The haunting beauty of Europe’s forgotten heritage, in pictures

“This wonderful neoclassical ballroom, whose ceiling fresco, painted by the Belgian artist Henri Depre, represents the gods of Olympus, was built at the end of the 18th century to house a luxurious casino”, Robroek starts the text corresponding to a building L-shaped rising up Belgium and that, in the thirties of the 20th century, it was classified as a historic building. Its interior became, successively, a military hospital, a school, an orphanage and a museum. “Now, in a state of abandonment, it is going to end up in ruins,” he lamented. One of its wings will even have to be demolished. In 1993, a citizen initiative managed to inscribe it on an international list of endangered heritage, according to the photographer. A large part of the façade has been restored, but the interior is still pending renovations.