The History:
In the late 19th and early 20th century the area where the impressive Town Mansion stands was a thriving and rich German community. The street was lined with huge mansions all belonging to German families. This particular house was built in 1912 by one of Belgium’s largest importers of petroleum. This community became a target for British bombing raids during WWI and most of the street was destroyed. Only two houses survived, Town Mansion being one of them.
The house was bought and occupied by a Belgian shipbuilder after the war. In the 1960s the Provincial Government bought the property to use as office space. They vacated the property after a while and in 1991 it was acquired by a real estate trader for €600,000 and the house has never been occupied since.
The Explore:
Having seen pictures of this one on various sites around the internet, I knew that I had to see it so with a bit of research, I soon found the location. Fast forward a few months and I'm in Belgium and it's now my turn to see if I can get inside to take some pictures. Having been told there was a caretaker but no way of getting hold of him, all I could do was park up by the front gates and wait in the hope that he would notice me and allow me inside. Half an hour passed and still nothing so noticing the for sale sign at the front of the property, I gave the number a call and managed to get through to the caretaker who in turn let me in and allowed me as much time as I wanted inside.
When he opened the door, my jaw dropped to the floor. I have never in my life seen a property which have such a massive wow factor like this before. The scale and size of it blows anything I have ever seen before completely out of the water!
In the late 19th and early 20th century the area where the impressive Town Mansion stands was a thriving and rich German community. The street was lined with huge mansions all belonging to German families. This particular house was built in 1912 by one of Belgium’s largest importers of petroleum. This community became a target for British bombing raids during WWI and most of the street was destroyed. Only two houses survived, Town Mansion being one of them.
The house was bought and occupied by a Belgian shipbuilder after the war. In the 1960s the Provincial Government bought the property to use as office space. They vacated the property after a while and in 1991 it was acquired by a real estate trader for €600,000 and the house has never been occupied since.
The Explore:
Having seen pictures of this one on various sites around the internet, I knew that I had to see it so with a bit of research, I soon found the location. Fast forward a few months and I'm in Belgium and it's now my turn to see if I can get inside to take some pictures. Having been told there was a caretaker but no way of getting hold of him, all I could do was park up by the front gates and wait in the hope that he would notice me and allow me inside. Half an hour passed and still nothing so noticing the for sale sign at the front of the property, I gave the number a call and managed to get through to the caretaker who in turn let me in and allowed me as much time as I wanted inside.
When he opened the door, my jaw dropped to the floor. I have never in my life seen a property which have such a massive wow factor like this before. The scale and size of it blows anything I have ever seen before completely out of the water!
