"The meeting of complex military systems takes place in real places, where the event and decision oscillate between the rational and the imaginary, between the precisely known and the ghostly, between the regular and the random", - this is how the initiators of the scientific collection "Ordnance: War" think about the sensory perception of militarized urban and natural landscapes + architecture and space" by Gary Boyd and Denis Linehan.

Photo: Alan Taylor. Image source: theatlanic.com

The feeling of a place that has undergone violent destruction can be described as an emotion of depression, instability and anxiety. But architecture created in the face of this destruction evokes a sense of security and hope. It is endowed with aesthetics that go beyond the usual canons of beauty. Having passed through the layer of time, such buildings and structures again attract attention, enchanting with their essence, incomprehensible, sometimes magical, balancing between beauty and horror.

Defensive ramparts, fortresses and towers, DOTs and rifle bunkers, military warehouses and submarine hangars, underground bomb shelters and secret tunnels are all essential components of territories that survived the war. But what place do these objects occupy in the demilitarized space? What role do they play in the new life of cities and villages?

Bunker. Geography of rescue capsules

During the Second World War, a huge number of bunkers were built on the territory of the Nazi bloc. About 8000 of them were created in Germany, 700 of which were built in Berlin. The second city of the Reich in terms of the number of bomb shelters is Hamburg, where the number of shelters was 1940 objects. Bunkers were built both in allied countries and on the territory of a small number of states that maintained military neutrality. Switzerland, which was not going to attack anyone anyway, built about 1945 underground storage facilities from 21 to XNUMX. But the largest bunkers in the world were already built during the so-called Cold War. The leaders of their construction were China, the Soviet Union and the USA.

About 70 bomb shelters and underground shelters were built on the territory of Shanghai in the 2000s. The Cold War and twenty years of general "bunkerization" of socialist Albania led by Enver Hoxha led the state to 500 reinforced concrete DOTs (durable defense points), a giant propaganda project that convinced local residents that enemies were everywhere. The bunker became an imaginary metaphor for Albania itself, which was lurking and looking at the world through a narrow gap in the embrasure. Bunkers were built for different purposes and different strata of the population: for government leaders, for civil protection, for the implementation of defense and conduct of hostilities. This determined the geography of their placement.

Twenty years of general "bunkerization" of socialist Albania brought the state 500 reinforced concrete DOTs (durable defense points). Photo: Alan Taylor. Image source: theatlanic.com

Bunkers for the government

Several of the most important bunkers for high-ranking persons of the Third Reich were built far from cities, deep in the forests among numerous lakes and swamps. East Prussia (modern Poland), where many fortifications were located, was considered one of the most prepared regions for the construction of storage facilities. The choice of location was determined by the proximity of the border with the USSR, distance from communication arteries and the nature of the natural landscape, suitable for camouflage. It was here that the famous "Wolf's Den" - the Fuehrer's main stake - was arranged.

Hitler's Wehrwolf camp, or "Armed Wolf", in the Vinnytsia region, the existence of which still causes controversy among historians, was built only for the preparation and implementation of the Battle of Stalingrad. Hitler's apparatus, service personnel, as well as unprecedented means of protection and defense lines were located on the territory. People were evicted within a radius of five kilometers from the bunker, the perimeter was monitored by numerous firing points, anti-aircraft systems and fighter jets. The builders here laid water supply, sewage, made a fire protection system, but there was no central heating, because there were no plans to stay for the winter.

Hitler's Wehrwolf pond, or "Armed Wolf", in the Vinnytsia region. Image source: vinnytsia-museum.in.ua

Government storehouses in cities were often located in close proximity to administrative buildings or were part of the general architectural ensemble of private residences and contained various amenities for a comfortable long stay, including communications and communications. Yes, fascist dictator Benito Mussolini's bunker was located at Villa Torlonia in Rome. It was built in 1940 on the site of the owner's wine cellar. It is a 60-meter long tunnel equipped with ventilation and communication systems.

The shelter system for the British government was a whole underground city in London: tunnels, bunkers, spacious control centers and junctions

As World War II approached Berlin, the Third Reich implemented the construction of an extensive network of underground storage facilities for the most important government officials. Berlin's most famous bunker, the Fuhrerbunker, was part of a massive underground storage complex that stretched for many kilometers beneath the city center. Actually, Hitler's bunker was 120 meters away from the Reich Chancellery and was located at a depth of 5 meters.

