Underground Berlin
Page 2
Continued from page 1
ABOVE: Tour 2 takes visitors into a deep bunker
from World War II.
Guided tours
Berliner Unterwelten offers a variety of guided tours in German,
English, and other languages. Some are available only to groups, but the most
important tours are open to individuals. Here are examples of the organization's
guided tours that were being offered when I visited:
 Tour 1, "Dark Worlds," visits a World War II bunker and
air-raid shelter complex that's hidden behind a green door in the Gesundbrunnen
U-Bahn station. The tour also shows exhibits and artifacts from Berlin's sewer
system, 19th Century pneumatic-tube mail network, and giant brewery cellars.
 Tour 2, "From the Flak Towers to the Mounts of Debris,"
explores a deep bunker from World War II that was filled with rubble until the
Berliner Underworlds Association spent more than 8,000 hours cleaning out the
debris. (The tour is offered only from April through October to avoid disturbing
the bats who take up residence during the winter months.)
 Tour 3,
"Subways and Bunkers in the Cold War," illustrates the subterranean division of
Berlin after World War II and a massive nuclear fallout shelter from the years
of Soviet occupation. One of the odder exhibits is a glow-in-the-dark room;
other displays include fallout suits and a diagram of a spy tunnel that was
drilled under East Berlin by Western intelligence agencies.
 Tour
M, "Wall Openings," is about underground escapes from East to West Berlin
during the Cold War Era. More than 70 escape tunnels were built from 1961 to
1982. (This tour lasts two hours and is offered on weekends year-round.)
Web link:
Berliner
Unterwelten
The official Berlin Underworlds Web site has information on tours, the
organization's history and activities, and current exhibits.
Back to:
Underground Berlin
Top photo: Holger Happel.
Inset photos: Stefan Gier,
Holger Happel, Frieder Salm, Holger Happel. | 
