In 1792, during the French revolution,
the family of the count Liedekerke-Beaufort
left his castle (chateau de Vêves) to find
refuge on a farm close to the village of Celles.

After several construction-works this farm
grew out to become the castle of Noisy (aka chateau Miranda)
in 1866.
It's build in a neogothic-style and is mostly
by the hand of the English architect Milner.

Between 1950 and 1970 the castle was used as a
children's home for the employees
of the Belgian Railroads and was called
"Home Noisy"

Afterwards it was used as a children's holiday center.

In 1991 a fire caused the center to close down
and it was left in the hands of decay ever since.

Time Travel

The old woodmill

Montevideo wharehouse

Missil Oil Company

Domaine C

Ye old bathtub

Hasard Cheratte

Cokeries d'Anderlues

La Chartreuse

With a little "toy" I found on the internet I tried
to revive the athmosphere of the old days.
Pictures like our forfathers could have made them.

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.

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.

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.

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.