Do you know all the stories from the Cold War? There are more than enough historical sights to discover in and around Berlin. But one of the best-kept secrets is the Harnekop bunker. Officially the main command center of the GDR Ministry of National Defense, it lies hidden in a wooded area east of Berlin. If you haven’t visited it yet, a day trip is well worth it right now in spring —more so than at almost any other time of year. You can get there by car in an hour—the bunker is located in the village of Harnekop, in Prötzel, which gave it its name .
A bunker against nuclear war
In the event of an emergency, the Harnekop bunker was intended to provide the GDR’s military leadership with protection against a nuclear war. Today, the structure is a national historic monument and is considered the best-preserved bunker of its kind in Europe.
The history of this massive concrete structure dates back to the 1970s, when the GDR, under the strictest secrecy, built a communications and command center designed to withstand even direct hits from tactical nuclear weapons. The structure consists of three underground levels.
A journey back in time
Until the fall of the Berlin Wall, hardly anyone in the civilian population knew of this facility’s existence. Yet, with an area of over 7,500 m² , the bunker was one of the largest in the former GDR. Covering an area of 63 x 40 meters, it was designed to accommodate up to 450 people, enabling them to survive completely self-sufficiently for several weeks.
Today, visitors can immerse themselves in a world that feels as though time has stood still since 1989. On guided tours, you walk through lockable airlocks into the interior, where the original technology is still fully intact. The oppressive atmosphere of the narrow corridors and the idea that, in an emergency, a third world war would have been coordinated from here make the Harnekop Bunker a cautionary and, at the same time, fascinating site of contemporary history.
