The enormous costs involved in maintenance have led some parishes in Belgium to close their churches, desacralize them and give them other uses. They have been transformed into restaurants, hotels or, as in this case, a climbing wall, converted into the new temple for Brussels climbers.
This peculiar climbing wall is located in the old neo-Gothic church of Saint Anthony of Padua, built at the beginning of the 20th century in the Forest district of Brussels. The building had been abandoned until the partners of Maniak, an association that ran three climbing rooms in other cities in Belgium, made the proposal.
"It was a win-win situation, because the parish wanted to take care of its building and preserve it for the people of the neighborhood and we wanted to open a climbing wall that was accessible and open to everyone, whether they were families living in the area, students or people who are passing through Brussels," says François Berkmens, one of Maniak's partners, in an interview with EFE.
In the end, they signed a 30-year lease, during which they can operate most of the temple, except for a small closed space at the entrance that is still sacred and still suitable for holding religious services.
In addition to the climbing area, Maniak has also installed a bar, a climbing school for children and a meeting room to celebrate birthdays or eat together.
After months of work to adapt the place, they managed to open their doors in June 2023, in a space with the capacity to accommodate 150 climbers at a time.
