pottery stayed in the same family. Business was going well and from the 1850’s-1860’s two new steam-powered factories were built. The pottery was considered one of Europe’s larges pottery’s at the time. After the annexation of Lorraine to Germany in 1871 the pottery expanded to two new locations in France. Read More
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
The famous Church of Decay really lives up to its name, with even entire trees growing out of the walls on the outside. Officially it is named Eglise Saint-Pierre and it’s located in Grâce-Hollogne, a small town next to the airport of Liege. Read More
Driving down the roads, I spotted some abandoned cars. I had to turn around right away and parked not too far.
About 20 vehicles were parked here in the field. The cars were in a terrible state with almost all of the windows being smashed, probably a result of the site being clearly visible next to a busy road. I was however surprised to see that almost all of the engines were still in the cars. Read More
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