If you were to visit France, you'd certainly want to see the hot spots, but you might also want to take in lesser-known but fascinating abandoned places. These are buildings no longer in use, a combination of beautiful and sad, where nature and entropy is reclaiming what man built. They all hint at an intriguing history, like Fort D’Arches.
Fort D’Arches (also known as Boulanger Fort Berwick) is a military base in Pouxeux, northeastern France. It was built between 1875 and 1877, and was a part of a chain of forts known as The Curtain of Upper Moselle, which protected the area between Epinal and Belfort. These days, it’s cloaked in plants, trees and (of course) spray paint. Inside, it’s a long, winding network of eerie tunnels, whilst the exterior, enveloped in greenery, is proof of the power of nature over that which is man-made. A fort is the toughest of structures, but this one is no match for curling branches and fast-spreading moss.
There are quite a few pictures of Fort D’Arches, and six other abandoned facilities in this post. -via the Presurfer
(Image credit: Flickr user Thomas Bresson)