Urbex & photography

Summary

What about urbex ?


Why photography ?

With my camera, I travel the country tirelessly to find things that attract me.
And yet, initially, I was not interested more than that in photography. I regularly accompanied a friend fan of aviation during his shootings around the country, and this, since the beginning of this century.
Little by little, I realized that I liked that.


What is urbex ?

Urban exploration, or urbex, is an activity consisting of visiting places, abandoned or not, generally prohibited from access, or at least hidden or difficult to access.
“Tourism” of a new kind, this activity has unfortunately been booming for several years. The media coverage and the hype are turning this confidential passion into a Sunday hobby for all-comers. And inevitably with the associated drifts : theft, deliberate damage, tags, fires, places invaded by the world, negative prejudices on the discipline, etc.

Like our beautiful society, urban exploration is plagued by the same ills, namely an unhealthy competitive spirit, the lack of respect (both for the places visited and for other urbexers) or even a thirst for recognition which leads to the two previous points.
It's sad but I've learned to live with it. And those who wouldn't agree with me, fuck them.

For any other question, doubt, unacknowledged desire, stupid a priori or other about urban exploration, I refer you to the essential FAQ


Why urbex ?

img > Smile ! I started urban exploration - without knowing it - in the early 90's
Visiting forgotten castles, sewers and abandoned factories, I already had an attraction for derelicted places. Unfortunately, at that time, digital cameras didn’t exist and I didn’t keep any record of these visits, except my memories...
Then, the exploration's passion went out with the disappearance of the places visited.
Until the day it revived, in 2004, when I came across an American website about urban exploration
But I was just a spectator. It was not until the end of 2011 that I definitely returned to the wastelands and other forgotten places.
A passion of almost 30 years isn't about to die out.


Keep track

In addition to the unique sensations that urban exploration gives me (being alone in the world, calm, silence, adrenaline), this activity also allows me to keep a memory of a heritage (artistic, cultural or industrial) that modernity strives to make disappear, or in the case of visits to castles or houses, to immortalize traditions or a certain art of living that present and future generations will never know.
Even if they deny themselves, the authorities have a tendency to erase traces of the past, and this only for the sake of profit : look at the number of apartment blocks being built everywhere. Now is not the time for preservation but for densification and urban exploration allows us to keep track of what our environment used to be.
Likewise, I don't like the turn our society is taking (from all points of view ), and urban exploration allows me to immerse the time of a visit in a bygone era.

Good viewing.


Addendum

A few comments
Condition of places visited

When you browse through the various explorations below, you will find an icon indicating the supposed status of the place visited. The status of the places visited will be updated as far as possible. In urbex, the truth of one day is not necessarily that of the next day.

The dangers of urban exploration

 Don't take your family to abandoned places !
Urbex is not a harmless hobby, we don't explore abandoned places as we go to Ikea™ or Disneyland™.
This may be out of traditional Sunday outings but there are many risks.
 Fatal accidents have already occured !

Apart from the probability of meeting with the police or, much worse, of very bad people, our visits are almost always in places very humid and overgrown with rust.
In addition to the physical risk (falls, injuries, collapses, etc.), the health risk should not be taken lightly (tetanus, toxic fumes, asbestos, fungi, etc.).
Although it may seem a little presumptuous, the risks we take are calculated. If the visit seems too dangerous, we give up.

 Be smart.
Just be satisfied with the pictures we make available to you.


Pour la page en français, cliquez ici


Castles

Big or small, historic or not, in ruins or in good condition, castles have fascinated me since all the time.
It's therefore always with the same pleasure that I will lose myself in these places always majestic.

In detail


Culture & leisure

For some, relaxing is like going to the theater, the cinema or to an amusement park. For others, it's about recharging the batteries in a brothel. In other words, there are as many hobbies as there are personalities.
This great diversity is reflected in the eclecticism of the places visited.

In detail


Diverse

In this section, find out what is impossible to classify elsewhere.

In detail


Education

When we see the scary level of our education system and the multiplication of abandoned schools, there is enough to ask questions.
Questions that our beautiful political world obviously doesn't face.

In detail


Fails

Because we do not succeed every time (far from it...), I had to inaugurate a series of photos of spots messed up.
From an entrance that has become inviolable to the occupation that only arrives one day in the year (but inevitably that the day of the visit), here is a small list of disappointments.

In detail


Ghost towns

If a village is completely emptied of its inhabitants, it's never by chance. The cause can be natural, but much more often dictated by economic considerations.
Visit of ancient places of life sacrificed and forgotten.

In detail

From A to Z

Dust VillageDoel


Hospitality industry & shops

Often abandoned as such after a bankruptcy, bars, hotels or restaurants are unique abandoned places.
If the abandonment is not too old, we can find there all the material but also, sometimes, food of the first freshness. From what to eat in complete safety.

In detail


Industrial

Bright symbols of the decline of the Old Continent, the old industries have been abandoned for the benefit of so-called emerging countries.
Instead of manufacturing our products here, they are now on the other side of the world before arriving home. Logic, isn't it ?
These multi-faceted places were the scene of hard work and drama, only to disappear. Formerly full of workers, they are now only surveyed by a few explorers.

