I do like a good hotel but I’m not sure whether this is one I’d like to stay in. It’s not open as yet, so I’m secretly hoping that it might be delayed at the planning-permission stage or something. You see, to me this is just a little too spooky.
The building, you can see from the photograph how it looks now, is in Hamburg. And you probably won’t be surprised to learn that it’s a World War Two bunker.
Anti-aircraft guns were fired off from the building and much of the structure as used by thousands of people as an air raid shelter.
These structures – there are several in Germany that still survive – were built by the Luftwaffe mostly using labourers from concentraion camps. The workers must have been driven relentlessly by their Nazi captors as they were built quicky – the one you see above evidently took less than a year to construct.
Known as ‘flak towers’ these structures were well-made as they had to withstand enemy bombing and have also stood the test of time. Indeed, in the video below you can see the results of a failed demolition bid.
And now, the one you see above is scheduled to become a luxury hotel.
It’s probably going to be beautiful And the developers say that they are going to have lush roof gardens with a memorial to those who were victims of the Nazi regime.
It’s just that I can’t imagine myself sitting listening to jazz piano and sipping a G & T in such a place. Sorry about that.
WHERE IS THE BUNKER?
The Bunker
Feldstraße 66,
20359 Hamburg,
Germany
A rendering of how the hotel will look. It still looks like a WW2 bunker to me…
ARTICLE BY:
Jackie
JJ is originally from the UK and has lived in South Florida since 1994. She is the founder and editor of JAQUO Magazine. You can connect with her using the social media icons below.