The Poznań mayoral shelter was built in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in the late 1950s and early 1960s to provide protection for the mayor of

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

and other high-ranking municipal officials in the event of a

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...

but has since been put out of commission, becoming a branch of the Wielkopolska Museum of the Fight for Independence in Poznań.

History

Located under a villa at 62 Słupska Street, the shelter has a total area of around 500 m². Its walls and ceiling are respectively 1 meter and 2 meters thick. It consists of mechanical rooms with a water intake system, a ventilation system, and a generator, bedrooms, offices, a telephone exchange, and a coordination centre, from which the mayor was to lead civil defence actions, alarming civilians of any hazards through the use of sirens scattered around the city and commanding evacuation if need be. The existence of this shelter was classified until 2000. It was announced publicly in 2010, with its location being disclosed two years later. On December 13, 2012, the 31st anniversary of the proclamation of

martial law in Poland Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...

, it was opened for visitors for the first time; it was also opened on December 21, 2012, the predicted day of the end of the world. Workers of the Museum of the Fight for Independence believe that the shelter wouldn't provide the needed protection or prove itself as a command center because of the shallow location, the lack of kitchens and food storage, and the fact that communication with the outside world wouldn't be possible after a nuclear explosion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelter of the Mayor of Poznan Museums in Poznań Nuclear bunkers in Europe Military history of Poznań