Ecole de Natation Mangombroux
THE ABANDONED POOL IN BELGIUM
This is the abandoned swimming pool named ‘Ecole de Natation Mangombroux’. The derelict site will be demolished soon.
During 1927 the Verviers water polo team is no longer able to play championships in the small swimming basin at the Rue de Dison. As a result, the club was in search of a more suitable pool. Eventually an unused reservoir located in Mangombroux that belonging to the city of Verviers, became their new home.
During the 1928 season, the Verviers poloists had to play in the reservoir, named ‘Agolina’. In the summer of 1929 the pool is finally opened. The pool was named ‘Piscine Louis Ortmans’. This also saw the birth of ‘Royal Verviers Natation’, a club that is still active today.
Subsequently, a heating system was installed; however, due to the high costs, it was deactivated in 1939. The venue hosted significant events, such as multiple Belgian swimming championships. Yet, it was the water polo team that brought fame to the pool.
50th anniversary
Big championships ceased to be held here in the early 1950s. The ‘Royal Verviers Natation’s’ 50th anniversary marked the last major sporting event organized at this venue. However, the pool continued to be a summer haven for the local children every year.
The open-air swimming pool closed in 2005. It was no longer up to the modern standard. Necessary work was too expensive for an infrastructure that was no longer profitable. There are plans for a partial demolition of the old swimming pool, to allow the construction of 19 apartments. The photos of ‘Ecole de Natation Mangombroux’ were taken in 2018. See more abandoned pools here and here.