The shelter system for the British government was an entire underground city in London. It consisted of tunnels, bunkers, spacious control centers and junctions. Some objects were built during the Second World War, others during the Cold War in fear of a nuclear threat from the Soviets. Underground vaults were located under Parliament Square, Great Smith Street, Pell Mall, Marsh Street. All shelters are linked to government buildings. For example, the bomb shelter of the Cabinet was under the Treasury. This large-scale structure of buildings is described in detail in the book "Underground London" by Peter Ackroyd.

A bomb shelter for the royals of the Savoy dynasty, built in 1940-1942 on the territory of their capital residence - Villa Ada in Rome. Image source: latuaitalia.ru

Bunkers for the civilian population

First of all, existing underground catacombs and cellars were used to protect the civilian population. After all, underground you can not only hide from danger for a short time, but also spend quite a long time. Being a strategic object, the subway provided such an opportunity. And the first universal bunker of the Second World War was the London subway, built in the XNUMXth century.

Air raid shelters in the cities were evenly distributed and varied in size. One of the largest civilian bomb shelters in Berlin (the city had 4 million inhabitants at the beginning of the war) was called the "Mother-Kind-Bunker" (Mutter-Kind-Bunker) and was designed to accommodate 6500 women and children. However, at the end of the war, up to 30 people were hiding here in incredibly cramped quarters. The protection of the German population from aviation threats was intensively dealt with in Hamburg, because in the pre-war years this city was one of the largest industrial centers of Germany and had 1,7 million inhabitants, of which only 10 thousand people were provided with shelters before the start of the war. Therefore, in 1940, by special order of Hitler, accelerated construction of bomb shelters began in Hamburg. German Frankfurt also had a wide network of bunkers - it took an active part in military operations. Frankfurt's vaults were located in the eastern part of the city.

Military types of bunkers were not built in isolation, like point objects: most often they were part of a joint defense system that included, in addition to the storage facilities themselves, various structures that prevented the passage of enemy military equipment and infantry

Bunkers for the military

Storage facilities intended for the military served different purposes. The bunker served as a fortified fortress from where fire was opened. The bunker was a headquarters where maps were compiled, the enemy's position was observed, defensive operations were planned, and battles were commanded. The bunker served as a shelter, a warehouse, and a military hospital for the soldiers.

Compared to civilian bunkers, military types of bunkers were not built in isolation, as point objects: most often they were part of a joint defense system that included, in addition to the storage facilities themselves, various structures that prevented the passage of enemy military equipment and infantry. This system included air defense towers, ditches, trenches, anti-tank structures and minefields.

Placement of such systems was envisaged along defensive lines or rings, near strategic objects, on terrain that could be seen. First of all, these are border zones, coastlines, railway tracks, points near bridges and tunnels, at crossings and road intersections, as well as in locations where there were no natural obstacles for the enemy, that is, in the most suitable places for attacks.

Photo: Alan Taylor. Image source: theatlanic.com

"Atlantic shaft"

One of the grandest defense structures of the Second World War was the "Atlantic Wall" - a large system of coastal defenses and fortifications built by the Nazis along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia, along the Atlantic from Norway to the border with Spain, with a total length of more than 5 thousand kilometers. Fortifications had colossal coastal guns, batteries, mortars and artillery.

The most important outpost of German troops on the entire coast was a section of French Brittany. It was here that Hitler waited for the landing of the Allies and threw the lion's share of his forces into erecting the strongest line of defense. The most valuable and interesting object in this area is "La Cupole", a secret mine for missiles of the "Fau-2" class, which were never destined to hit the enemy. Dozens of rockets a day were to be refueled, prepared and launched from either of two open launch sites in rapid succession across London and southern England. The complex is more than 7 kilometers of underground bunkers and tunnels.

