Fleron fortress: Ghost fort
Flerron in the 1970's.
Fleron fortress: Ghost fort. The fort that (officially) no longer exists…Hidden under the Belgian town of Fleron lies a relic from the past.. Built in 1891, Fleron fortress was one of the 12 Brialmont-style forts erected around Liege, Belgium.
Fleron saw action in the First World War. Mordenised and refurbished in the 1930’s, Fleron fought again in May 1940. In the 1950’s, the army sold the structure and scrap merchants were allowed to remove armament, equipment, steel and anything else of value. The fort was then abandoned. It remained visible until the 1970’s (Black & White picture) before a social housing complex was built on site (Google Earth screen shot).
In 2014, ahead of the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI, a Belgian newspaper wrote an article on the forts of Liege and the campaign of August 1914. In said article, Fleron Fortress was listed as “demolished”, which was intriguing!
RMB, of team Defensionem, contacted the city council to get more information. He was told the fort had been demolished during the 1970’s prior to the housing complex being built on the same site. Anybody that knows anything about such structures and about concrete would find this explanation highly unlikely…So RBM assembled a small team of friends, all fortification experts and guides and investigated the issue…
As you can see in those pictures, Fleron fortress still exists! It simply lays buried and forgotten under the housing complex mentioned above! Access is extremely well hidden. The inside of the fort is pristine and still shows some of the damage incurred during May 1940.
Said damage made the visit somewhat perilous at times. This was a dangerous adventure, with part of the structure lacking adequate oxygen levels. But it was fun.
Nothing was disturbed or damaged during the visit and the access was closed and hidden again upon exiting the fort, so as to preserve it from people and protect people from its dangers.
