Looking for an easily accessible urban exploration location? Look no further than Utrecht's Cereol Factory.
The Cereol Factory, commonly known as the old soy factory was built in 1908 in the Utrecht neighbourhood of Oog in Al. Nearly a hundred years later, in 2002, it was shut down, because the noise, dust and odor it produced were a severe nuisance to the people living close to the factory.
Because the factory is a really pretty, monumental building, it was decided that it wouldn’t be torn down, instead, it would be renovated as an apartment building. But in 2008, tragedy struck…a massive fire broke out, nearly destroying the entire factory. Today, only the walls remain.
The old soy factory is a so-called urban exploration site that is quite easily accessed. You can just sneak through the fence, no need to climb over it.
You can go inside the factory, but be careful – the site is closed off for a reason! I did go inside for a bit, but found it very hard to photograph. I didn’t plan on going exploring that afternoon, but suddenly found myself there when cycling around the city. And while I did bring my camera, I forgot to bring my flash.
Want to check out the factory for yourself? Hop on your bike and ride to the Kanaalweg, or alternatively, take bus 5 to Oog in Al and get off at the Racinelaan, it’s a five minute walk from there. Also, don’t forget to bring a friend – it can be a bad idea to go exploring on your own. Finally, remember the most important rule of urban exploring: take only photographs, leave only footprints!
6 comments
miss_maha
Will be checking the site out~
explorette
ah a fellow explorer, i recommend beltiz if its still around. a nice big german/russian hospital. its was said that hitler was treated there after he was shot in the 1st world war or something like that.... dont know if its true........ anyway im rambling, nice find. :D
worried_shoes
Sometimes I miss you Utrecht! Nice lomolocation!
mephisto19
how about going there as a lomo meeting??
nicx
Beautiful we have some of these gorgeous old buildings in JHB to! How i love them, so come to the Gas Works if you ever this side of the world!
marije
Thanks for the likes! I'm definitely up for a lomo meet at the factory, but I'm crazy busy the next couple of weekends... But anyone who wants to plan a meet, feel free to message me so we can set a date, it'd be nice to have a meeting around these parts sometime soon.