The Bunker (also ''Reichsbahnbunker'') in

Berlin-Mitte Mitte () (German for "middle" or "center") is a central locality () of Berlin in the eponymous district () of Mitte. Until 2001, it was itself an autonomous district. Mitte proper comprises the historic center of Alt-Berlin centered on the ch ...

is a

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

air-raid shelter. Originally based on plans of the architect

Karl Bonatz Karl Nikolaus Bonatz (1882–1951) was a German architect, best known for designing a bunker in 1943 that is now an art gallery. He was the younger brother of fellow architect Paul Bonatz. The brothers presented a plan for modernising the Hô ...

, it was constructed in 1943 by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

to shelter up to 3,000

Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...

train passengers. The square building has an area of and is high; its walls are up to thick. There are 120 rooms on five floors. In May 1945, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

took the building and turned it into a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

. From 1949, it was used to store textiles and from 1957, as storage for dry and tropical fruit. In the summer of 1992, it was turned into a

hardcore techno Hardcore (also known as hardcore techno or hardcore house) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany in the early 1990s. It is distinguished by faster tempos and a distorte ...

club."I collect art that I don't understand": A conversation with Christian Boros
, ''Sculpture magazine'', November 2009. Gabba,

hard trance Hard trance is a subgenre of trance music which originated in Western Europe (Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands) in the early 1990s as the Breakbeat hardcore production community began to diversify into new and different styles of electronic ...

, house and breakbeat parties were held on four floors. However, after a raid in 1995 the events became more irregular. A further raid in 1996 placed severe building restrictions on the tenants, causing the club to close. In 2001, real estate investor ''Nippon Development Corporation GmbH'' bought the building from the government. In 2002, it was the venue of the Berlin art festival "Insideout".

Boros Collection

Christian Boros purchased the bunker for his private collection of

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...

in 2003. He subsequently had architects Jens Casper and Petra Petersson convert the building into a exhibition space and build a glass-walled

penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

on the roof. The renovation work was finished in 2007. The first exhibition of the permanent collection opened in 2008, featuring selected sculptures, installations, and light and performance works by, among others,

Olafur Eliasson Olafur Eliasson ( is, Ólafur Elíasson; born 5 February 1967) is an Icelandic–Danish artist known for sculptured and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer's ...

Elmgreen and Dragset Michael Elmgreen (born 1961; Copenhagen, Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (born 1969; Trondheim, Norway) have worked together as an artist duo since 1995. Their work explores the relationship between art, architecture and design. Elmgreen & Dragset liv ...

, Robert Kusmirowski,

Sarah Lucas Sarah Lucas (born 1962) is an English artist. She is part of the generation of Young British Artists who emerged during the 1990s. Her works frequently employ visual puns and bawdy humour by incorporating photography, collage and found objects. ...

, Tobias Rehberger,

Anselm Reyle Anselm Reyle (born 1970) is an artist based in Berlin. He is known for his often large-scale abstract paintings and found-object sculptures. Biography Anselm Reyle was born in Tübingen, Germany in 1970. He studied at the Staatliche Akademie d ...

Monika Sosnowska Monika Sosnowska (born 7 May 1972 in Ryki) is a Polish installation artist. In 2003, she received the Bâloise Prize at Art Basel as well as the Polityka's Passport award given by Poland's most prestigious weekly. Life and career Sosnowska st ...

Santiago Sierra Santiago Sierra (born 1966) is a Spanish artist, known for performance art and installation art. Much of his work deals with the topic of social inequities. He lives in Madrid. Career Sierra's most well-known works involve hiring laborers to co ...

, and

Rirkrit Tiravanija Rirkrit Tiravanija ( th, ฤกษ์ฤทธิ์ ตีระวนิช, pronunciation: [] or Tea-rah-vah-nitJerry Saltz (May 7, 2007)Conspicuous Consumption''New York Magazine''.) is a Thai contemporary artist residing in New York City, Be ...

. That show opened in 2008 and attracted 120,000 visitors during its nearly four-year run. Opened in 2012, "Sammlung Boros #2," features 130 works by 23 artists, including

Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei (, ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly c ...

Thea Djordjadze Tea Jorjadze Thea Djordjadze ( ka, თეა ჯორჯაძე; born 1971 in Tbilisi, Georgia) is a contemporary artist based in Berlin, Germany. She is best known for sculpture and installation art, but also works in a variety of other media ( ...

, Klara Liden,

Wolfgang Tillmans Wolfgang Tillmans (born 16 August 1968) is a German photographer. His diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. Tillmans was the first photog ...

Cerith Wyn Evans Cerith Wyn Evans (born 1958 in Llanelli) is a Welsh conceptual artist, sculptor and film-maker. In 2018 he won the £30,000 Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Early life and education The son of Sulwyn and Myfanwy Evans, Evans was born in Llanelli. ...

. This was replaced in 2018 by "Boros Collection / Bunker #3", which includes works from the artists

Martin Boyce Martin Boyce (born 1967) is a Scottish sculptor inspired by early 20th century modernism. Boyce was born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire and educated at Holy Cross High School in Hamilton. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art, graduating with ...

, Andreas Eriksson, Guan Xiao, He Xiangyu, Uwe Henneken,

Yngve Holen Yngve is a Scandinavian male given name, mostly used in Sweden and Norway. It is the modern form of either Old Norse Yngvi or of Ingwin. ''Yngvi'' was the Old Norse name of the Germanic god ''Ingu-'', later identified with Freyr, or of ''Ingwian- ...

, Sergej Jensen, Daniel Josefsohn,

Friedrich Kunath Friedrich Kunath (born 1974) is a German visual artist who lives in Los Angeles. He was born in Chemnitz, East Germany, and has had solo exhibitions at the Kunsthal Kade Amersfoort (2016), Schinkel Pavillon (2011), the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles ...

, Michel Majerus, Fabian Marti, Kris Martin,

Justin Matherly Justin may refer to: People * Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin * Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Ro ...

Paulo Nazareth Paulo Nazareth (b. 1977) is a Brazilian contemporary artist based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Nazareth has achieved notable acclaim for his distinctive approach to contemporary art, exemplified by multimedia, performance-based works, international e ...

, Peter Piller, Katja Novitskova,

Pamela Rosenkranz Pamela Rosenkranz (born 1979 in Altdorf, Uri, Switzerland) is a Swiss multimedia artist who uses light and liquid to demonstrate her concepts along with performance, sculpture, painting, and installation art. Her work explores ideas and concept ...

, Avery Singer, Johannes Wohnseifer.

References

External links

*
Official website of the Boros collection

(in German)

in German)
Boros Penthouse
{{Coord, 52, 31, 24, N, 13, 23, 2, E, type:landmark_region:DE-BE, display=title Nightclubs in Berlin Heritage sites in Berlin Nazi architecture Bunkers in Germany Art museums and galleries in Berlin Buildings and structures in Mitte Buildings and structures completed in 1943 Electronic dance music venues

Boros Collection

See also

References

External links