This isn’t just an abandoned city, this actually was a military base. In 1938, Germany started construction of the base for the adjecent airfield.
The base consists of 12 big apartment blocks and many smaller buildings. A pilots school was also built at the base. During the peak almost 5000 soldiers were living here. Read More
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
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
Close to a big town, this tunnel is located. With the danger of the approaching war, all over the country tunnels were built. These should house trains with mobile convertors and transformers in case of a power cut off, to supply power to the railroad network.
Most of these places consist of only one tunnel. This one however has two tunnels in the mountain, connected with corridors and even a room with control panels. Unfortunately this room is burned out, but the panels are still visible. Read More
Built during the Cold War, this tunnel had a special function. In case of a power cut off, a train would be driven inside consisting of mobile transformers and convertors, ensuring power to the railway. Hidden in a forest, this tunnel is hard to spot. Only a little used path leading into the bushes will reveal this tunnel. Read More
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
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
Already in the 16th century, Spa was know for its naturally iron bearing and carbonated water. The first public bathhouse was opened in 1828 and in 1841 the second opened it’s doors. In 1862, architect Léon Suys was instructed to build the third bathhouse for the city of Spa, Belgium. The cost price for this project was 1,5 million Belgian francs and it was finished and opened in 1868. 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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