Urbex – Château Rochendaal

Abandoned castle somewhere in Belgium. This is a well known urbex location. This castle was built in 1881 by a lawyer. During World War two, the germans used it, they built an airfield and used it for the Luftwaffe. It was an important point in their strategy. After the War, the airfield was used by the belgian army, and the castle served as the officer’s mess. In 1996, the place was abandoned, but it is still part of a military domain.

For sure, this castle must have been a real beauty in its time of glory. But now, after about twenty years of dereliction, it is in a really bad condition. As usual, vandals must have had a lot of fun there, and left their marks on the castle: The banisters of the impressive staircase have disappeared, windows are broken and supposedly funny graffitis decorate the walls here and there. The wonderful little chapel seems to be the only room that has been spared from the slaughter, though. I left the place with mixed feelings, thinking that I should have paid a visit to this place sooner, maybe it would have been a more interesting exploration