Belgium //
Sur la route - Part 4
Miscellaneous abandonment in the Belgian suburbs
Date August 2009
Posted October 2010
Posted October 2010
On the morning of the last full day in Belgium we awoke on scaffolding attached to a church tower. Daylight had found us and so we reluctantly took this as a cue to get moving. As we climbed down onto the pavement the caretaker turned up and scowled at us but she was too stunned to actually say anything coherent. Before leaving the little town of Dadizele we climbed over the gates of the old amusement park to see if could find those ostriches, but found a go-cart with a flat tyre instead. We moved on.
Our first visit to Zwevegem power station had been met with disappointment. A large group of school kids were being goaded around a rope course strung up beneath empty steam pipes. That time we'd had to make do with a look around the part-stripped boiler house. This time however we were free to drag a piece of metal railing over to the building and climb our makeshift ladder up and into the turbine hall. Again we were a little wary as the plant is situated on what appeared to be a live electricity site.
This turbine hall (shown above and below) is a rare sight, containing some distinctly vintage machinery. Thankfully this building is to be retained as part of a new project and hopefully the turbines will stay behind too. We hung around just long enough for ds to whip out his medium format (he mumbled something about 'documenting the scene') and loose of some snaps. Main course devoured, we continued eastward.
The journey towards Liege was broken at Leuven. In this town Artois continue to brew with their huge new Stella brewery steaming away as we swung past the small marina and took stock of the older site. Art deco, and lining one side of a whole road, the collection of buildings comfortably reflected the stature of the Artois brand. To our left a gaggle of bulldozers, grabs and nibblers ripped into one of the silo buildings. To our right, the brewing hall and malting plant appeared intact.
After gaining entry to the brewing hall we found the piece de resistance - the ornate main room with wrought iron banisters and a tiled floor. Disappointingly the prophecy of the petrol generator and tools stepped over to enter the building proved accurate: the scavengers have already begun to dismantle the copper-work.
Our meandering course took an about-turn but not before stopping for a look at the Cheratte colliery. The photo below of the motor should only be considered for it's artistic merit. The colliery actually looks just like this, thanks to the sterling and valued efforts of a band of derelict documentation warriors whom we were to meet before even setting foot in the grounds. Done to the nines in camo gear they told us they knew a way of getting in round the back, and some while later all of us emerged into the grounds (our exit route, over the front gate, proved less tiresome). Inside the colliery grounds were other abandonment addicts and a family shooting amateur fashion photos. As dsankt recounts we found better entertainment with wasps and beer, and then made good that exit...
At a loose end now and with little time to start on something more sizeable that we'd had our eye on (although it did receive a visit the following year) we meandered in the rough direction of Brussels, stopping soon to visit the abandoned military barracks at Chartreuse. Half-destroyed, thoroughly ransacked and (no doubt) thoroughly photographed by that abandonment squad, the three of us found little inspiration to do anything except take a nap in the cemetary.
Our journey continued. By chance I spotted what appeared to be another disused brewing hall, my excitement obvious as I nearly ejected a mouthful of the very same beer. Given away by boards and missing windows, from the outside it appeared similar to its Artois counterpart. Entry would be through a part-boarded window from a low flat roof, a noisy and untidy achievement, but one which brought us little or no attention from the staff manning the active parts of the plant.
Inside we found a similar scene to Artois, although nobody had seen fit to start removing the copper parts. A brief exploration undertaken, there was nothing to it but to begin the drive back to Brussels, Marc once again at the helm, all of us glad to see the back of this area.
In Brussels we returned to the maison de slyv. Originally we'd thought a return visit to the Palais may be in order, but tired and lazy we settled down to sleep up in the attic. The next day the three of us took a trip back to the animal labs so that Marc could see the delights for himself and ds could guzzle more formaldehyde. It's no wonder he's so retarded. Surprisingly a few things had changed, and yet more cat heads had appeared, positioned around the building on sticks. This time I took more time to peruse the vast collection of books and documents up in the attic.
After a drive out to the old swimming pool of Crachoir it was time to drop the car off and wave goodbye to Marc at the Eurostar terminal. Then the remainder sought additional alcohol and sat waiting for the bus. Sometime after dark we rolled out of Brussels en route back to Paris, content that we'd seen a fair bit of what Belgium has to offer. It's an interesting country that's for sure. It seems to sit between the piles of rubble in the UK and the stripped hulks in the east - a little oasis where plant is closed down but seems to linger in a state of abandonment for that little bit longer.