One of the grandest defensive structures of the Second World War was the "Atlantic Wall" - a large system of coastal defenses and fortifications along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia, along the Atlantic from Norway to the border with Spain, with a total length of more than 5 thousand kilometers

Red zones and masking

Each state during the war had its own red zones, the most vulnerable and prone to fire, where the main construction of bunkers was focused. So, for example, in Belgium, where in most positions the river and the canal formed a natural anti-tank barrier, a system of several defensive lines developed in the east and northeast. In Spain, the largest port of Algeciras was at risk due to its proximity to the Bay of Gibraltar. For this reason, an impressive defense complex was built here, consisting of three lines of defense: "dragon's teeth" (pyramidal anti-tank structures), a minefield, several bunkers and machine gun nests in the border areas.

The landscape was of great importance in placing the bunkers. In the construction of warehouses and defense structures, natural relief was used to the maximum extent, hiding most of the structure's volume underground. Observation bunkers were set up in fields and coastal areas. As a camouflage, the most successful areas were forest massifs and swampy areas.

In the construction of warehouses and defense structures, natural relief was used to the maximum extent, hiding most of the structure's volume underground. Photo: Alan Taylor. Image source: theatlanic.com

The already mentioned secret complex "Wolf's Lair" is one of the most mysterious objects of the Second World War. It was built in the old mixed forest of Herlitz. The forest created perfect camouflage, and the lakes located east of the object were a serious obstacle for enemy troops. During the war, neither the Soviet troops nor the allied army ever learned about the existence of this system of bunkers. Even the local residents had no idea what was really happening in their forests.

Bunkers were most often built right in the rocks — an almost invulnerable place for the enemy's artillery. Yes, Malta, vulnerable to massive bombings, used ancient tunnels - the rocks withstood the attacks. One of the most expensive and largest projects of Nazi Germany was the underground complex "Giant" (Riese), built in the Polish Owl Mountains. These are nine kilometers of underground tunnels with an area of ​​25 square meters and a volume of 000 cubic meters.

Many bunkers are hidden in the mountain ranges of Switzerland. For example, the three-level bunker "Fürigen", designed for a hundred soldiers, in the Bürgenberg mountain allowed to shoot through the entire Lake Lucerne. Some Swiss shelters were disguised as chalets — about 250 such objects were discovered. Until 2004, the existence of such shelters was carefully concealed. Photographer Christian Schwager devoted his series of works to this topic. It is called "Fake Chalets".

From the series of works "Fake Chalets" (Fake Chalets), dedicated to the secret bunkers of Switzerland, by photographer Christian Schwager. Image source: his.ua

Morphology and architecture

The morphology and architecture of bunkers again depended on what and for whom they were built, in which natural conditions, in which combat zones. If the vast majority of underground bunkers were built in the form of tunnels or wells, the forms of their terrestrial counterparts had more variety.

One of the most common types of ground bunkers is a sarcophagus-shaped building. Such warehouses were built en masse in Hamburg in working quarters. These are 3-4-story buildings made of reinforced concrete. They protected against debris and incendiary bombs, but did not protect against a direct hit by heavy explosives. Mainly, they served as a shelter in case of an air raid, they also temporarily housed residents who were left without a roof over their heads.

Another type of bunker common in German cities is the tower bunker. It had walls up to two meters thick. A ramp was arranged inside instead of stairs, so the structure of the bunker resembled a snail shell. Such objects were built in Hamburg at the Barmbeck and Rothenbaumhaussee stations, opposite the Dammtor station. There is the same one in Sternshanz or between Baumwall and St. Paul, in the area of ​​the Landungsbrücken embankment.

Dome and prism bunkers were intended for shooters. They were erected in the form of a hemisphere or a parallelepiped with a horizontal slit of the embrasure, from where the fire was opened. There were openings for air exchange. They were built from reinforced concrete up to 1,3 m thick. The armor of the outer doors was 3 millimeters, and the inner ones were 5 millimeters. The size of the bunker for one firing position was 2 by 2 meters, the height was 1,85 m. The ceiling was sheathed with galvanized corrugated plates to protect against debris in case of a projectile hit. Neither water supply nor sanitary facilities were provided here, and lighting was provided by kerosene lamps. This type of bunker was common in Belgium and even Albania, where they were built everywhere and blended into the natural surroundings.

