Urban Exploration - The Underground Stream

We received photos from a traveler and compiled them into a historical summary.

This underground stream was found entirely by chance—or let’s say, by sheer luck. I was visiting a factory hangar, the kind that isn't particularly exciting, when I suddenly felt a very strong, sucking draft. "Ah, this gallery must lead to a chimney; it’s pulling air..." But... curious, there isn’t a chimney anywhere nearby as far as I know. Well... I ventured in.

But the passage just kept stretching on. I had only one flashlight and hadn't told anyone about my incursion. It was tough, but I turned back; reason prevailed, and I knew I’d have to return. As it happened, the wait wasn't long: I woke up very early, finished my work, and headed back there, cheerful as could be, the following afternoon.

At the very beginning, I thought it was a mining gallery. You can see a few offshoots stuffed with hideous carbonaceous material—the lignite type. Then, the end of the gallery revealed that it was actually an underground stream, situated at a very shallow depth. So shallow, in fact, that you can hear the powerful and unsettling hum of a high-voltage electrical station above.

The big question is why they vaulted this little stream, which is perfectly dry in February. It’s a colossal piece of work that seemingly serves no purpose, but… you don’t unleash that much construction for nothing; we’re talking about over 500 meters of gallery. After a brief study, the simple revelation came: it was a response to a disaster—a storm that had triggered a deadly flood.

Here are the photos of the gallery. Definitely not easy to shoot alone, but at least I had three lamps and a backup plan on the surface! A nice little surprise for this year.