Hello 
I've been interested in abandoned places for a long time and have built up quite a collection of visits, but this is my first post on 28DL.
I know this place has been covered a lot but I felt like I had to write something as it is sadly being torn down as we speak.
So here's a run down of what we saw inside along with some of my photos.
******************************************
Story:
After scoping out an entrance point the night we arrived, two days later we sneaked in undetected under the cover of dark with the behemoth furnace looming in the darkness, barely visible against the sky.
All 3 of us scaled a small tower beside some train tracks. We could feel it swaying in the wind even though it was made of concrete and steel.
We had a glimpse of the site as a whole as it brooded in the gloom.
It wasn't long until we were further towards the main buildings and I noticed piles of organised rubble or metal, and big ruts in the mud where heavy machinery had been moving around.
As it was 7:30 AM on a Sunday morning we assumed there would be no workers around.
But as we were 90% of the way up the conveyer belt that leads to the first building and just at a point where the metal sheeting that hid us was missing, some headlights came around the corner.
We were convinced it was security looking for us.
But soon after the truck, came excavators and vans with more men in.
We had to time our jump past the gap so they didn't see us.
Unfortunately, it seemed the demolition of the HFB Blast Furnace was underway.
Throughout the rest of the day we could see the workers from various points in our exploration but they didn't seem to notice us, or care.
After nearly bumping into them as they left the site for the day, we scaled the furnace right to the top as we felt we weren't sharing the site anymore (although we did meet and see plenty of other explorers).
There was so much to see and explore. We were in there from dark until nearly dark again.
But if this place is on your list like it was on mine until very recently, I'd get there sooner rather than later if you can, to see the colossus before it's pulled down forever.
******************************************
History:
There is plenty of information about the history of the place online and on other posts.
But if you want a quick summary, here's a passage I took from Obsidian Urbex Photography:
HFB is a former iron and steelworks in Belgium. This immense industrial wasteland was once the largest steelworks in the country.
It is a dominant feature of the riverside skyline. The site dates back to the early 1800s, built by steel producers in alliance with local coal mining companies.
By the early 1900s the site produced 5,000,000 tonnes of steel annually, mainly in the forms of semi-finished products such as plates, beams and rails.
Only two blast furnaces remained in service after damage sustained during the German occupation during the First World War; there were originally eight.
HFB was mothballed during an economic downturn of 2009/2010. Subsequently, it saw a brief resurgence and return to operations.
This was short-lived, however, and the site closed permanently after a few short months.
******************************************
Thanks for viewing!
I've been interested in abandoned places for a long time and have built up quite a collection of visits, but this is my first post on 28DL.
I know this place has been covered a lot but I felt like I had to write something as it is sadly being torn down as we speak.
So here's a run down of what we saw inside along with some of my photos.
******************************************
Story:
After scoping out an entrance point the night we arrived, two days later we sneaked in undetected under the cover of dark with the behemoth furnace looming in the darkness, barely visible against the sky.
All 3 of us scaled a small tower beside some train tracks. We could feel it swaying in the wind even though it was made of concrete and steel.
We had a glimpse of the site as a whole as it brooded in the gloom.
It wasn't long until we were further towards the main buildings and I noticed piles of organised rubble or metal, and big ruts in the mud where heavy machinery had been moving around.
As it was 7:30 AM on a Sunday morning we assumed there would be no workers around.
But as we were 90% of the way up the conveyer belt that leads to the first building and just at a point where the metal sheeting that hid us was missing, some headlights came around the corner.
We were convinced it was security looking for us.
But soon after the truck, came excavators and vans with more men in.
We had to time our jump past the gap so they didn't see us.
Unfortunately, it seemed the demolition of the HFB Blast Furnace was underway.
Throughout the rest of the day we could see the workers from various points in our exploration but they didn't seem to notice us, or care.
After nearly bumping into them as they left the site for the day, we scaled the furnace right to the top as we felt we weren't sharing the site anymore (although we did meet and see plenty of other explorers).
There was so much to see and explore. We were in there from dark until nearly dark again.
But if this place is on your list like it was on mine until very recently, I'd get there sooner rather than later if you can, to see the colossus before it's pulled down forever.
******************************************
History:
There is plenty of information about the history of the place online and on other posts.
But if you want a quick summary, here's a passage I took from Obsidian Urbex Photography:
HFB is a former iron and steelworks in Belgium. This immense industrial wasteland was once the largest steelworks in the country.
It is a dominant feature of the riverside skyline. The site dates back to the early 1800s, built by steel producers in alliance with local coal mining companies.
By the early 1900s the site produced 5,000,000 tonnes of steel annually, mainly in the forms of semi-finished products such as plates, beams and rails.
Only two blast furnaces remained in service after damage sustained during the German occupation during the First World War; there were originally eight.
HFB was mothballed during an economic downturn of 2009/2010. Subsequently, it saw a brief resurgence and return to operations.
This was short-lived, however, and the site closed permanently after a few short months.
******************************************
Thanks for viewing!
