#Urbanexploration

[wandering-italy]

Along the Arno.

Pisa, Tuscany

Dec. 2016

[wandering-jana]

Fells Point

Baltimore, Maryland

April 2021

[urbanrelics]

HAUT FOURNEAU 4

I adore visiting blast furnaces. They are the most spectacular sights I've ever got to witness. The intricacy of the engineering is quite simply astonishing. This particular specimen in Belgium, which has been under close surveilance since it was shut down in 2008, has been preserved in a remarkably good condition. Almost immediately after the closure, an interest group was established that wanted to preserve the blast furnace as an industrial landmark.

This blast furnace company, which is a defining feature of the city of Charleroi, was founded in 1836, during the heyday of the European steel industry. Like all other steel companies in the region, this blast furnace was also the subject of numerous takeovers and mergers. These mainly took place in the 1960s and 70s. It always remained a flourishing company, competitive on a global scale. However, the takeover by the Duferco group in 2001 heralded the beginning of the end…

The site was then operated under the name Carsid. After a fire in 2007, the furnace was temporarily shut down to carry out the necessary repairs. At the same time, capacity was increased and a number of environmental investments were made. The installation would now be operational for another ten years. Barely a year later, the blast furnace was shut down again, due to “poor prospects”. Due to the economic crisis and the declining demand for steel, the operation of the blast furnace company was no longer deemed profitable.

A “temporary” closure and the search for a buyer should bring relief. After more than three years of uncertainty and economic unemployment, the curtain finally fell for the blast furnace. Since HF4 is one of the best preserved blast furnaces in Europe, the Walloon government is striving to preserve the furnace as industrial heritage. Although a ministerial decree has been published to this effect, the demolition work on the site is progressing steadily…

Unfortunately Charleroi is one of the poorest cities in Belgium. There is no budget for the necessary sanitation and preservation works, which would run in the millions of euros. The futures is looking bleak for this beautiful piece of industrial heritage...

[jaimeblancarte]

@jaimeblancarte Querétaro, 2023

[ilcontephotography]

Abandoned villa in Italy.

© Roberto Conte (2020)

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[johndunwin]

This image captures an electric blue vintage Chevrolet amidst the urban backdrop of Evanston.

[chrisblau]

[wandering-cemeteries]

Magnolia Cemetery.

Mobile, Alabama 2023

[picsfromsiberiangirl]

One Gray Afternoon In One Post Soviet District.

[hauntedapartmentx]

[3rdview-blackandwhite]

Last train about to leave | Berlin Airport | 2024

[wandering-italy]

The Temple of Romulus in Rome's Imperial Forum. The temple survived because it was incorporated into a later Christian church.

[wandering-jana]

Matera, Italy is famous for the Sassi, small homes built into the rock that supports the city. The residents shared the space with their farm animals. They were lived in until the 1950s.

March 3, 2024

[urbanrelics]

KRAFTWERK V

This monumental power station, originally a former brown coal power station, but later converted into a gas turbine power station, was built in 1937. It was active for over 60 years and was closed in 1998. The four large chimneys of the now closed brown coal power station, which were characteristic of the area for decades, were blown up in 2001.

The first half of the brown coal plant (6 x 35 MW) was built between 1937 and 1940. After World War II, the power plant's systems and equipment were dismantled between 1945 and 1947 as reparations to the Soviet Union.

From 1953 to 1959, the power plant was rebuilt and expanded with the second half of the plant (12 x 32 MW) in the west and high bunkers in the north. Gradual recommissioning took place from 10 October 1954 with the first trial operation after dismantling and expansion.

The power plant was declared an industrial monument in 1996. In March 2006, the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archaeology removed the power plant from the list of monuments without the owner having submitted an application. The reason for this was that the characteristic chimneys were being demolished.

Despite the loss of its monument status, the power plant is still considered a monument.

[missedmilemarkers]

I love this neat tunnel with its ever-changing lights! Each time you pass through, the colors shift, giving it a dynamic, almost magical atmosphere. It’s such a cool detail that makes an ordinary walk a bit more special.

[ilcontephotography]

Abandoned church in Romania.

© Roberto Conte (2018)

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