As you walk up the drive towards this old Château you find countless curious buildings lurking behind the trees. We came here purely to see the remnants of the Château and had no idea it would be surrounded by what was once a Belgian Air Force base. It turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip for me on the 'Fifty shades of Gay' tour with @oakleyframer, Jane and a non member elsewhere known as Curious George.
Château Rochendaal was built in 1881 by Jean-Henri-Paul Ulens, a lawyer and later mayor of the city of St. Truiden. During World War II the small castle was occupied by the Nazis and became part of a Luftwaffe airfield which included 3 runways. The Château was later renovated and used as a residence for many high-ranking officers. After the War, the castle was taken over by the Belgian Air Force and used again as an officers' residence until 1996 when it was abandoned.
This is two reports in one really but as everything is on the same site it seems more logical than posting two separate ones. I'll start off with the Air Force Base, nothing much left inside any of these buildings but lots of decay, it's kind of reminiscent of Sevs in places. There were so many flies in here that I kept running back out within seconds fearing I'd disturbed a hornet's nest or something. Nope, just flies, turns out I'm a massive pussy and hundreds of flies scare the shit out of me! Bzzzzzzz
Château Rochendaal was built in 1881 by Jean-Henri-Paul Ulens, a lawyer and later mayor of the city of St. Truiden. During World War II the small castle was occupied by the Nazis and became part of a Luftwaffe airfield which included 3 runways. The Château was later renovated and used as a residence for many high-ranking officers. After the War, the castle was taken over by the Belgian Air Force and used again as an officers' residence until 1996 when it was abandoned.
This is two reports in one really but as everything is on the same site it seems more logical than posting two separate ones. I'll start off with the Air Force Base, nothing much left inside any of these buildings but lots of decay, it's kind of reminiscent of Sevs in places. There were so many flies in here that I kept running back out within seconds fearing I'd disturbed a hornet's nest or something. Nope, just flies, turns out I'm a massive pussy and hundreds of flies scare the shit out of me! Bzzzzzzz
1. A building engulfed by trees
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4. Canteen
5. The Officers' Bar
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8. & 9. Colourful corridors
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12. This was my favourite room, completely overgrown and made better by the fact it was on the first floor.
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Onto Le Château, very trashed and falling to pieces but still a beautiful building with plenty of original features to give you an idea of what it once looked like. The staircases were especially impressive and the little room with the blue ceiling although you needed a fisheye to capture that properly.
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So that was it for the day, from here we headed off and checked into our brothel to catch some zeds, as you do.
Thanks for looking
2.
3.
4. Canteen
5. The Officers' Bar
6.
7.
8. & 9. Colourful corridors
10.
11.
12. This was my favourite room, completely overgrown and made better by the fact it was on the first floor.
13.
14.
Onto Le Château, very trashed and falling to pieces but still a beautiful building with plenty of original features to give you an idea of what it once looked like. The staircases were especially impressive and the little room with the blue ceiling although you needed a fisheye to capture that properly.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
So that was it for the day, from here we headed off and checked into our brothel to catch some zeds, as you do.
Thanks for looking
