Urbex: photographing old military buildings
Friday 11 December 2020, 15:51 by Kim Schröder | 8,344 views | 10 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
Today I’m taking you to military territory. First to Prison 11, an abandoned barracks built in 1890 in Belgium.
Prison 11
This location gets its name from the 11 cells used to punish soldiers internally within the army.
In 1934, the barracks were expanded with two new buildings, increasing their capacity by two battalions. This meant that the three battalions of the 1st Line could be housed there. The renovation cost 7,000,000 francs.
In 1977, the barracks were expanded for the last time and the oldest buildings were renovated…
Abandoned
After conscription was abolished in Belgium, the last soldier left in 1994 and the building has been empty ever since.
It was officially put up for sale in 1999 and sold in 2005 to an Antwerp property developer, for 1.97 million euros.
Two of the three buildings have since been converted into apartment blocks. The third, this one, is almost empty and will soon follow.
The colours and the stairs in the building are beautiful. You can see the decay, but that only makes it even more beautiful.
A beautiful location with, surprisingly, much less graffiti than most of the places we see.
The cells with their concrete beds certainly made an impression!
Medical bunker
A little closer to home, near Liège, we happened to find a bunker in the middle of a field.
A staircase leading down and a door that was open. It was dark and cold inside. I estimate the total area at around 150 m2, divided across several rooms.
The beds are still there, rusty, some still with a mattress and pillow on them. An old stretcher in a corner, and even several IV drips were still lying on the beds.
Information
Beforehand, I had no information about this bunker because it was discovered by chance. So, once I got home, I tried to find out something about this little gem.
There is virtually nothing to be found about this bunker. I found out from another urbexer that it dates from the Cold War period. When they visited, there was still documentation lying around.
So I can’t tell you anything else about it, but it certainly was impressive.
Can you tell me something about it? Then I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
About the author
Kim is gek op Urbex fotografie, niet alleen voor de foto's maar ook voor de kick. Naast Urbex maakt ze graag portret en lifestyle foto's.
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10 comments
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Bart wrote on Tuesday 15 December 2020 at 12:45
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interesting story and beautiful photos can that still be found in belgium.
Translated from Dutch. -
Eduard Barreveld wrote on Tuesday 15 December 2020 at 13:06 | replyBeautiful photos! The atmosphere has been captured perfectly. Can I visit this gem? And if so, where is this located in the beautiful country of Belgium?
Translated from Dutch.
I would love to see more articles like this!
Thank you for this. -
Laura van der Burgt
wrote on Tuesday 15 December 2020 at 18:05
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Great photos (especially the first one!). I'm also curious where you find these gems!
Translated from Dutch. -
Tijdlooskim wrote on Tuesday 15 December 2020 at 19:53
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Thanks Bart!
Translated from Dutch.
@Eduard unfortunately, just like all urbex locations, it is illegal to enter and certainly not wise to share publicly.
The more people know about it, the more vandalism will take place... -
Hans van Sterkenburg wrote on Wednesday 16 December 2020 at 13:10 | replyHi Kim,
Translated from Dutch.
Nice that you share your enthusiasm with us. Beautiful photos too. It also feels a bit like the children's party where the mother says that ‘you mustn't sneak a bite of the cake while I'm away.’
Tricky.
Regards, Hans. -
jos schiffelers wrote on Wednesday 16 December 2020 at 17:22
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Nice Kim. I’m also really looking forward to doing something like that. But I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. It really has to happen in 2021.
Translated from Dutch. -
Tijdlooskim wrote on Wednesday 16 December 2020 at 18:47
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Thanks Hans,
Translated from Dutch.
I can well believe that it feels a bit unpleasant.
But I hope you understand that I can't put things like that so publicly on the internet.
You don't want to know how much youth it ruins and destroys...
Jos, if it doesn't happen, we'll go sometime together with a few from the course 😁 -
jos schiffelers wrote on Wednesday 16 December 2020 at 19:05
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That would be awesome, Kim.
Translated from Dutch.
Then you get something like "once one sheep has crossed the dam, more will follow". But wait until Corona has been overcome. -
Fabz wrote on Thursday 2 September 2021 at 20:14
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I found info about this place
Translated from Dutch. -
jos schiffelers wrote on Sunday 5 September 2021 at 17:35
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Great photos Kim. Nice story.
Translated from Dutch.
It's time for oik to get to work too.
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