Showing posts with label Belgium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belgium. Show all posts

Monday, August 14, 2017

The abandoned Miranda Castle of Belgium



Miranda Castle (Château Miranda), in the Namur province of Belgium was built in 1866. It was commissioned by the Liedekerke-De Beaufort family, who had left their previous home, Vêves Castle, during the French Revolution. Its architect, Edward Milner, died before the Gothic castle was completed. Construction finished only in 1907 after the clock tower was erected.


Descendants of the Liedekerke-De Beaufort family stayed in the castle until World War II. During the war, a portion of the Battle of the Bulge  took place around Miranda Castle and the property was occupied by German forces. 

In 1950, the National Railway Company of Belgium took over the castle and renamed it to Château de Noisy. It was then turned into an orphanage and a camp for children and remained so until the late 1970's. 

Château de Noisy was abandoned in 1991 as the costs to maintain it were too high, and a search for investors in the property failed. Although the municipality of Celles had offered to take it over, the family has refused, hoping to find a buyer. Meanwhile, Château was often visited by urban explorers and it was also used as a filming location by the US tv series Hannibal.

In October 2016, it was reported that the demolition of the castle had began by tearing down its towers. However, as of 2017 the largest part of the castle is still standing.





Thursday, November 17, 2016

The abandoned 'Orient Express' train in Belgium

Left abandoned in a railway yard somewhere in Belgium, these old trains are rusting away. The national railway company of Belgium placed them there until a railway museum is built. In 2012, some trains had to be moved as the city was going to built a new parking site. 

The only train that was left behind was an old type 620 train. Those trains were once the pride of Belgium railways, but today this is the only one left. The train went viral online when an urban explorer called in an 'Orient Express' train. Orient Express was the name of a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 and linking Paris to Istanbul. From 1977 to 2009, when Orient Express service ceased operations, the train was linking Paris to Vienna. The Orient Express trains never passed through Belgium

The abandoned train in Belgium might not be an Orient Express train but it is an impressive reminder of a past era. 




SEE ALSO: More abandoned trains and railway stations around the world // More abandoned places in Belgium // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES 
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Monday, June 20, 2016

Inside an abandoned Belgian power plant



Power Plant IM was built in 1921, in the Monceau-sur-Sambre neighborhood of the Belgian city of Charleroi. At that time, it was one of the largest coal burning power plants in Belgium and by 1977 it was the main source of energy in the Charleroi area, being able to cool down 480,000 gallons of water per minute.

After years of service, a report found that Power Plant IM was responsible for 10% of the total carbon dioxide emissions in Belgium. Greenpeace protested the plant in 2006 giving it a lot of negative attention till it finally closed in 2007.

After its closure, there were reports of looting by metal scrappers and as a result security guards were posted on site. Still, the huge power plant is being often visited by urban explorers.



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Monday, February 8, 2016

Horror Labs: The abandoned Anderlecht Veterinary School


It looks like a set of a horror film. The abandoned labs of Anderlecht Veterinary School in Brussels is one of the creepiest deserted places we've seen. The veterinary school was based in a complex of 19 Flemish neo-Renaissance style buildings, constructed in the early 20th century. In 1969 it was incorporated into the University of Liège, losing its independence.

The veterinary school abandoned the building in 1991, moving to the Sart-Tilman district of Liège. What was left behind though amazed urban explorers for years. Heads, brains and various other anatomical samples of kittens, dogs, rats and pigs decaying inside jars filled with formaldehyde. Around them, bottles with unknown fluids, syringes and other old, rusty medical equipment.

By late 2014, most of those specimens were removed as the buildings were under renovation. The site of the old veterinary school is going to be turned into executive apartments.



SEE ALSO: More abandoned schools and universities around the world // More abandoned places in Belgium // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES 
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Monday, December 22, 2014

The abandoned Castle of Mesen in Belgium


The Castle of Mesen or Kasteel van Mesen was built near the village of Lede in Belgium and it's surrounded by seven hectares of parkland. Destroyed and rebuilt several times, the current building dates to around 1628. After 1796 the castle ceased to be in the hands of Bette family and saw a number of reuses, from gin distillery to sugar and potash refinery, tobacco factory and finally a boarding school for girls of high society.

After the school closed, the Castle of Mesen passed into the hands of the Ministry of Defence. Due to the high cost of restorations though it was left abandoned. When a few years ago it failed to be listed as a historic monument, hope faded. The castle was finally demolished in 2010.


SEE ALSO: More abandoned castles around the world // More abandoned places in Belgium // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES 
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Monday, September 8, 2014

An abandoned university in Belgium

This university in Belgium has been left abandoned, with last students leaving in 2005. In its classrooms and corridors there are still teaching materials and equipment left behind, among them thousands of computer punched cards. Blogger lunie_chan visited the abandoned university a few months ago. 












Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The abandoned Château Rochendaal

Castle Rochendaal was built in 1881 by Jean-Henri-Paul Ulens, a lawyer and later mayor of the city of St. Truiden in Belgium. During World War II the small castle was occupied by the Nazis and became part of a Luftwaffe airfield which included 3 runways. Château Rochendaal was renovated and used as a residence for many high-ranking officers. After the War, the castle was taken over by the Belgian Air Force and used again as an officers' residence until 1996 when it was abandoned.


SEE ALSO: More abandoned castles around the world // More abandoned places in Belgium // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES 
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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

An abandoned morgue in Belgium

Mortuarium Schoonselhof in Antwerp, Belgium was part of the Schoonselhof cemetery but was left abandoned during the 90s. Tools and chemicals in the autopsy room, including a freezer with place for 12 bodies, electric bone saws and medical files weren't moved before the location became known to photographers in 2006. The building was finally demolished a year later. 



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