The Government Bunker (Regierungsbunker) in Germany, officially named Ausweichsitz der Verfassungsorgane des Bundes im Krisen- und Verteidigungsfall zur Wahrung von deren Funktionstüchtigkeit (AdVB), in English: "Emergency Seat of the Federal Constitutional Organs for the State of Crisis or State of Defence to Maintain their Ability to Function" was a massive underground complex built during the Cold War era to house the German government, parliament and enough federal personnel needed to keep the government working in the event of war or severe crisis. Located only about 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Bonn, Germany (the government seat of pre-unification West Germany), in the Ahr Valley between the towns of Ahrweiler and Dernau, it was one of the best kept secrets of West Germany. It was built between 1960 and 1972 inside two abandoned railway tunnels that were built as part of the Strategic Railway, maintained and kept in a working condition for about 30 years and decommissioned in 1997. A small part of the once-secret site is now open to the public as Government Bunker Documentation Site, while the vast majority is abandoned and sealed.
History The bunker complex below the vineyards and forests along the river Ahr was built inside two disused railway tunnels of a former strategic railway line built in preparation of World War I but never entered into service. After the war, during years of recession, the German state railway company lost interest in the line which was of no economic value and finally abandoned it. Between 1930 and 1939 the disused railway tunnels were used to farm mushrooms to gain independence from having to import French fungi. During the later phase of World War II several arms manufacturing companies occupied the tunnels and a huge concentration camp for forced labourers was erected outside the protective cover of the tunnels, which was also referred to under the code name Lager Rebstock (Camp Vine). Inside the tunnels was a construction facility for manufacturing ground equipment and mobile launch pads for the V-2 rocket. With increasing Allied air raids at the end of the war, the tunnels served as makeshift air-raid shelters.
Construction and interior design
In the days of cold war, when Germany was on the front line between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, it became apparent that a nuclear war fought on German soil was a very real possibility. Therefore, it was decided that some form of emergency seat was needed for the federal government, should Bonn become the target of an attack. After some deliberations the two tunnels were selected as the site for such an installation due to their proximity to Bonn and the rural surroundings which, unlike urban areas, would not attract air raids or missile attacks. Construction of the bunker began in 1960 and lasted until 1972. The government bunker, also known by the neutral-sounding name Dienststelle Marienthal (Office Marienthal) was constructed inside the existing tunnels which had never been used for the purpose they had initially been built for. Additional tunnels of a total length of 17.3 km were driven and blasted into the soft slate mountains along the Ahr Valley to build an emergency seat for the federal government that would allow up 3,000 people to survive an attack for at least 30 days. At the time of construction the total length of all tunnels probably amounted to 19 km. The facility was designed to withstand attacks with nuclear weapons and was fitted with autonomous supplies of electric power, fresh air and drinking water. Unlike other fortifications or military bunkers, however, there were no defence systems and it would have been protected by military units stationed nearby. The costs of construction were estimated at DM 3 billion, although no precise figures are known due to the high level of secrecy.
The bunker built beneath 110m of slate rock consisted of two sections named Ost (East) and West which were separated by a valley and connected by a 60m deep passageway. The eastern section was partitioned again into two independent parts (Ost/West and Ost/Ost) and the western section into three parts (West/West, West/Mitte [Centre] and West/Ost), each with tunnels parallel to and crossing the main tunnels. All tunnels were concrete-lined and most had two floors, with several exits and emergency escape routes. The main portals were sealed by manoeuvrable steel and concrete gates built by MAN, each weighing 25 tonnes. The bunker housed 897 offices and 936 dormitories and had 25,000 doors in total. It even had an underground hairdresser's salon.
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