Germany Turns Former Nazi Bunker Into a Leisure Complex

After Allied troops dropped bombs on Berlin in 1940, Nazi leaders ordered the construction of above-ground air raid shelters throughout the Third Reich. Built using forced labor, these hulking anti-aircraft structures—called flak towers—had concrete walls up to 11 feet thick and could accommodate tens of thousands of people.

Some of these towers were partially or fully demolished after the war. But authorities in Hamburg, Germany, have opted to take a different approach. The Flakturm IV bunker in the St. Pauli district is still standing after 80 years—and now, it’s being repurposed as a community gathering space.

Last month, the tower reopened with a newly built, pyramid-shaped structure on top, per the Guardian’s Kate Mann. The five-story addition—which cost roughly $110 million to build—features restaurants, event spaces, a cafe, a hotel and a public park with abundant plants. An exhibition on the ground floor also explores the tower’s history. In the future, developers hope to add a memorial to Nazi victims.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hamburg BUNKER (@hamburgbunker)

Now called the Hamburg Bunker, the redeveloped structure is helping to write a new chapter in the city’s history.

“The idea of raising the height of the building with greenery was to add something peaceful and positive to this massive block left over from the Nazi dictatorship,” Anita Engels, a member of the Hilldegarden neighborhood association that supported the project, tells Agence France-Presse.

The St. Pauli bunker was constructed in just 300 days in 1942. Most of the laborers forced to build the structure came from the nearby Neuengamme concentration camp, according to the Financial Times’ Andrew Eames.

Standing roughly 114 feet tall and 246 feet wide, the air raid shelter was built to accommodate up to 18,000 people at one time, according to the city. In the summer of 1943, however, an estimated 25,000 people took refuge inside the bunker during air raids.

After the war, authorities briefly considered tearing down the bunker. However, they ultimately decided that the explosives needed to demolish the structure would cause too much damage to the surrounding neighborhood.

Over the years, the bunker has served many functions. It has housed a public television broadcaster, a nightclub, a climbing gym, a concert venue, a music school and offices.

More than a decade ago, Hamburg entrepreneur Mathias Müller-Using proposed the idea of adding green space atop the bunker, according to the Guardian. He modeled the idea after New York’s High Line, as well as Brazil’s Niterói Contemporary Art Museum. The project began in 2019.

Today, gardeners tend to 4,700 trees and shrubs, 13,000 other plants, a small apple orchard and a patch of green grass atop the building, per the Financial Times. The green space is meant to provide a habitat for insects and birds. The Guardian reports that it will also help collect climate data, such as evaporation and heat storage.

The hotel, called Reverb, is part of the Hard Rock chain, and it features 134 rooms.

“While you can’t get away from the bunker feel in the maze-like corridors of the hotel, the rooms don’t give out a claustrophobic, Second World War vibe,” writes Matador’s Morgane Croissant in a review of the hotel. “While there is a touch of raw industrial design throughout the place, the rooms are contemporary but not edgy.”

Hamburg has another flak tower located in the Wilhelmsburg neighborhood. It’s been reborn as a renewable energy power plant with a cafe on the top floor.

Sarah Kuta | READ MORE

Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.