Urban Relics

Uncovering forsaken beauty

[urbanrelics]

SANATORIO GUIDO SALVINI

At the beginning of the 20th century, tuberculosis was still a widespread disease in Italy, with an alarming death toll. Primarily due to the poor hygienic conditions of a large part of the population, the disease was difficult to bring under control. Partly at the initiative of Dr. Guido Salvini, a physiologist who had long treated tuberculosis patients, it was decided as early as 1911 to build a large sanatorium in the natural forest of what is now Groane Park.

The complex was designed by architect Giannino Ferrini, the city architect of Milan. The surrounding natural environment was considered ideal for the treatments designed for this purpose. However, the First World War disrupted plans, causing construction to be completed only in 1923. Later, in 1929, additional pavilions were added. It became a majestic complex, covering 750,000 square meters, with large windows and terraces. In the center of the complex stands the chapel dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo. Once completed, the sanatorium was dedicated to the then King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III.

During the Second World War, the administrative management of the complex was separated from the strictly medical management and entrusted to the Santa Corona Institute. In 1951, the sanatorium was renovated and expanded. With the introduction of more suitable treatments, the number of tuberculosis cases dropped drastically, and the sanatorium slowly began to transform into a general hospital. In 1955, it was named after Guido Salvini, who had died in 1946 after a life dedicated to the treatment of tuberculosis. The steady decline in the number of tuberculosis cases led to a complete transformation into a general hospital in the 1970s.

In the meantime, a new, ultra-modern hospital complex appeared behind the old sanatorium, which was inaugurated in 2015. Since then, the old sanatorium has become completely empty and has suffered greatly from vandalism by local youth in recent years...

[urbanrelics]

VILLA CAMILLA / VILLA PESENTI

When you're the scion of a wealthy industrial family, you have to offer the love of your life more than just a box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers. And that's exactly what Augusto Pesenti did for his lovely wife, Camilla Donadoni. When he married her, he gave her this magnificent Art Nouveau villa as a wedding gift, which still captivates the imagination 130 years later...

Villa Camilla was built around 1895 to a design by architect Virgilio Muzio, who had built several villas for the Pesenti brothers. The building has a cube-shaped base, so that all sides of the villa are equally important and overlook the beautiful park that surrounds it on all sides.

Muzio designed the villa in his characteristic Neo-Renaissance style, with a return to Renaissance elements such as stepped gables, string courses, and horizontal lines in the façade. This style, also known as Historicism, also embraced influences from the French and Italian Renaissances, with rich façades, columns, and round arches. The Neo-Renaissance style was popular from about 1860 to 1914.

The extensive use of concrete is clearly visible throughout the structure. The use of stone was, after all, out of the question, as the Pesenti family was known for their major innovations in the use of Portland cement, a cement with exceptional properties suitable for both construction and decoration, produced nearby in their own cement factory.

Concrete was used in the villa's concept for both the foundations and for finishes such as columns, capitals, bas-reliefs, and even tiles.

Next to the villa is an impressive winter garden, in which the use of concrete as a decorative element is also clearly visible.

[urbanrelics]

CHARBONNAGE H

This spectacular extraction building is one of the last abandoned buildings on this largely reconverted colliery. Due to the difficult access, it has managed to remain beautifully intact over the years...

As early as 1901, a rich coal seam was discovered underground in this region. The mining concession was applied for and granted in 1906, but it would take until 1930 for the first load of coal to be brought to the surface. In an attempt to develop a different, newer mining method, exploitation was delayed for years due to numerous setbacks, before it was decided to return to the tried-and-true mining method. By then, the world had descended into war. A significant portion of the installations were seized by the German occupying forces. Finally, in 1930, the mining site was able to resume operations.

The coal mined was primarily bituminous coal. Since this was primarily used in heavy industry, the Belgian steel producers in Liège and the Borinage region were the main customers. The mine had three production levels: at 720, 800, and 900 meters, served by two shafts: an air and material shaft and a production shaft with four elevator cages.

In 1955, this operation reached its peak with a production of 1.6 million tons of coal. Over the course of 60 years of operation, a total of nearly 75 million tons of coal were extracted here. Due to increasingly fierce competition from cheaper overseas coal and the rise of oil and nuclear energy, the fate of the Belgian coal mines was effectively sealed by the mid-1950s. The first mine in this region to fall victim to this closed in 1966. This mining site managed to survive until 1992, but was then also forced to close its doors.

The mine site has since undergone a thorough redevelopment, with most of the mine buildings being repurposed. Only this headframe and a water tower have been waiting for a new lease on life for 30 years.

