This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history but it is no longer accessible to visitors In a small neighborhood known as Monceau-sur-Sambre the magnificent abandoned cooling tower of which still looms over the town no longer creating electricity Power Plant IM was originally built in 1921 and when it was finished it was one of the largest coal-burning power plants in Belgium Water would be let into the cooling tower where it would be cooled by the wind that swept in from portals in the base of the tower releasing billowing columns of hot air. By 1977 the power plant and its massive tower was the main source of energy in the Charleroi area and is said to have been able to cool down 480,000 gallons of water per minute By the 1970s new components were even added to the power plant that could also use gas power the power plant's days in the sun were numbered a report found that Power Plant IM was responsible for 10% of the total CO2 emissions in Belgium protests from Greenpeace in 2006 gave the power plant a lot of negative attention and it closed in 2007 there were reports of looting by metal scrappers but today there are often security guards The power plant still lies abandoned and is said to be scheduled for demolition but until that time it continues to stand as a popular location for urban explorers 2016: The door to power plant itself has been locked (such a shame) If you are a daredevil enough you may enter the plant by climbing from under Feel free to climb anyway. The power plant itself (not the cooling tower) is in demolition but take at least one backup person with you as it is dangerous due to its state 2017: Unfortunately the door to the cooling tower has been sealed off so there is currently no way of entering the site 2018: The door to the cooling tower is unlocked and it was possible to get it 2020: The door is sealed off again and the staircase is removed It seems like the cooling tower will be demolished soon Click here to see more stunning photos from Bryan Sansivero.  Two giant painted cooling towers make for one of the world’s most epic bungee jumps This abandoned Brutalist tower looming over the M6 Motorway once featured a restaurant The last remnants of a lakeside airport that was bulldozed overnight by the mayor of Chicago When the city of Manchester built a new centralized heating network Ruins of an old water tower that look like a horror-film castle Pause in an abandoned hydroelectric station The defensive tower was built centuries ago to warn locals of Berber pirate attacks But churches forget that the stories for life are much stronger educated in a school That is what Frédéric Gérard sees in Belgium where he is connected to a network of Protestant schools Gérard is director of the Protestant primary school (nursery and primary levels) “Les Perles” in Charleroi which brings together the steering committees of Protestant schools in French-speaking Belgium I had the privilege of conversing with Gérard through a videoconference recently Belgium is a country with a Roman Catholic background “The Christian school movement in French-speaking Belgium followed the pioneering Christian school project launched in Alsace by the Christian philosopher and theologian Luc Bussière He understood the importance of putting the Gospel back at the centre of schools This project inspired several Belgians to establish Christian schools in Belgium.” the first two French-speaking Belgian Protestant schools were born: The first one in the Brussels region: “Les Tournesols” in Anderlecht The other school is in the western region of Charleroi: “École de l’Alliance” (the alliance school) in Monceau-sur-Sambre “L’école des Cèdres” (the cedars school) was born in Wasmes it was the turn of our “École Les Perles” (the pearls school) in Marcinelle that of “l’École de l’Arche” (the arch school) in Mouscron The latest is “l’École les Papillons” (the butterflies school) in Manage Frédéric Gérard was born into a Christian family in Brussels fifty years ago He attended church in the capital for 25 years before moving to Charleroi A young primary school teacher graduate in 1997 he was recruited by a new Protestant school called “Les Tournesols” in Anderlecht Thanks to the teachings taught by the Frenchman Luc Bussière he understood the value of schools based on Christian values to set up a new Protestant school near Charleroi called “Les Perles” this free Protestant primary school (nursery and primary) has 200 students His daughter completed her studies in communication and public relations in June 2024 His son completed his first year of civil engineering at the University of Charleroi They are committed to their faith and are one of the proofs that these schools are bearing fruit Frédéric Gérard is also part of a committee bringing together the steering committees of the five French-speaking Christian schools in Belgium called RESPECT (French acronym for “Rassemblement des Établissements Scolaires Protestants Évangéliques - Comité de Travail” Gathering of Evangelical-Protestant School Establishments – Working Committee) Frédéric Gérard says that “unfortunately” l’Arche had to close its doors a few years ago Another school project that had started in Waterloo was short-lived due to a lack of students and financial resources there are five Christian schools in French-speaking Belgium: Four in the province of Hainaut and one in Brussels This also means that four of the five French-speaking Belgian provinces (Liège Walloon Brabant and Luxembourg) do not have a Christian school What was the reaction of the authorities when Protestant schools began to emerge we were all afraid of being seen as outcasts we have never had any problems with the authorities There is a legal framework in Belgium that allows us to do what we do It is true that we could represent competition for the public school networks but we are nevertheless sometimes supported by the authorities We can say that we have proven ourselves.” This is the result of what is called “the school wars” in Belgium (see below) the Roman Catholic Church fiercely opposed the desire to secularise the Belgian society to impose a supposedly neutral education on the entire population The Catholic church won this battle and was able to create its network of