The invisible fortified monuments of the world wars and the atomic age
Secrecy, camouflage and distraction characterised the construction of fortified monuments in the 20th century.
Whether camouflaged Swiss gun emplacements in the Alps, Nazi Führer headquarters, command bunkers and army listening posts during the Cold War or even civil defence facilities, they were all hidden from public view. Planning, construction and operation were carried out in the strictest secrecy. These include headquarters such as the Wolf's Lair near Rastenburg (Ketrzyn, PL) or the numerous bunkers in Berlin, Hamburg or Vienna.
Only years after the end of the war did many of these unknown monuments open up and present their history as museums, e.g. along the major defence lines of the 20th century such as the West Wall, the Maginot Line or the Atlantic Wall.
During the Cold War, NATO and the Warsaw Pact built deep bunkers as so-called alternative headquarters for government bodies in order to keep the political and military leadership afloat and operational. The Soviet Army maintained several bunkers at its headquarters in Wünsdorf, south of Berlin. The NVA also built nuclear bunkers in the former GDR, such as today's Kulturbunker Strausberg. The Federal Bank bunker bunker was built in the tranquil Moselle town of Cochem to secure the Federal Republic's currency reserves.
Discover secret fortress architectures of the 20th century with FORTE CULTURA
Cochem (DE)
FORTE CULTURA Station : Regierungsbunker (DE) Bundesbank-Bunker Cochem L'histoire monétaire allemande au temps de la Guerre froide Pendant des décennies, l'un des secrets les mieux gardés de la RFA est l'ancien bunker secret...
Dettenheim-Rußheim (DE)
FORTE CULTURA Station: Museum West Wall Bunker Dettenheim-Rußheim (DE) West Wall bunker with a history The only preserved R32 bunker in Baden-Württemberg The bunker belongs to the rare type of medical shelters, i.e.....
Griesheim-sur-Souffel (FR)
FORTE CULTURA Station: Military Bunker Nellkopf (FR) Nellkopf Infantry Base I52 - Point d'Appui d'Infanterie du Nellkopf The German infantry base Nellkopf I 52, which was built between 1914...
Haguenau (FR)
FORTE CULTURA Station: Abri Hatten (FR), fortress (large shelter) of the Maginot Line Culture of remembrance and military history The Maginot Line in Alsace The large shelter "ABRI" of Hatten is located ca....
Hornisgrinde (DE)
FORTE CULTURA Station: Hornisgrinde restricted military area (DE) Hornisgrinde bunker - 60 years of restricted military area 1939-1999 The Hornisgrinde is the highest mountain in the northern Black Forest with views as far as...
Kehl-Neumühl (DE)
FORTE CULTURA Station: West Wall camouflage bunker Kehl-Neumühl (DE) West Wall camouflage bunker on the Upper Rhine Hidden cultural heritage revived Some West Wall bunkers were given superstructures and painted to camouflage them like houses,...
La Línea de la Concepción (ES)
FORTE CULTURA Station: Defence lines La Línea de la Concepción (ES) Defence bulwark against Gibraltar Forts and bunkers from 300 years of fortification history From 1730 Spain fortified itself...
Lembach (FR)
FORTE CULTURA Station: Fort Four á Chaux, Lembach (FR), work of the Maginot Line One of the most important forts of the Maginot Line in Alsace Experience European history at first hand The...
Neuried Altenheim(DE)
FORTE CULTURA Station: West Wall Museum Bunker Emilie (DE) West Wall camouflage bunker with history The Museum Bunker Emilie is one of the few surviving buildings of the West Wall, which stretches from Kleve...
Reimerswiller (FR)
FORTE CULTURA Station: Reimerswiller military bunker (FR) Bunker PC Reimerswiller - Historical Museum - Command post from the Second World War During Operation NORDWIND in the winter of 1944-45, the...
Schoenenbourg (FR)
FORTE CULTURA Station: Fort Schoenenbourg and Kasematte Esch (FR), works of the Maginot Line Fort Schoenenbourg and Kasematte Esch bulwarks against the German Reich Fort Schoenenbourg...
Strausberg (DE)
FORTE CULTURA Station: Kulturbunker Strausberg (DE) GDR telecommunications bunker - Cold War memorial "Communication connects - friendship unites" From 1984, the old GDR post office bunker was a hub and interface...
West Wall cycle tour
FORTE CULTURA guided tour: West Wall Rhine-Palatinate Forest (DE) The history of the West Wall from the Rhine to the Palatinate Forest The West Wall was a gigantic, 630 km long...
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