In detail


Institutions & public buildings

The State has always been an example in the careful management of its own buildings. The proof with these few forgotten places.
State motto : "Do as I say, not as I do".

In detail


Medical

These places, for most of us, are born there, and then we die there.
Everyone goes there, one day or another and for a multitude of reasons. Urban exploration will nevertheless allow you to see these places from a different perspective.

In detail

From A to Z

Asile 666 : I · IIClinique du DiableDoppelgängerHH 2HH 2AHH Bébé qui PleureHH GFHH LHH LechauHH VHH XL • Home Sweet Home : I · IIHospice des IndigentsRusthuis DNSalve MaterSanatorium à BasileSanatorium DeliriumShutter IslandSint-Anna Klooster


Military

In principle, entering a military domain is impossible, except when the military left the scene.
It's up to us to invest in these unique, secret and unwelcoming places.

In detail


Prisons

Prisons, by definition, they are places where we isolate those who have no place in society. And logically, normal people never go there except to work there.
Plunged into the prison world, hard and secret.

In detail

From A to Z

Prison 5HPrison 11HPrison 15HPrison 19H


Religious

Is this the sign of the disappearance of a certain culture ? In any case, the closing of churches seems to accelerate over time. Even if it is a blessed bread for the explorers, the decline of this heritage proper to our regions represents a huge loss...
But who cares ?

In detail


Residential

If walking in an abandoned industrial site or religious building does not bother me, entering and visiting a forgotten house gives me strange sensations. So, when everything is still in place, I have the impression of penetrating the intimacy of ancient inhabitants.
Even if the abandonment sometimes dates from a few decades, this impression persists at every visit. A house is not a public place.

In detail

From A to Z

Atelier DecorChâteau du Grand FerrandDark HouseFarm TFerme de la BrouetteFerme du ChristFerme FFerme à la NoixFerme Pim PimFerme SérénadeFerme TapiocaGrand GeorgesGolden CastleHaus des PfarrersHuize VannesteLaundry DayMaison Élephant / SquirellMaison AnnabelleMaison du Baron RougeMaison du Cerf / DentaurumMaison ColombineMaison de la CouturièreHouse near the DressmakerMaison DaveMaison de la DessinatriceMaison DuvalMaison EugenMaison FélixMaison des FleursMaison GustaafMaison HommelMaison de l'InfirmeMaison JeanneMaison JeannineMaison Jean-BaptisteMaison LéonMaison LimmiMaison LucernaMaison Ménage à 3Maison MierloMaison MinusMaison MullerMaison Petite VaisselleMaison P'tit SimonMaison PierreMasion PopeyeMaison Rouf RoufMaison SaunaMaison de VironManoir de l’AntiquaireManoir du Docteur DiogèneManoir Escalier RougeManoir Morte-PlanteMold HouseMüllers MühlePetit GeorgesTree MansionVilla AlbanaiseVilla BeethovenVilla BRVilla BussyVilla ChesterfieldVilla ClémentineVilla du DentisteVilla du Docteur PepitoVilla Doctor DolittleVilla du Docteur LaguerreVilla EllenVilla GrammaireVilla KrisnerVilla Onder OnsVilla Ons NestjeVilla SSVilla StockmansVilla Wallfahrt


Sports equipments

Sport is great for your health, that's a fact. So for example, it easily allows you to lose weight. But it also helps you lose weight in your wallet. Indeed, our politicans like to build sports equipment costing a fortune, not to maintain them properly, and in the end, abandon them.

In detail


Transportation

Whether by road, by rail, by air or by water, humans have always felt obliged to move their carcass point A to a point B. And to do so, he built a multitude of infrastructure and vehicles, many of which are now forgotten.
There are also several places kindly offered by the NMBS.

In detail

From A to Z

Dépôt FBCDPLMÉcluse HOrient ExpressSein Huis B.11Sein Huis B.16Sein Huis B.28 • Train Graveyard LNC : I · IIToll StoryTrain to NowhereT&TTunnel de GodarvilleYellow Cars


Non-urbex photographies

My other series of pictures ranging from the most basic tourism to the most improbable stuff.
There is really a bit of everything, and this in a slightly more conventional surrounding than urban exploration.

In detail

From A to Z

Abandoned canal : I · IIAntwerpen • Blankenberge : I · II · III · IVBrugge • Brussels : I · II · IIIBunker TourByTriskel @ Raku WorkshopBzzzzz • Canal of Espierres : I · IICharleroiChristmas Market • Christ-Roi Church : I · IIDamme • E17 : I · II · IIIEau d'HeureEts. MotteForgotten placesGentGrand BazarGrand HornuGrand Large of PéronnesHastièreHaut-Pays • In the sky... : I · II · IIIKluisbergKortrijkLille 3000MacroMonsMont-Saint-MichelN58Navy Days 2012New YorkNocturnalNormandy US MemorialOld canalOn the road • Oostende : I · II • Park of Mouscron : I · IIRetro 2007-2015Saint-Barthélemy ChurchSainte-Gertrude ChurchSaint-Hadelin ChurchSaint-Jacques ChurchShame 23/01/2011 • Snow : I · IISpring Fair 2011Spring Fair 2022Storm & lightningSunsetThe AmblèveThe lockTournaiUrban & nocturnalUrban walkWind turbines