De Wolf-Cosyns was founded in 1770 and has passed from father on son. It was the most important malt-house of Belgium(and once the biggest of world) and belonged to the absolute world top with a production of 80000 tons a year. The company acquired an extraordinary reputation in the field of special malt, by its know-how, its specific and modern technologies, and its advisory function in brewing special beers. De Wolf-Cosyns existed from 2 separate establishments ; a granery and a malt-house,both built in the same city.The granary at the border of the canalized Dender river,which was built in 1883, illustrates the fast growth of the firm changing from hop dealers to malting company during the hop crises in 1870.The company ceased all activities on june 30,2002 because of economic reasons. Gone are the white steam clouds above the factory and the lovely smell of malt.The buildings and its 119 years history still stands...but for how long?

In 2000, 2 years before the closure of "De Wolf-Cosyns",I was attending school next to the factory and I still remember the smell, the huge steam clouds and the loud noise. 4 years later, on a cold winter night, we went to the factory. It's rather difficult to get in unnoticed because the buildings are in the center of the city. But we did get in without beeing seen...or at least, that's what we thought. When we stepped into the main building, we were surprised to see that the lights were on, and the machines were still there. After an hour of exploring,we decided to go home, cause it was getting late, and we had to go to school the next day. When Pieter-Jan jumped out of a window of the administration building(which is next to the street), a police car drove by, luckely without seeing him! But they were definitely called by someone who had seen us. So there I was, trapped inside the administration building, waiting... waiting... After about 30 minutes a second police car drove by and parked next to the first one in front of the building, blocking the only exit. Finnaly they left and I was able to get out, swearing never to visit "De Wolf-Cosyns" again...wel uh..not until July 2004. I went back to "De Wolf-Cosyns" on a sunday morning (5.30 AM). Just a precaution. Much has changed since Februari. All the machines were dismantled, there was no more light and the factory was heavily vandalized. It rather looked like a war zone, parts of the machines and broken glass were shattered everywere. The inside of the building is like a maze ; doors and corridors everywere, never knowing were you will end up. Unfortunately,the factory has been sold recently and will probably be demolished soon...

These are the photo's taken on our first visit :

- Photographer	:  Tomas Gheys :  Frederik Gheys :  Pieter-Jan Van Der Smissen
- Camera	:  Nikon F75 (N75) - Nikon F80 (N80)
- Camera (1)	:  Nikon D70
- Lens	:  Tamron 17-35mm - Nikor 28-80mm - 50mm
- Lens (2)	:  Sigma 18-50mm
- Date	:  June - July 2004
- Location	:  ****** (Belguim) : [ E-Mail Us ]
- Current Status	:  Abandoned - Machines Dismantled
- Times Visited	:  [3]

*(1)Camera used for night photography.
*(2)Lens used for night photography.