Located in Liège, Belgium, this fort was built in 1817 by the Dutch army (the country of Belgium did not yet exist; it wasn't founded until 1830). This fort is part of the fortification line along the river Meuse which crosses Belgium.
The fort was ready-and-able to house 3000 soldiers, but will unfortunately never complete its purpose to defend anything. The history of this fort is pretty interesting. It was seized by the Belgian people during the revolution in 1830 and it became a simple barracks. During World War I and World War II the fort acted as a German prison. In 1944-45 the American military took control of the fort and it was transformed into the 28th General Hospital for the US Army. The fort now stands decaying and completely obsolete.
The scars of history show on the walls of this empty fortress. While walking around you can easily read signs such as: "Rauchen verboten! (Smoking Forbidden)" or "28th General Hospital US Army" on the walls. Another interesting feature inside the pillboxes, which were put in place to defend the fort, are military paintings that haven’t been erased by time. The site is huge coming in at over 30 hectares, and the entrance is rather difficult to locate, but this place does not disappoint and is definitely worth a visit…
Hi Guys, We are HAUNTED HULL, I was at the fort with my team on the 01/10/2015 and the next night 02/010/2015 Doing a Ghost Hunt, I come from Hull UK, THERE WAS NO SECURITY ON EITHER NIGHT OR DAY, And the place was quiet, we walked around in total darkeness and got some real good footage, so anyone wanting to go there please be carefull of rotten floors, but everything else is ok. great place and will be going back next year, and yes it will still be there because they cannot afford to knock it down.
For sure a nice location but everything is sprayed with graffiti and locals walk the dog there. But indeed the gate is wide open so easily accessible if you want to have a look inside.
Visited this site in May and found that the main gate was open and that the site was accessible. However, on some locations on the site, demolishing works are in progress. Spent a nice afternoon at this place. Here are some picts: www.peterlouies.eu/index.php/urban-exploration-for-de-la-chartreuse-liege/
Been there today with my Urbex girl friend gate was wide open great place
grzt Rob
Been there today to take pictures. The main gates are simply open and more people are walking around there! A must-see!
It's still there. We visited the fort this weekend. It was great walking around there. The self-made ladder is still there, we used it to get in
Hmm weird reading the messages that there are still people able to visit and I thought it was being demolished? I went there in 2009-10 if i'm correct and there were construction workers there.
but it was quite a fun experience and the bunker was scary
This is my second house. I spend a lot of time there, I know every part of the site by heart and I almost died twice on the roofs. I just love this place, and I know how to enter it without being seen. Yes some places are totally rotten, but if you're a bit careful and if you open your eyes there is no big deal. I'm a teenager and sometimes we have some parties in this old fort, and I tell you : sleeping in La Chartreuse is fucking scary, but when you see the sunrise over the old builings, it's just amazing.
Visited this site 2 weeks ago.
It is so unreal to visit. First I drove the car towards the front gates.. everywhere cars and houses.. lots of noise of the city! The front gate is heavily guarded.. at least 2 gates with barbed wire and cameras.. there's no going through there.
So I parked the car a bit further away and just started to walk around the complex. It is surrounded by a huge impenetrable wall but there is a weak spot, which I guess every visiter uses. Walking past the wall there is 1 major breach, there has been attempts to close it again with fence but it has been opened again. There's even a selfmade ladder to climb on the property!
When you have arrived at the site it looks so unreal, there are many gigantic buildings surrounding you and.. it's so extremely quiet! I've been walking around for a couple of hours and during my visit I saw 2 teenagers entering the site as well. They made lots of noise and it was obvious not their first visit..
So for everyone, it's a great location to visit.. and it really is easy to acces, just follow the wall
Is this still standing? I'd be grateful for an update
Very nice site, I was there 4/9/10 seemed to be completely abandoned, didn't see anyone else, there was some evidence that there had been transients living there previously but nothing looked fresh. Excellent location, highly recommended.
