Rusthoven brickworks

Edit: Again, this blip really should have been about Inge, just like yesterday. Straight after I returned from shooting at the brickworks, Inge fell and slammed right into the rather sharp edge of a low table. A cut in her forehead needed to be fixed by a doctor who literally glued the skin back together. Inge is alright and didn't even have a headache. After I returned home I realized there were no pictures taken of the event. So no image of Inge but it does need to be documented of course...

The brickworks "Rusthoven", located at the Damsterdiep (a canal between Delfzijl and Groningen) near Tjamsweer and Appingedam, started in 1804. In 1925 the last modernization took place. After that, the clay that was needed for the bricks was no longer available nearby. In 1965, production was stopped. Until 1975, bricks were still sold at the works and the machines and buildings were kept in good shape. After that, nature and vandals took over, leading to its current state of decline. It's a shame it has come this far. Of the 148 works with a ring oven in The Netherlands, only nine remain and this is the only one in the province of Groningen.

It's quite a dangerous place, with holes in floors (both intended and due to collapsing structures underneath), wooden beams that are not as solid as they seem and on top of that the place is infested with hogweed during the summer. I got out alive, in one piece and without burns from the hogweed sap.

This is really close to my house and I have never been there before. It's very close to a road but you can't really see the beauty of the place until you get out and take a close look. It's a regular blipmine and I will definitely revisit! In this shot I think I'm on the inside of a building, but you never really know there...

* Runner up #1
* Runner up #2