MANHOLE COVER LOVERS

There must be billions of them in the world. We pass them every day. We walk on them. We do not take any notice of them. They are heavy, and usually made of cast iron. They come in many different shapes, sizes and patterns. Look, and you will find them everywhere.

What are they? MANHOLE COVERS, that provide access to local service systems such as water, electricity, gas, and telecommunications.

Post photos of any interesting ones you find here.

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  • Raphael Nadolny

    New example from Warsaw....  

  • Heleen de Vaan

    Nijmeegsche ijzergieterij = iron foundry of Nijmegen (the Netherlands)

  • Heleen de Vaan

    And congratulations, Valentine, your first very own manhole cover, that sounds great! (And must weigh a lot)

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Examples from Interlaken, Switzerland.

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Example from Gdańsk (Danzig) - a pre-1945 element, survived the war effort and destruction in the city in its place.

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Example from Gdańsk (Danzig) - - a relief depicting Neptune, one of the symbols of Gdańsk as a port city located on the Baltic Sea.

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Next examples from Gdańsk (Danzig).

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Next examples from Gdańsk (Danzig).

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Next examples from Gdańsk (Danzig).

  • Heleen de Vaan

    Photo not made by me but by the author/artist of this book, who also changed the surroundings of this manhole cover :-) , David Zinn:

  • Raphael Nadolny

    New examples from Warsaw.

  • Valentine Mark Herman

    I can't seem to open the Zinn ohoto, Heleen.  Can you post the actual photo, please?

    Thanks, Val

  • Heleen de Vaan

    I posted it from my phone. I'll have a new try, from my laptop, hopefully it makes it visible:

    Also found on his website: https://zinnart.com/store/#!/NEW-Chance-Encounters-Temporary-Street-Art-by-David-Zinn/p/456607309/

  • Heleen de Vaan

    And there's an other fun altered manhole cover on his website.

  • Valentine Mark Herman

    Thanks Heleen. I'll look at Zinn's webside now. Regards, Val

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Example from Poznań (Posen).

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Example from Poznań (Posen).

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Example from Poznań (Posen).

  • Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)

    From the 5-day trip to Athens:

  • Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)

  • Valentine Mark Herman

    ONE OF THE LOCAL STREETS IS, OR RATHER WAS, BEING DUG UP...AND LOOK WHAT THEY FOUND (this is courtesy if Google Translate)

    "The rue de Cap de Roc renovation project is experiencing an unexpected twist. During the construction of the last well giving access to the rainwater pipes via the manhole covers, a large tooth in perfect condition was discovered on Tuesday, March 29, and a local resident, passionate about prehistory, left no doubt: "it comes from the jawbone of a Mosasaurus, a giant reptile living in the Upper Cretaceous, 80 million years ago”.

    And we learn that this marine reptile, a giant 17 meters long weighing 15 tons, breathed in the open air and fed on turtles, squid and fish. Covering the road with a layer of asphalt would destroy any chance of discovering the entire skeleton nearby, which is why the site was stopped dead. This Friday, the portion of rue de Cap de Roc between rue des Cigales and rue Georges Guynemer will, with great care, be fully opened to a depth of five meters in order to find the bones. Since all car traffic is impossible, for the inhabitants stuck in the last housing estate, unable to be airlifted, a project for a temporary wooden footbridge is under study. The excavations are scheduled for a period of three months, hoping to be able to enrich the treasures of the Corbières de Sigean museum with the skeleton of the Mosasaurus.

  • Valentine Mark Herman

    HERE'S A MAN IN A MANHOLE WHERE THE TOOTH WAS FOUND,  AND HERE IS THE TOOTH

  • Raphael Nadolny

    A new example from Warsaw - in the corner of the photo you can see the line of the former Warsaw Ghetto wall, which separated the Jewish quarter from the rest of the city during World War II, marked at pavement level .

  • Raphael Nadolny

    A new example from Warsaw..... full of sun.

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Example from Warsaw.....

  • Raphael Nadolny

    New example from Warsaw .....

  • Carien van Hest

    Taken in Antwerp, Belgium:

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Next example from Warsaw ....

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Next example from Warsaw ....

  • Heleen de Vaan

    Two in Amsterdam:

  • Heleen de Vaan

    Two more in Amsterdam: 

    (‘Vuil water’ means ‘dirty water’)

  • Heleen de Vaan

    Manhole covers in Zürich, Switzerland:


  • Carien van Hest

    Manhole cover in Koblenz, Germany:

  • Valentine Mark Herman

    FROM ANTONIO BIANCO, NAPOLI, ITALY

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Example from Warsaw....

  • Heleen de Vaan

    Breda, the Netherlands

    (similar cover, in different light)

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Somewhere in Warsaw.....

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Somewhere in Warsaw.....

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Examples from Warsaw......

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Sicily, around the city of Syracuse ..... this summer.

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Sicily, around the city of Syracuse ..... this summer.

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Sicily, around the city of Syracuse ..... this summer.

  • Raphael Nadolny

    Sicily, around the city of Syracuse ..... this summer.

  • Valentine Mark Herman

    FROM DAVID HERMAN, COPENHAGEN; DENMARK

  • Valentine Mark Herman

    FROM DAVID HERMAN, VEIJE; DENMARK

  • Bradford

    The swirly one looks like a crop circle; mesmerizing.

  • Heleen de Vaan

    Two manhole covers at railway station Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena, the Netherlands. Who also function as bubblegum collecting item.

  • Carien van Hest

  • Valentine Mark Herman

    Bonsoir Carien!

    This 'block' of 9 is fantastic.

    Did you find and photo them all yourself?

    If so, will it be possible for you to send me some of them in a larger format?

    Many thanks, Val

  • Bradford