[urbanrelics]

CHATEAU LÖWENHERZ

Chateau Löwenherz (or Chateau Lionheart) is an Ancien Régime moated castle, last used as a hotel school. Especially the oldest part, with its spectacular mantelpieces, floorings and wooden paneling are a feast for the eyes...

This estate, with its remarkable moated castle, had been owned by the noble de Blocquerie family since 1490. It was the chancellor of the Prince-Bishop of Liège, Christopher de Blocquerie, who built the original castle in 1627. The L-shaped structure with gatehouse, which forms the eastern part of the castle, is the original section, dating from 1627.

When the Vanslype-Wyers family bought the estate in 1905 and put it into use as a brewery, malthouse and distillery, the castle was renovated and expanded with, among other things, the high house, built in neo-traditional style, in the southern corner.

In 1949, the Belgian government purchased the property to establish a horticultural school, which later became the Higher National Institute for Technical Education.

In 1992, after the buildings had been vacant for a considerable period, they housed a branch of the Hasselt Hotel School. Initially, this was a resounding success, but student numbers eventually declined steadily. The building closed permanently in 2014.

After years of vacancy, the property was recently sold to 'Les Anciens', a company specializing in the restoration and repurposing of historical heritage.

[urbanrelics]

MANICOMIO DI RACCONIGI

This magnificent abandoned psychiatric hospital was probably my favorite spot on our recent trip to Italy. The gorgeous windows, the seemingly endless corridors, the peeling paint on the walls, the creepy looking treatment rooms... They all contribute to an eerie atmosphere that leave you in awe.

The main building was designed in 1789 by Filippo Castelli and was originally intended to house a charitable hospital and charitable work. Construction took place between 1825 and 1828, but soon after its completion, it was converted into a boarding school for the children of former military personnel. The boarding school, inaugurated in 1834 by King Carlo Alberto, was closed in 1868.

From 1870 onward, the building housed a psychiatric institution, housing approximately two hundred patients. It was not only an internment facility but also a center for neurosurgical studies, with an operating room and extensive medical equipment. Dr. Oscar Giacchi, director from 1880 to 1907, was convinced that mental illness was due to an imbalance between the volume of the brain and the skull. Therefore, the nature of the problem was assumed to be solely mechanical, and experimental surgeries were performed to enlarge the skull and create more space for the brain.

Over time, the institution was expanded with the addition of the Marro Pavilion, for "quiet men," the Tamburini Pavilion, for "quiet women," and the Morselli Pavilion, which housed the cells for patients classified as "dangerous." The more than 16-hectare estate also included an agricultural colony for occupational therapy, a clinical research laboratory, a pathology laboratory, a radiology laboratory, an electrotherapy laboratory, and, as already mentioned, an operating room for nervous system surgery. There were also kitchens, a bakery, a heating plant, and various other buildings, and it was completely self-sufficient . Approximately 500 people, including doctors, clerks, and nurses, worked there.

The psychiatric institution closed in 1981, after the Basaglia Act came into effect. Most of the medical equipment has since been removed, leaving behind an impressive complex of buildings that is slowly but surely being reclaimed by nature.

[urbanrelics]

REMISE DU LOUP

In this gigantic abandoned warehouse, we stumbled upon a breathtaking collection of old and new (ish) trains and locomotives. From the antique steam locomotive to the ultra-modern 'Train à Grande Vitesse' (TGV), or High Speed ​​Train. From the beautiful classic carriage with its wooden benches to the fancy first-class carriage with the luxurious velvet upholstery. All of them collected together in this grand warehouse… What an amazing explore this was!

In this day and age it is hard to imagine how uncomfortable travel by rail must have been back in the day... At least there was a toilet in the carriage...

Inside and outside an old diesel locomotive, once used to pull passenger carriages...

These carriages, dating back to the 1980's I remember all to well from my days commuting to school... Never traveled in the fancier first class compartments with the velvet seats though. As a student I could only afford to travel on the green plastic seats in second class...

This Train à Grande Vitesse (High Speed Train) was one of the Eurostar trains, that upheld a high speed connection between Brussels, Paris and London and traveled through the 'Chunnel', the underseas tunnel between United Kingdom and the mainland.

Coal fueled steam locomotive with its worker carriages...

For longer travel, special carriages were deployed. These carriages had private compartments and a fully equipped restaurant on board.

[urbanrelics]

PALAZZO TORTI FIENILE

We encountered this spectacular ceiling fresco in an abandoned villa in a small, sleepy Italian village, south of Milan. The villa was empty for the most part, but these frescos in the central hallways made the visit more than worth while...