Big thanks to qx, slyv, ds, BHV, Marshall and Marc for making the week so much fun.
This article is the final part of a four part series entitled 'Sur la route'. You can read the previous part here.
Our first visit to Zwevegem power station had been met with disappointment. A large group of school kids were being goaded around a rope course strung up beneath empty steam pipes. That time we'd had to make do with a look around the part-stripped boiler house. This time however we were free to drag a piece of metal railing over to the building and climb our makeshift ladder up and into the turbine hall. Again we were a little wary as the plant is situated on what appeared to be a live electricity site.
This turbine hall (shown above and below) is a rare sight, containing some distinctly vintage machinery. Thankfully this building is to be retained as part of a new project and hopefully the turbines will stay behind too. We hung around just long enough for ds to whip out his medium format (he mumbled something about 'documenting the scene') and loose of some snaps. Main course devoured, we continued eastward.
The journey towards Liege was broken at Leuven. In this town Artois continue to brew with their huge new Stella brewery steaming away as we swung past the small marina and took stock of the older site. Art deco, and lining one side of a whole road, the collection of buildings comfortably reflected the stature of the Artois brand. To our left a gaggle of bulldozers, grabs and nibblers ripped into one of the silo buildings. To our right, the brewing hall and malting plant appeared intact.
After gaining entry to the brewing hall we found the piece de resistance - the ornate main room with wrought iron banisters and a tiled floor. Disappointingly the prophecy of the petrol generator and tools stepped over to enter the building proved accurate: the scavengers have already begun to dismantle the copper-work.
Our meandering course took an about-turn but not before stopping for a look at the Cheratte colliery. The photo below of the motor should only be considered for it's artistic merit. The colliery actually looks just like this, thanks to the sterling and valued efforts of a band of derelict documentation warriors whom we were to meet before even setting foot in the grounds. Done to the nines in camo gear they told us they knew a way of getting in round the back, and some while later all of us emerged into the grounds (our exit route, over the front gate, proved less tiresome). Inside the colliery grounds were other abandonment addicts and a family shooting amateur fashion photos. As dsankt recounts we found better entertainment with wasps and beer, and then made good that exit...
At a loose end now and with little time to start on something more sizeable that we'd had our eye on (although it did receive a visit the following year) we meandered in the rough direction of Brussels, stopping soon to visit the abandoned military barracks at Chartreuse. Half-destroyed, thoroughly ransacked and (no doubt) thoroughly photographed by that abandonment squad, the three of us found little inspiration to do anything except take a nap in the cemetary.
Our journey continued. By chance I spotted what appeared to be another disused brewing hall, my excitement obvious as I nearly ejected a mouthful of the very same beer. Given away by boards and missing windows, from the outside it appeared similar to its Artois counterpart. Entry would be through a part-boarded window from a low flat roof, a noisy and untidy achievement, but one which brought us little or no attention from the staff manning the active parts of the plant.
Inside we found a similar scene to Artois, although nobody had seen fit to start removing the copper parts. A brief exploration undertaken, there was nothing to it but to begin the drive back to Brussels, Marc once again at the helm, all of us glad to see the back of this area.
In Brussels we returned to the maison de slyv. Originally we'd thought a return visit to the Palais may be in order, but tired and lazy we settled down to sleep up in the attic. The next day the three of us took a trip back to the animal labs so that Marc could see the delights for himself and ds could guzzle more formaldehyde. It's no wonder he's so retarded. Surprisingly a few things had changed, and yet more cat heads had appeared, positioned around the building on sticks. This time I took more time to peruse the vast collection of books and documents up in the attic.
After a drive out to the old swimming pool of Crachoir it was time to drop the car off and wave goodbye to Marc at the Eurostar terminal. Then the remainder sought additional alcohol and sat waiting for the bus. Sometime after dark we rolled out of Brussels en route back to Paris, content that we'd seen a fair bit of what Belgium has to offer. It's an interesting country that's for sure. It seems to sit between the piles of rubble in the UK and the stripped hulks in the east - a little oasis where plant is closed down but seems to linger in a state of abandonment for that little bit longer.
Big thanks to qx, slyv, ds, BHV, Marshall and Marc for making the week so much fun.
This article is the final part of a four part series entitled 'Sur la route'. You can read the previous part here.