The dome-like bunker type was common in Belgium and Albania, where they were built everywhere and blended into the natural surroundings. Photo: Alan Taylor. Image source: theatlanic.com

Concrete bomb shelters in the shape of rockets are a noticeable detail of the urban landscape and a business card of the German Wünsdorf (a district of the city of Zossen in Brandenburg). This type of bunker owes its appearance to the German engineer Leo Winkel, who registered a patent for the invention in 1934. The rocket bunker is a cylindrical concrete bomb shelter with a conical tip. This form was determined by functionality: in the case of a direct hit by an aerial bomb, it should have ricocheted off the smooth walls without detonating.

During the entire period of the Second World War, of all Winkel's bunkers, only one, built in Bremen, failed to cope with the task. The rest successfully survived numerous bombings. In total, Winkel developed about 16 types of such "missiles". They were built on the territories of industrial and defense enterprises, on railway facilities and on Wehrmacht facilities.

Concrete bomb shelters in the shape of rockets in Wünsdorf. Image source: alamy.com

The authors of the book "Architecture of War" Kate Mallory and Arvid Ottar emphasize the influence of bunker architecture on the formation of the brutalist style

A special place in the architecture of the bunkers is occupied by the reinforced concrete structures of the "Atlantic Wall" - behemoths with a streamlined shape, majestic and powerful. Describing the morphology of these structures, I would like to put aside the functional aspect for a while and talk about their aesthetic component, which is of great importance among all the types listed above. Truth. If you close your eyes to the tragic reason for the appearance of this building, discard the logic of the appearance of the form, you can see a quite expressive prototype of brutalist architecture.

The authors of the book "Architecture of War" Kate Mallory and Arvid Ottar talk about this influence on the formation of the style of brutalism and "special aesthetics". And confirmation of this can be seen in the fantastic pictures of the Dutch photographer Jonathan Andrew, who captured the abandoned bunkers of the Atlantic coast. In his lens, in the moment between dusk and darkness, they appear as mesmerizing cosmic beings, full of poetry and drama.

Dutch photographer Jonathan Andrew captured the abandoned bunkers of the Atlantic Wall. Image source: plainmagazine.com

Through the lens of Jonathan Andrews, the bunkers of the Atlantic coast appear as mesmerizing creatures in the moment between dusk and darkness. Image source: plainmagazine.com

And what after?

After the Second World War, most Nazi bunkers were blown up or destroyed so that neo-fascists could not turn them into places of worship. A similar fate befell Hitler's famous bunker in Berlin, where he, Eva Braun and the Goebbels family committed suicide.

Many civilian bunkers in the post-war period survived and were converted for economic needs: they were equipped with warehouses or vegetable stores. For this purpose, underground storages have a suitable climate and area. Thus, the Berlin bunker "Mother and Child" served as a strategic food warehouse for West Berlin in the event of a repeat of the Soviet blockade of 1948-1949.

Modern museum projects demonstrate the enormous potential of bunkers in the new cultural life of cities, where through the tools of form, material and composition, architects create a border state between the past and the future

A significant number of above-ground multi-story bunkers began to be used for other public functions. A high-quality ventilation system and a wall thickness of 1-3 meters, which ensures high strength, wear resistance and sound insulation, made it possible to turn these buildings into sports complexes, restaurants and night clubs, which, by the way, Berlin, London and other big capitals are famous for. For many bomb shelters in Hamburg, already in the 90s, investors were found who were ready to convert these buildings into shops, music studios and residential buildings.

One of the first large bomb shelters on Spielbudenplatz (Spielbudenplatz) turned into a garage for the audience of the Operattenhaus theater (Operettenhaus) and guests of the Reeperbahn street (Reeperbahn). A bunker in Frankfurt was converted into a city music studio. Some of Albania's bunkers have been converted into cafes, restaurants, swimming pools and even bridges.

Bunkers and the new cultural life of cities

One of the most popular directions in the renovation of bunkers is museums and art spaces. It is the sense of place ("ortsinn" in German) that prompts the idea to turn it into a monument of history and tragedy. A large part of the bomb shelters was turned into a museum. Excursions are often conducted in former shelters in Germany, where visitors are shown the operation of bunkers during the war and are offered to try on gas masks and protective suits against radiation. But this is only a meager set of options that a demilitarized space can offer.

Modern projects of museums and galleries demonstrate the enormous potential of bunkers in the new cultural life of cities, and architects create a border state between the past and the future through the tool of form, material and composition.