Although it is a listed building, surprisingly little information can be found about this magnificent palazzo. From the scant information I found, I was able to deduce that it was the former country residence of the Torti family, built in the 17th century.

The entire complex includes the manor house or palazzo itself, a dovecote, an oratory, a bell tower, and several outbuildings (stables and a coach house).

This villa was primarily built to house the workers who worked the land, likely dedicated to tomato cultivation (it's no coincidence that the oldest tomato processing plant is located opposite the palace).

[urbanrelics]

BLUE CINEMA

Our first trip to Italy brought us in some peculiar, but beautiful places. This magnificent art deco theatre and cinema, for instance, was absolutely stunning!

Although this was once a very well-known theater and cinema in the region, little is known about its origins. Judging by the architecture, the building was likely constructed around 1930.

After World War II, the cinema complex was taken over by the Ente Nazionale Assistenza Lavoratori (ENAL), which is the National Service for Workers' Welfare, founded in 1945 with the aim of improving working conditions for workers through a range of cultural, recreational, and entertainment activities and various facilities. With the fall of fascism and the end of the war, the film and theater heritage was incorporated into the newly established ENAL.

Before and shortly after the war, the cinema was run by Pietro Monasso. From the early 1960s, he was joined by his son, Ennio. It was Ennio who truly shaped the history of the place and brought it to its peak. A true film buff, he was the last manager when the cinema closed its doors in the early 1970s. After the main attraction closed, Monasso opened the "Petit Bar" on the floors below the cinema, which was a must-see for all young people in the area in the 1970s and 80s.

In the mid-1980s, the building, now owned by the Italian state, became vacant and quickly fell into disrepair. The building is for sale, but due to its poor condition, there is little or no interest.

[urbanrelics]

BRASSERIE OPALE

Ten years ago Belgium, land of beer and chocolate, had around 200 breweries and produced around 1600 types of beer. Many of these small, local breweries started out as family businesses, but due to the cut troath competition of the big players, many of them don't survive... This one however managed to survive, but had to concentrate its production in one brewery, leaving this one, with its gorgeous copper kettles, abandoned...

Amid the turmoil of the late 18th century, this small family brewery was founded in 1790. Little is known about the brewery's early years. Its first major expansion came 145 years after its founding, specifically when one of its beers won four gold medals at the 1935 World's Fair.

From 2000 onwards, the brewery was gradually taken over by the Dutch beer giant Heineken.

In early 2022, the brewery's parent company announced that production at this brewery would cease. The decision was made because rapidly increasing export volumes had "outgrown" the traditional brewery in recent years. Starting in August 2022, production was fully transferred to another brewery site, leaving this site vacant.

[urbanrelics]

BLACK HOLE BEAST

The most spectacular part of this abandoned German coal mine, was this extraordinary dome with gargantuan coal sorting machine. The machine itself is six stories high!

Excavation work for the first shaft of this coal mine began in August 1856, and in 1860 the coal heaps were reached at a depth of 175.9 m. Production began in 1863 with 315 workers.

With the economic boom of the early 1870s, the excavation of shaft 2 began. Production from this shaft began in 1875. By 1890, 1 million tons of coal had already been extracted. This was followed by the excavation of three additional shafts. The mines had a significant demand for workers. Consequently, the population grew rapidly. Many Polish miners settled and worked at this mine site. The peak workforce was reached in 1922, with 15,000 workers and employees.

This coal mine was the last remaining active coal mine in Germany's Ruhr area since December 2015, until it finally closed its doors three years later, in December 2018. Some of the buildings have since been renovated and reused for cultural activities. Another section was demolished.

[urbanrelics]

KRAFTWERK P

This power plant, an industrial monument in Brandenburg, Germany, is one of the oldest brown coal power plants in Europe that has been preserved in its original structure. The power plant was put into operation in 1927. In the 1920s and 1930s, it was one of the most modern peak-load power plants of its time.

After the end of the three main construction phases in 1942, the power plant had a capacity of 54 MW, which dropped to 34 MW after the reparations in 1945. In April 1992, the power plant was shut down and taken off the grid.

As the need for electricity increased due to the increasing industrialization of the region after World War I, it was decided to build a necessary peak load power plant, as until then only a diesel power plant with 4,000 kilowatts of output was available to meet peaks or incidents. This location was chosen due to the favourable production conditions of the nearby and at the time modern, efficient brown coal mine and the briquette factory also located here. A long-term supply contract for the delivery of raw brown coal was concluded with the brown coal mines. In return, they received electricity from the power station.

