Here's my first report. Sorry if not perfect. I'm always open to suggestions.
Some background information
The site of the church was originally a Merovingian cemetery. The romanesque tower dates back to the 12th century and was the last remain of the first church in this place. The rest of the church has been rebuilt in the 18th century. In the 80's it was fundamentally damaged by an earthquake. It took several more years until it was clear how bad the damage really was. Because of the danger of collapse, the church was disused in 1990. Ever since, it has been abandoned. Because of the really bad state of the building, most of it has been demolished a couple of months after our visit. The medieval tower, which has a protected monument status, has been preserved.
The explore
The church was situated on a small townsquare surrounded by houses. The location was pretty easy to find, as it was quite a well-known location in Belgium. It was not that easy to get into. We had to wait around the townsquare for a bit until there were no passerby's on the square. Then, when we had our opportunity, we quickly circled the church and found a broken window to climb through. We had to descend a crappy ladder several meters down, but it was worth it. The church was in a very good condition for an explore. Very little vandalism and a lot of pretty, natural decay. Once inside, we were completely out of view and could take our time for a look around and some photo's.
The church.
Some details.
Some background information
The site of the church was originally a Merovingian cemetery. The romanesque tower dates back to the 12th century and was the last remain of the first church in this place. The rest of the church has been rebuilt in the 18th century. In the 80's it was fundamentally damaged by an earthquake. It took several more years until it was clear how bad the damage really was. Because of the danger of collapse, the church was disused in 1990. Ever since, it has been abandoned. Because of the really bad state of the building, most of it has been demolished a couple of months after our visit. The medieval tower, which has a protected monument status, has been preserved.
The explore
The church was situated on a small townsquare surrounded by houses. The location was pretty easy to find, as it was quite a well-known location in Belgium. It was not that easy to get into. We had to wait around the townsquare for a bit until there were no passerby's on the square. Then, when we had our opportunity, we quickly circled the church and found a broken window to climb through. We had to descend a crappy ladder several meters down, but it was worth it. The church was in a very good condition for an explore. Very little vandalism and a lot of pretty, natural decay. Once inside, we were completely out of view and could take our time for a look around and some photo's.
The church.
Some details.
All looks good to me !