state-subsidised schools throughout the country Since the Roman Catholic Church could not be privileged at the expense of other recognised denominations Protestants could also create their own schools and receive subsidies The issue of education has been at the centre of debates practically since Belgium’s birth in 1831 Although Article 24 of the current Constitution states that education must be free the country has experienced several attempts to impose a single education system controlled by the state These attempts resulted in two “school wars” The first school war began in 1879 after the adoption of a law which became known as “la loi de malheur” (the law of woe) The government (composed entirely of Freemasons) sought to eliminate the role of the Roman Catholic religion in education After years of battles that even involved Pope Leo XIII the mainly Roman Catholic new government repealed the law The new law prevented the state from having a monopoly on education and allowed the development of the so-called “free” education network secondary education (ages 12 to 18) was spreading rapidly but it was only the official state network that received subsidies The reaction of the Catholics led to the adoption of a law allowing the financing of the denominational network the anti-Christian movements (liberals and socialists) reacted against it The war ended with the adoption of the “school pact,” which accepted the financing of both networks The fact that Protestant schools are today subsidised by the state is the result of these two major battles led by the Roman Catholic Church of Belgium We still have to reach the set objective of minimum knowledge imposed in particular by the Basic Studies Certificate at age 12 We must also have a sufficient number of students prove that the school is of interest to society and therefore show annual progress during the first five years We realise that we have a great advantage over other French-speaking European nations parents do not have to pay anything for schooling Only extra-curricular services are charged.” We must nevertheless be careful that the state doesn’t force us to teach anti-biblical values as is sometimes the case in certain public schools we respect everything that is requested by the government to all subsidised schools regardless of the network And how is your relationship with local churches we have also encountered conflicts at this level a local church has sometimes sought to interfere in the management of the school when a school started to grow on the site of a church which gave the false idea that the school should be under its control each structure has its own missions and skills.” Have you nevertheless been supported by churches The support of the churches remains crucial We were able to start without a subsidy in 2007 thanks to donations from a church in Couillet (Charleroi region) which provided us with the premises to accommodate our first seven students we have the support of all kinds of churches: Italian Pentecostals traditional free evangelicals and Romanian migrant churches I know that they have also benefited from the support of some local churches We are there for their children and for all those who trust us we have to admit that the glass is only half full there are about 70 Protestant churches or communities Some have never contacted us despite our eighteen years of existence Christian education does not seem to be a priority I believe that many Christians do not realise that school is the place where the child receives the messages that will shape his life If we give our children to schools that don’t recognise Jesus Christ we should not be surprised if they do not live a Christian life as adults the churches that support us are still too marginal.” The vision of Christian schools is not yet widespread enough The interest in a school based on Christian values is not fundamental in people’s minds the teaching profession is unpopular in Belgium 35 per cent of new teachers leave their jobs during the first five years Many non-Christian parents want to entrust their children to us because they see that we have other values than those that dominate today’s world many Catholics are realising that their network is becoming less and less Christian she told us that the way we pray during our weekly prayer meetings has allowed her to grow closer to God.” The management of education in Belgium has been decentralised since the 1980s there are no fewer than five networks: three official networks (managed by the state) and two independent networks The three official networks are the official organised network managed by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation the official network subsidised by the municipalities and the official network subsidised by the provinces The two independent networks are the free confessional network (mainly of Roman Catholic Education) and the free independent network (Felsi) Among the plans of the new centre-right Walloon government is the merger of the three official networks This should have no influence on the Protestant Christian schools Photo: [AndreasS]/Creative Commons Atlas Obscura on Slate is a blog about the world’s hidden wonders. Like us on Facebook and Tumblr, or follow us on Twitter Its magnificent cooling tower still looms over the town no longer creating electricity Power Plant IM was originally built in 1921. When it was finished, it was one of the largest coal burning power plants in Belgium where it would be cooled by the wind that swept in from portals in the base of the tower the power plant and its massive tower was the main source of energy in the Charleroi area and is said to have been able to cool down 480,000 gallons of water per minute new components were even added to the power plant that could also use gas power a report found that Power Plant IM was responsible for 10 percent of the total carbon dioxide emissions in Belgium protests from Greenpeace in 2006 gave the power plant a lot of negative attention and it closed in 2007 Today security guards are often posted on site—a fact that has not deterred many an urban explorer from investigating the cooling tower's moss-coated innards Visit Atlas Obscura for more on Power Plant IM. 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