The power plant was built in three major construction phases between 1926 and 1942. During the first phase of the expansion of the power plant from 1926 to 1928, the first part of the power plant was built with the administrative section, the electrical switchgear and a 115.2 m high chimney. Turbine 1, which was the first to be put into operation in 1927, had a capacity of 8,000 kW. During this time, boilers 1 to 3 and cooling tower I were also built. In 1928, turbine 2 with a capacity of 10,000 kW and cooling tower II followed.

In 1929 and 1930, during the second expansion phase, the engine and boiler house, the external bunker system and other supporting facilities were expanded. In 1930, turbine 3 with a capacity of 16,000 kW and boiler 4 were put into operation.

During the third expansion phase from 1936 to 1942, the engine house and boiler house were expanded and completed, and the water treatment plant extension was built. During this time, additional auxiliary systems were built, and in 1940 and 1941, the second 120 m high chimney was built, which served to discharge flue gas from boilers 4 and 5. In 1942, a fourth turbine with a capacity of 20,000 kW was put into operation, but after the Second World War in 1945 it went to the Soviet Union as reparations.

After the Second World War, various dust-saving maintenance and modernisation works were carried out, such as the renewal of the lowered ceiling of the gondola in 1950, the construction of cooling tower IV in 1954 and the installation of larger transformers during the conversion from 60 kV to 110 kV in 1973.

On 22 July 1985, the entire complex was placed under monument protection. In April 1992, the last turbo set was switched off and the power station was taken offline. On 1 January 1996, the municipality became the sole owner of the power station.

[urbanrelics]

USINE SCAF

As urban explorers, we're usually not the biggest fans of graffiti. In the vast majority of the cases we view it as vandalism, interfering with the history of the abandoned building and taking away the beauty of the decay, which is what we are looking for in the first place. But then there are the exceptions, such as this old cloth factory with the works of renowned French graffiti artist Scaf...

Scaf is known for his astonishing 3D graffiti artworks. He uses whatever is already present in the abandoned buildings to create a new perspective. In the painting of the alligator, for instance, he uses an old fire hose and makes it look like it is wrapped around the mouth of the alligator.

In other cases he creates optical illusions by adding shadows, to make it look as if the subject has detached itself from the wall it was painted on.

Sometimes the subjects will be fantasy creatures and sometimes they'll be near lifelike representations, but always there is the remarkable eye for detail...

The factory itself, an old cloth factory , founded in 1775, mainly supplied cloth to the French army. In 1878, the factory employed 888 workers, including 494 women. During the First World War, it was completely destroyed. In 1920, the ruins were bought by an industrial family from Roubaix, who ran the factory until the Second World War. 

By the time I visited the place, it had been abandoned for many years and only a few ruinous warehouses were left. Shortly after that visited everything was demolished to make way for a new housing project...

[urbanrelics]

BLOCK SIXTY ONE

This photo series is a bit different from what you usually find on Urban Relics in that it is not an abandoned building. A former factory site has been transformed into a remarkable new residential oasis in recent years. And among these new residential complexes you will find this Block 61...

The seven-layer apartment complex consists of two wings that surround a large shared courtyard. In this area, one can find the galleries with the entrances to the housing units and a so-called “waterfall stairway”.

Contrary to its robust appearance, the courtyard has been designed in a small-scale, but special manner. Everything in this courtyard has a sky blue color, creating a peaceful oasis within the dynamic Strijp-S area. In the plinth of the building a small amount of commercial space can be found next to the entrance.

[urbanrelics]

WHEEL OF FORTUNE

This relatively small building is part of a coal mine that I visited twice before already. This particular building is called the 'reception building' of the coal mine and houses the machinery that was used to hoist the elevators out of the mine.

The eye-catcher in the building is the gigantic pulleys, driven by several turbines, which suggest the impressive forces generated here to lift the heavily loaded elevators from the mine shaft to the top.

[urbanrelics]

SCHIMMELKIRCHE

This evangelical " Church of the Redeemer" (known in urban explorer circles als "Schimmelkirche" or "Mold Church") was built between 1891 and 1899 according to plans by the famous church architect Friedrich Fahro. Characteristic of the church is that there are community and living rooms in the basement and the church interior on the upper floor.

It is not clear how long the church has been abandoned, but judging by the now advanced decay, it must have been since at least the beginning of the 1990s...

In 2002, the local Protestant parish submitted an application for the demolition of the church. Due to an upcoming project by architecture students on the repurposing of churches, the demolition work was postponed. The National Office for Monument Protection also hoped that the exhibition of the best projects during "Denkmal 2006" in Leipzig would attract interested investors. In the meantime, twenty years have passed and the church is still decaying...

[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.

[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...