I went to the fort about 2 months ago with 2 friends of mine. The small central buildings we're demolisched. The fort itsself is huge and in OK shape! We spent like 4,5 hours just walking to see all floors, take pictures ect. De tunnels around the fort have been pumped with mud and stone and so are not accesable except for a small crawlspace that was not blocked with sand and rubble. The crawlspace switches between 40 and 200 cm. (full tunnel space) there also are 2 houses behind the fort. 3 small buildings in front of the fort, an old slaughterhouse and an old factory hall. I recall seeing some more empty buildings, but I can't say im sure about those. because it was getting late and we had to drive 2 hours home.
We ran into some other urbanists, 3 teams just nodded, and walked on. There are plenty of old people and people who walk their dogs on the terrain, but they didn't mind nor notice us anyway.
Warnings: - The attic is in bad shape, so don't kick the walls or do anything stupid! - Don't go unto the wooden floors all the way in the attic, those are rotten and done for - WATCH OUT FOR HOLES IN FLOOR ON THE SECOND FLOOR IN SOME CORRIDORS! Those are mighty deep and a fool could drop down 2 floors into darkness...
Thats it, Best urban exploring ive ever done!
A must see for all urbanists in europe I would say.
Easy to acces, Easy to find
My father, Ben Felson, MD, was stationed at Fortreuse. It was taken over by the American military for a General Hospital as World War II moved along. He built a baseball field there by commandeering a military bulldozer. When it knocked over the threshold (probably the missing entry you looked for) he worried about being court-martialed. But he knew that Americans love baseball, so he'd probably be spared. Anyway, he kept quiet until after the war.
Thanks Slyv for the localization. We make a new video of this place un CELATV celatelevision.blogspot.com
I was there last weekend for a Airsoft skirmish. It must be one of the most amazing terrains i have ever seen.
Well, when i visited a few weeks ago, it was a paintball paradise :|
I arrived in Liege yesterday with my GF who is here for business. I had been researching Liege and with Remembrance Day so near, I decided to seek any Australian connections and the World Wars with liege. I was not disappointed.
Specific to the Fort however, it has been an amazing day. I basically hopped into a taxi from the airport and an hour later I was in Fort De LA Chartreuse.
On my own, wandering through the tunnels and rooms put an interesting edge to it. In addition I had visited the grave of an unknown Australian soldier in the nearby cemetery and seeing the quantity of surrounding graves, I could only imagine how may brave souls died in the Fort. (Yes there were a few second takes looking behind oneself down those long corridors)
Being Australian, white history is short compared to that of Europe and to be able to explore such a place without any 'trumpets playing' was amazing. This will be a sad loss.
Loss? On my leaving the Fort I spoke with no security guards but a couple of young fellow taking core soil samples (this indicates geotech studies for future foundation work). A quick chat and I was right, the buildings are to be demolished very soon.
Thank you to this website for such an amazing, unexpected experience and thank you to the Australians that died in both the nineteenth century World Wars in and around Belgium.
If you get a chance, don't miss this visual feast.
:-)
Yesterday we spend about 3 hours to take Photos and Explore the Buildings, and only at the last 15 min. we hear a Dog, but we couldnt see it.
I studied architecture as an erasmus in liege and this site was the subjet of the year. Now i am using it to do my final proyect. I was surprised to see this web site, i found really nice pictures. Actually i wanted to ask if anybody has got any more information such as plans of the diferent buildings or anything that could interest me. Also if somebody is interested i have got some information myself. THank you good bye!
Hi guys,
I've been inside the buildings last weekend. Didn't see or hear any security or guards. I used the (former) front enterance to get in. A simple case of climbing over the fence. Spikey bits had already been removed by previous visitors. They did however destroy some buildings behind the main three buildings. Just past the main gate on the right hand sight is the former prison block. All the old metal doors are still there. I' definitly check that one out!!! It was amazing.
Any update on the dog/security detail?
Well, to me it seems very unlikely that they would guard the place 24/7. It would cost to much considered the benifits. I'm sure you'll be able to enter on a random sunday.
I've heard that La Chartreuse is now guarded by watchmen with a couple of dogs and can't be entered anymore... is that true? I thought about a journey to Liège from Frankfurt...
Doug: for such a short walk, why don't you find out??
Hello I stay with family 5 minutes from this site. Is it easy to visit? It fascinates me. Ta Doug
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