vrijdag 30 januari 2009

Fort Chartreuse



This fort was built in 1817 by the Dutch
in order to protect the city of Liège.



After the independency of Belgium in 1830 it came under
control of this new nation and was used
as army barracks.



When Germany invaded Belgium in August 1914,
Chartreuse was used as a prison for hundreds of
Belgians who tried to resist the German invaders.



49 people were executed on the site and buried.



During world war II the fort came under German control again
from 1940 till 1945.
At the end of the war it was used as the 28th US General Hospital
during the Ardennes-offensive.



In 1982 the fort was left abandoned by the Belgian army.
The place was frequently used as a hide-out for the homeless
and even a few times a dead body got dumped here.
These days measures have been taken to secure the site.


zaterdag 17 januari 2009

Hotel Kosmos



1934 - Hotel Kosmos was build.
It specialised in accomodating youth organisations.



1965 - The restaurant and cafetaria got upgraded.



1965 - The outdoor pool got constructed.
Hotel Kosmos was very famous for this swimming pool,
the only one of it's kind in the area.
This same pool was also the beginning of the end.
It didn't fulfill the safety-standards and Hotel Kosmos
lost their permit for the pool in 2002.



1992- Several parts of the hotel
get completely renovated



1994 - Because of the special architecture
the main building of Hotel Kosmos gets
protected as architectural heritage.



2002 - Hotel Kosmos loses their pool-permit.



2005 - The number of visitors keeps decreasing
and Hotel Kosmos has to close the doors.



2008 - In July a fire brings severe damage
to the staircase and the upper
floors of the protected main building.

dinsdag 13 januari 2009

Diamond-workshop Lieckens



In 1908 Petrus Lieckens gave the order to build this workshop for his two sons.



They had learned the craftmanship of
diamond-cutting and polishing in Antwerp.



The workshop had two levels
and a saddle-shaped roof.



During WWI the roof got destroyed by a bomb and
got replaced by a flat roof.



In 1985 the workshop closed it's doors
and it was left untouched since then.



In 2008 it got protected as industrial heritage.






maandag 12 januari 2009

Winter Wonderland



Het gebeurt niet veel dat we in ons kleine landje van een heus
winterlandschap kunnen genieten...



daarom was het de voorbije week
dé uitgelezen kans om unieke beelden te schieten.



Bevroren waterwegen,
witte velden en besneeuwde bomen...



deze witte pracht bracht aspecten in het landschap
naar boven die anders verborgen blijven.





Natuurlijk heeft al deze pracht ook zijn keerzijde.



Bevroren waterleidingen, auto's die niet meer starten,
het verkeer dat in de knoop geraakt.



Het ergste blijkt nu achter de rug ... de dooi is ingezet,
met enkele leuke plaatjes als blijvende herinnering
aan nog eens een weekje "echte" winter.