Wander Dim Tunnels and Dark Pasts by Going Underground in Berlin

Explore new depths on these immersive tours beneath the surface.

It ’s not unusual to be underground inBerlin . Sure , there ’s the local subway , the U - Bahn , which makes up a electronic web of nigh 93 miles ( 150 kilometers ) , and you ’ll probably skip aboard one of its bright yellow wagon train at least once during your time here . But it ’s one thing to head down the stairs of an U - Bahn station to patiently wait on the platform for your drive , and it ’s another matter to class from the commuting masses , enter an invisible door somewhere in the place , and find yourself in a preserved World War II aviation foray shelter or Cold War sand trap .

Breaking and entering is n’t necessary ( and definitely not advised ) to access these underground clip ejector seat . All you demand to do isbook one of Berliner Unterwelten ’s toursto be led through subterranean concrete labyrinths that easily make one think , “ Yup , I could see a scary movie being shoot here . ”

look on your tour of duty , you might pass through a way of ascetic bunk layer , where it was “ first come , first serve ” for Berlin citizens hiding from Allied bombings . Another tour might bring you to a kitchen with a duad heavy steel weed that were supposed to serve the thousands seeking asylum there after a possible nuclear onslaught amid Cold War hysteria . Or you could see what it was like to endeavor to sneak under the Berlin Wall . No matter which you choose , here are all the muddy histories lying beneath the surface in Berlin .

Flickr/logan hicks

Get Your Kinks On in This Edgy European Capital

What happens in Berlin doesn’t stay in Berlin.

Trace the roots of the tunnels

“ There seems to be an unbridled wonder , fascination , and need for the ‘ underground , ’ ” says Eva Westphal , who exploit in public sexual intercourse for Berliner Unterwelten e. V. With their tours , you’re able to satisfy that curiosity without contribute trespasser to your resume .

Most of the tours start near theGesundbrunnen shopping centre and railroad train stationin the north of the city . Modern , loud , and busy , this area provides a gross direct contrast to the quiet space from time gone by that you ’ll experience once you head down below with Berliner Unterwelten .

Berliner Unterwelten e. V.(or Berlin Underworlds Association ) was founded in 1997 by eleven the great unwashed enthusiastic about the “ underworld . ” The non - earnings is dedicated to researching , documenting , and preserving historic land site in the Berlin underground — as well as making them accessible to the world .

“ Our facilities — such as air raid shelters , civil defense facility , and former industrial construction — and the enlistment guided there demonstrate vividly an of import part of German and European history as well as Berlin ’s urban account , which we should not and must not leave , ” Westphal sound out .

Having mature to around 100 employees and more than 500 members , Berliner Unterwelten currently offer 11 tours across 10 facilities . The tours last around 1.5 – 2 minute long and are offered in six different languages . Here ’s what you ’ll live on two of those tours .

Explore Dark Worlds

circuit 1 : Dark Worlds focuses on bombing raids during World War II . To get get down , the grouping gathers around the U8 Gesundbrunnen station entrance next to the Berliner Unterwelten ticket shop class . Once moderate in , everyone head down the underpass stairs , but before reaching the chopine , each person file away through an overlooked threshold that ’s painted a clean sage unripened . It ’s the kind of unassuming room access you ’d command all if not for the guide ushering mass through .

Stepping over the limen , you ’re immediately thrust into the past . A gray hall emerges with the original paint on the wall that includes the words “ air raid protection ” in German and old directions to man and cleaning woman ’s potty . Another sign eerily warns that you should exit the doors after you hear the bomb calorimeter explode and put your gas masks on before spread out the doors again .

As our radical moves along and try the periodic , humble rumblings of gear , we come across rooms that showcase how things really were here during World War II . In one , we get to see how the shine - in - the dark paint on the walls — meant to aid direct people if the lights go out — still works . In another , we see how the blank space was vent using air from the subway . One of the way boast triple built in bed beds where you may opine civilian crowd together as the warfare raged on above them .

Get Your Kinks On in This Edgy European Capital

Other spaces we pass through are outfitted with curated exhibit that give extra context but were n’t of necessity from the shelter itself . We see a elbow room with flunk prep supplies , including a grim board game that was have in mind to learn children what to do in an aura raid . Another displays old firebombs and other implements of war . Towards the end of the tour we see exhibits of soldiers ’ belongings , including an 80 - year - old safe , as well as a monolithic card catalog causa with records of forced manual laborer .

Whether or not you consider yourself a history raw sienna , the underground tour makes for a fascinating , immersive way to understand the realities of the war .

Dive into Bunkers, Subways, and the Cold War

The Berliner Unterwelten ’s Tour 3 : sand trap , Subways , and the Cold War takes you to different parts of the city . concentre on air - raid shelter repurposed during the threat of nuclear war , this excursion is a two - fer , offering tours of two very unlike shelter .

The enlistment starts in a modest , white-hot building across the street from a bank . This atomic fallout shelter is modest and austere , designed to hold 1,318 the great unwashed for up to 48 hours . Inside is a still - functioning air pump and a neighboring room filled with volcanic sand signify to filter out radioactivity from the gentle wind .

The second part of the tour is down the street , about a 10 - minute walking above earth to the Pankstrasse U - Bahn post . Descending once more , another seemingly unimportant door expect below . You ’ll likely encounter more than a few stares from the great unwashed in the subway place passing by as you walk through . Hey , who would n’t be suspicious assure a big mathematical group head into an otherwise locked threshold underground ?

Flickr/Claudia Liebram

After walking through a toilsome , vault - like room access not unlike the hatch inLost , you could see that this “ multi - purpose installation ” is far large than the first shelter , and it ’s said to hold 3,339 the great unwashed for at least two weeks . There ’s an hospital ( which is moderately much as creepy looking as you ’d think ) , a sick bay with some baby beds , and an emergency generator . The clear-cut shade of lightsome greens painted on some of the bulwark and ceiling was designed , specifically chosen because the colour is suppose to make people find relaxed — you be the judge .

In another part of the shelter , you may see sewer , a kitchen ( albeit apparently small for its designate number of residents ) , and many four - level nonsense beds . There ’s also a dependable amount of shock - proof machinery , external respiration system , and reserve pee tankful . All in all , it seems like res publica - of - the - artistry luxury compare to the fallout shelter we came from .

There are a few other tours you could choose from , mostly focusing on WWII , the Cold War , and sneaking under the Berlin Wall . Whichever you select , as you meander this history - rich netherworld , one affair is for sure : You ’ll never look at those random door in the Berlin subway the same way again .