This was top of my list of shit to see for a while, just my luck i should funk myself and my camera lens getting in the bloody place! struggled like funk to take photos in here, if there's one place you don't need a pissed lens it's in somewhere with as much symmetry as this, managed to cobble together a few alright shots though but wish i had more, definitely need to do a revisit, that said it ain't just about looking at epic spaces like this through a viewfinder, i would have been happy with no camera just mooching about and standing in the middle of this place taking in all that awesome!!
The explore, so it was meant to be an early morning jobby but due to a rather late night rooftopping antwerp central train station and other awesome shiznit we didn't end up attempting to get into here until 7/8 which is a bit late really as this is in the middle of antwerp and there was a few people pottering about. the task of getting in proved to be fairly awkward, i got over first and headed straight for the access, once inside i went down to the basement to see if i could find another access point to let the others in, as i walked into a cellar room i could see the floor lit up in a corner of the room from a grate up to outside, i could also see the the floor lit up from the doorway i was stood in, very very foolishly i made the mistake of thinking this floor was all one level from where i was stood to where the grate was, i took a bou4/5 step into the black of the cellar heading towards the lit up floor in the corner of the room when suddenly the floor evaporated, walked straight of a 4/5 foot ledge and landed in a pile on the floor, very very pro!! was lucky not to have broken anything tbh, i did twist up my knee pretty good, smashed in the lcd on my camera and also knocked the shit out of my lens-wasn't my finest exploring moment, lesson most definitely learned-if you can't see where your putting your feet GET A FUCKIN TORCH OUT YOU TIT!!! so yeah i picked myself up and hobbled over to the original access, whilst i was throwing myself around in the cellar two of the group had managed to get over, unfortunately one remained on the wrong side of the fence as he couldn't make it over
never as fun if one of the crew can't get in but given we were already in he went off for breakfast whilst we got down some picturegraphs. As awesome a place as this is it would have been a hullavh lot more ebjoyable with an unpissed lens and not having to hobble/hop around the bloody place! knee was pretty well buggered for the rest of the trip, in fact it still giving me twinges now well over a month after i did it, as i say lesson bloody learned, careful out their kids!
History
The Chambre De Commerce stock market of Antwerp opened in 1531. At the end of the fifteenth century nearby Bruges was an important international trading hub, and Antwerp took the role as a trading centre of Bruges.
The first building, in late-Gothic style followed a design by Domien de Waghemakere, and comprised a rectangular open space, enclosed by a covered colonnade. This design greatly inspired Sir Thomas Gresham when he founded the London Stock Exchange in 1565, and was echoed by later Stock Exchanges in Rotterdam (1595) and Amsterdam (1611). It is claimed that when it first opened “every nation” had a more or less permanent place in the CDC.
The Chambre Du Commerce in 1531.
After a fire in 1583 it was rebuilt to the original plans, and the open interior space was enclosed in 1853 with a roof designed by Charles Marcellis and modelled on London’s Crystal Palace.
The CDC, with roof added.
After a second fire again destroyed the building in 1858, Antwerp City Council held a design competition, in which the old concept had to be preserved. The current building was designed by architect Joseph Schadde and was completed in 1872. It is described as being a curious combination of neo-Gothic style and revolutionary techniques, especially the metal construction for the interior.
The Antwerp Stock Market closed in 1997, when its functions were taken over by the Brussels Stock Exchange. The building has remained empty and neglected ever since. Long-standing plans to convert the CDC and a neighbouring building into a “semi-public function space”, restaurant, and 5-star Marriott hotel have stalled due to funding problems.
PICTURE TIME!! - tbf nowhere near as many as i wanted, this was what was salvaged
and this is me giving the V's to CDC for buggerin up my shizzle!
thanks for taking a look kids, play safe y'all!!
The explore, so it was meant to be an early morning jobby but due to a rather late night rooftopping antwerp central train station and other awesome shiznit we didn't end up attempting to get into here until 7/8 which is a bit late really as this is in the middle of antwerp and there was a few people pottering about. the task of getting in proved to be fairly awkward, i got over first and headed straight for the access, once inside i went down to the basement to see if i could find another access point to let the others in, as i walked into a cellar room i could see the floor lit up in a corner of the room from a grate up to outside, i could also see the the floor lit up from the doorway i was stood in, very very foolishly i made the mistake of thinking this floor was all one level from where i was stood to where the grate was, i took a bou4/5 step into the black of the cellar heading towards the lit up floor in the corner of the room when suddenly the floor evaporated, walked straight of a 4/5 foot ledge and landed in a pile on the floor, very very pro!! was lucky not to have broken anything tbh, i did twist up my knee pretty good, smashed in the lcd on my camera and also knocked the shit out of my lens-wasn't my finest exploring moment, lesson most definitely learned-if you can't see where your putting your feet GET A FUCKIN TORCH OUT YOU TIT!!! so yeah i picked myself up and hobbled over to the original access, whilst i was throwing myself around in the cellar two of the group had managed to get over, unfortunately one remained on the wrong side of the fence as he couldn't make it over
never as fun if one of the crew can't get in but given we were already in he went off for breakfast whilst we got down some picturegraphs. As awesome a place as this is it would have been a hullavh lot more ebjoyable with an unpissed lens and not having to hobble/hop around the bloody place! knee was pretty well buggered for the rest of the trip, in fact it still giving me twinges now well over a month after i did it, as i say lesson bloody learned, careful out their kids!History
The Chambre De Commerce stock market of Antwerp opened in 1531. At the end of the fifteenth century nearby Bruges was an important international trading hub, and Antwerp took the role as a trading centre of Bruges.
The first building, in late-Gothic style followed a design by Domien de Waghemakere, and comprised a rectangular open space, enclosed by a covered colonnade. This design greatly inspired Sir Thomas Gresham when he founded the London Stock Exchange in 1565, and was echoed by later Stock Exchanges in Rotterdam (1595) and Amsterdam (1611). It is claimed that when it first opened “every nation” had a more or less permanent place in the CDC.
The Chambre Du Commerce in 1531.
After a fire in 1583 it was rebuilt to the original plans, and the open interior space was enclosed in 1853 with a roof designed by Charles Marcellis and modelled on London’s Crystal Palace.
The CDC, with roof added.
After a second fire again destroyed the building in 1858, Antwerp City Council held a design competition, in which the old concept had to be preserved. The current building was designed by architect Joseph Schadde and was completed in 1872. It is described as being a curious combination of neo-Gothic style and revolutionary techniques, especially the metal construction for the interior.
The Antwerp Stock Market closed in 1997, when its functions were taken over by the Brussels Stock Exchange. The building has remained empty and neglected ever since. Long-standing plans to convert the CDC and a neighbouring building into a “semi-public function space”, restaurant, and 5-star Marriott hotel have stalled due to funding problems.
PICTURE TIME!! - tbf nowhere near as many as i wanted, this was what was salvaged
and this is me giving the V's to CDC for buggerin up my shizzle!
thanks for taking a look kids, play safe y'all!!
Hope the knee isnt giving you too much stick 