One of Wilhelmshaven's bunkers, where the Prussian fleet was based as early as 1853, survived the Second World War bombing and was later transformed into a modern heritage protection building. The Danish architect Dorte Mandrup was involved in this project. The complex contains conference halls and offices, space for exhibitions and cultural events. The new architectural volume, which is directly a museum, creates a contrast with the old building.

The Tirpitz concrete bunker in Blavand, Denmark, which was part of the defense systems of the "Atlantic Wall", has been transformed into a cultural space by Bjarke Ingels' BIG architecture office. The new museum with an area of ​​2800 square meters is an intrigue for the viewer - its territory is underground. Visitors first see a small military bunker building, and only then do cracks in the ground hint that there is something more hidden from view.

The Tirpitz concrete bunker in Blavand, Denmark has been transformed into a cultural space by Bjarke Ingels' BIG architecture office. Image source: dezeen.com

The new museum is an intrigue for the viewer - its territory of 2800 square meters is located underground. Image source: dezeen.com

Light instead of radars of darkness

 Many bunkers in the first post-war period were used as temporary shelters for those left homeless. The idea to use bunkers for permanent housing did not come immediately. Can you say that the place is perfect for this? More like an amateur. It is a rather cold, dark architecture with a dark past. The strength of the structures is higher than average, but such objects do not differ in flexibility in planning. Firstly, the bunker does not meet the insolation standards for residential premises. There are usually no windows here, or they are narrow embrasures. Changing this situation requires time-consuming and expensive dismantling. Another part of the costs is the provision of electricity, heating and water supply. Therefore, at first this option of revitalizing bomb shelters caused skepticism. But one day everything changed.

A German architect named Rainer Mielke came up with the idea of ​​building a home on the roof of a bomb shelter in Bremen before it became mainstream. "I had a purely personal interest," says the architect. In 1993, he and his wife moved to Bremen and rented a small apartment near a military bomb shelter. The family wanted to have their own house, but the Milke family could not afford city apartments. "Every morning on my way to work, I passed by the bunker," recalls the architect, "and then I thought that it was a good structure with a good foundation, and I could equip an apartment right above it." Architecture and construction firm mielke+freudenberg bought from the state and rebuilt nine bunkers in Bremen, Hanover and Hamburg.

"Underlining the building's history, the windows create a sense of a modern, homely, high-tech and eco-friendly home that reflects and receives light rather than darkness," explained architect Edward Lipton.

Another German architect, Jens Kasper, became a supporter of this tradition. One of his most famous projects is the reconstruction of the Berlin bunker, built in 1945 near the Friedrichstrasse station, which was part of the subway infrastructure. The architect turned it into a space for a private art collection and a residence for the owner himself.

Another interesting case is a bunker built in 1939 in Dorset, near Weymouth, on the south coast of Great Britain. Built as part of the Chain Home radar detection system (a ring of radar stations built by the Royal Air Force during World War II), the 76 square meter bunker sat derelict for 70 years until it was taken over by British studio Lipton Plant Architects. As a result, the interior of the bunker was transformed into two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom. Since there were no windows in the room, the architects had to create openings by means of explosions.

"Underlining the history of the building, the windows create a feeling of a modern, homely, high-tech and ecological building that reflects and receives not the radiation of darkness, but light," explained the project's chief architect, Edward Lipton.

Photo: Alan Taylor. Image source: theatlanic.com

With a view of the ocean

Permanent life in a bunker does not suit everyone. But if a person is not ready to make a storage room his permanent home, he can try himself as a romantic recluse in temporary housing. A few days will be enough to understand how close this type of architecture is to her, immerse yourself in an unusual atmosphere and get a strong emotional impression.

Just such a hotel was built on the Atlantic coast in France. The abandoned 400-square-meter building from the Second World War was bought by a local entrepreneur and now the owner of the hotel, Serge Kolyu, and converted into a hotel. During the war, 30 Luftwaffe personnel lived in the bunker, and now the hotel can accommodate 25 guests. It took almost a year and a half to make the building livable. When developing the interiors of underground rooms, designers looked for non-standard solutions due to limited space. The authors of the project preserved the furniture, clothes and personal belongings left behind by the German military: they were made part of the exposition. In the hotel, you can not only spend the night, but also taste French cuisine and admire the views of the ocean in the open air.

