Fleahill Tower | 跳蚤山瞭望塔

Hi Hivers, today I'd like to introduce to you a striking piece of architecture, the Vlooyberg tower. It's inspired by Travelcontest's photo theme Architecture and Clouds. If you are interested in joining too, here is the link.

Literally meaning Fleahill tower, Vlooybergtoren is a watching tower on a little hill in Tielt-Winge, Belgium. It's not really a hill to me, but since it's in fairly flat Flanders, let's call it so then! ;)





This 11.5-metre-high metal staircase was designed by the studio Close to Bone and opened in 2015. Since then the unique landscape architecture has become a local landmark and popular attraction, like the see-through church I once blogged about. It's even featured in a Belgian television series.

There used to be a wooden lookout tower on the same site, but it was set on fire by vandals. So, this steel one was built to be resistant against any form of vandalism. But unfortunately, it was also badly damaged by an arson attack in the summer of 2018... Sadly, history repeats itself. The team decided to repair it and extend the cantilevered viewing platform on top.

I took the photos in this post in 2019 and 2020 after its rebuilding. The first time I just passed by and took a few shots with my mobile phone, and the second time I went there with my camera before sunset. Later between the golden and the blue hour, I was lucky to see the huge heart-shaped clouds hanging in the sky. So, I walked further to the woods nearby and captured the impressive sight.

You might be wondering, just like me, how this seemingly gravity-defying tower can work? Being built on a galvanized substructure clad in weathering steel, this heavy fellow weighs more than 13 tons. The magic actually lies at the railing wall which functions as a structural beam. It makes the structure strong enough to withstand the forces acting on it.

When I walked on it, there were other visitors on the platform as well. But we didn't feel much vibration as there were 2 dampers to absorb the shocks. From the top, you can enjoy a nice view of the farmland and the Kabouterbos forest nearby. As you can see from my first photo, the white letters on the outside of the top platform say: "Ik ben niet zoals ik was"("I am not I used to be"). Hmmm, thought-provoking...

I found some ripe corns on the ground in the fields next to the staircase, and there's also a picnic table under it (that doesn't mean I picked the corns and ate them at the table, ;) it's just stuff I saw when walking around...). Both the table and the tower are in the same color as the typical red-brown ironstone in the local Hageland region. There was also a poem at the side of the table, but I didn't understand what it meant, even though I knew most of the words. I guess it's just art...

Hope you enjoyed this unique landscape architecture as I did. Have you ever seen a structure similar to this one? Please tell me in the comments below!

Vlooybergtoren字面意思是跳蚤山瞭望塔，在Tielt-Winge一处小土坡上。比利时是平地国家，只要是个海拔几米高的小土坡都能被叫作山，常常让我觉得情何以堪~。这个十几米高的瞭望塔由Close to Bone工作室设计，2015年开放后成为当地地标和热门景点，就像我以前发过的那个透明小教堂，也是在荒郊野外独立存在的金属建筑。

同一地点曾经有一座木制瞭望塔，但被人放火烧毁。遗憾的是，历史总是重演。2018年夏天，又有人纵火毁坏了这新建的楼梯，真是防不胜防啊，都建成钢的了还有人破坏…… 团队只好进行修复，并在顶部延长了悬臂式观景台。我这里的照片是在重建后的2019和2020年拍的。

这个大楼梯重量超过13吨，看似反重力，我走在上面却感觉不到震动。它的栏杆墙起到结构梁的作用，使整个结构足够坚固，可以同时承受好些登高的人。

从顶部的观景台上，可以看到附近的森林和田园风光。我在旁边的地里还看到一些成熟的玉米，楼梯下面还有一张野餐桌供人休息吃喝。桌子和楼梯都用了当地特产红褐色铁石的颜色。

从我第一张照片里可以看到，瞭望台外侧用荷兰语写着：“我已不是曾经的我”。嗯，好发人深省…… 野餐桌的侧面也题了一首现代诗，虽然单词几乎都认识，还是不明白作者想说啥，嗯，这就是艺术……

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^{All content by @itchyfeetdonica
图文 by Donica}

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