In the end, I would like to talk about a few more impressive projects that do not fall into the previous categories of revitalization, but demonstrate the inexhaustible potential of bunker architecture.

Prayer instead of murder

The Church of the Holy Sacrament in Düsseldorf is a former bunker from the Second World War, and today it is an active church, a monument to tragic events and an architectural monument. This object has the reputation of "the strongest church in the world" and "the ugliest church in Dusseldorf".

In 1926, at the request of the residents of Heyerdt district, a Catholic community called "Holy Sacrament" was founded. Since the only church in the district was quite far away and could not accommodate all the parishioners, two years later a plot of land was allocated for the construction of a new church, but due to the economic crisis, the construction was not completed. In 1940, the territory of the community was occupied by National Socialist troops. To protect the local population from airstrikes, they built a "high bunker" here, and to disguise it, they gave it the appearance of a real temple.

In November 1944, the temporary church building was completely destroyed by bombing, and the bunker stood and saved about 2300 people within its walls. In 1947, the new rector of the parish of the Holy Sacrament, Karl Klinkhammer, wanted to turn the bunker into a church.

Church of the Holy Sacrament in Düsseldorf. Image source: Wikipedia

It was not easy to reconstruct the bunker: the outer walls were 1,2 m thick, the inner ceilings were about two meters, and there was not a single window in the entire structure. First, it was necessary to remove floor coverings and cut windows in solid walls — it was necessary to drill about five kilometers of wells and remove approximately one thousand tons of construction debris from the facility. At the same time, they decided not to change the basement and tower of the bunker - to leave the memory of the past life of the renewed church. On October 30, 1949, the church was consecrated by the Cologne cardinal, and its spiritual emblem became a quote from the prophet Isaiah: "...and they beat their swords into plowshares."

An important historical reminder was the symbolic bas-relief of the work of Bert Herresheim on the facade of the new church: Christ breaks the swastika, the walls of the bunker are blown up for window openings, and the parishioners, together with the pastor, rake the debris.

Mystic window

In an abandoned concrete semi-underground bunker from the 1980s near Prague, on the former site of the Drnov Air Force Base, which was built to protect the city during the Cold War, Czech studio Petr Hájek Architekti has created a pet crematorium. Since the main bunker of the facility was turned into a military museum, the designers of the studio converted one of the small service bunkers.

The architects aimed to make minimal changes to the bunker, keeping most of the functions and adding only a few walls to divide the space and organize new functional areas: office, toilets, hallway and exhibition room.

A pet crematorium in a former bunker near Prague designed by the Czech studio Petr Hájek Architekti. Image source: Dezeen

The architects covered the building's single facade with small hexagonal mirrors to create a reflective wall. Image source: Dezeen

The bunker was almost entirely underground, with only one open main concrete facade, on which the architects focused. They covered it with small hexagonal mirrors to create a reflective wall more than six meters high and 11 meters long. The structure not only harmonizes with the surrounding trees, but also creates a kind of symbolic "mystical window" that reflects memories. "The observer sees countless realities," explains architect Petr Hayek, "given the limited speed of light, the reflection in the mirror shows the past." A visitor who approaches the crematorium feels the changing state of the world."

"Oscillating between the rational and the imaginary, between the precisely known and the ghostly, between the regular and the random," wartime architects draw defensive lines on the map of cities and villages to protect physical space. In peacetime, these buildings continue to live at the junction of the past and the future. And then the architects of the new time transform these objects, wanting to protect the already mental space. In this way, places where thousands of people once hid in fear and terror at the sound of sirens and explosions, are suddenly filled with peace and light. I wish we never had to use "anxious architecture" as intended again. However, the reality is that today it is necessary to once again become the "architects of war" and create safe storage facilities. But this is a completely different story, which we will talk about in the next article.

/The material is part of a special topic "Chaos and reconstruction. The future against war"/

Read also

Traveling through Ukraine: the transformation of Kherson Oblast and Zaporozhye into a tourist Mecca

Oleksandr Gorban: "I fell asleep as an architect on the 23rd, and woke up as a volunteer on the 24th"

Time to study urbanism. Iryna Solovei on the conditions and components of the post-war transformation

Flowers on the ruins. Decorative meadow as the basis of the post-war urban landscape