Zivilschutzbunker Köln-Kalk

Useful Information

Location:	U-Bahn Station Kalk Post, Robertstraße 2, D–51105 Köln-Kalk. (50.9375519, 6.9986196)
Open:	All year 1st Sunday of the month 13:30-15:30. Reservation mandatory. [2025]
Fee:	free, donations welcome. [2025]
Classification:	Secret Bunker
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:	MinAge=7.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Zivilschutzbunker Köln-Kalk, Dokumentationsstätte Kalter Krieg e.V, Tel: +49-162-73-99-505. E-mail: E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1979	Bunker built.

Description

The Zivilschutzbunker Köln-Kalk (Cologne-Kalk civil defense bunker) is a nuclear bunker from the Cold War. While most bunkers from this period were built either to protect infrastructure, the military or politics, there were also civilian bunkers. The effort involved was enormous, as such a bunker had to provide food, drinking water and air in a nuclear-contaminated world. In addition to canned food, there was also an air filtration system and a water treatment plant. Diesel generators were used for operation, which limited the time in the bunker and meant that it had to be abandoned when the diesel ran out. The bunker in Cologne-Kalk had room for 2,366 people, and everyone actually had their own bed. There were several such bunkers in Cologne, all of which were integrated into subway stations. A total of ten such bunkers were planned, this is the only one which was completed. Nevertheless, there would only have been enough space for a very small part of the population. Ten bunkers would have provided space for 23,000 people, the city of Cologne has one million inhabitants, so even if all the bunkers had been completed, there would only have been space for 2.3% of the population.

The bunker in Cologne-Kalk is completely preserved, both the facilities and the beds are still there. The airlock gates, sliding gates weighing several tons, were made of special steel that only one company in Germany could produce. They are located in the subway station and are therefore easily accessible, yet they are not noticed by the many visitors using the subway, as they are either inconspicuous or hidden behind a cladding of steel slats. The operation was designed for 14 days, the reasoning being that the radiation would have largely subsided by then. In addition, the bunker is intended for NBC protection, i.e. also for biological and chemical attacks. And in these cases, it can be assumed that the danger will be over after a relatively short time. In the event of a nuclear war, the initial radiation peak will have subsided after 14 days, but the occupants would still have to return to a radioactively contaminated world. It is therefore doubtful whether such a nuclear bunker really makes sense. Its construction was probably merely an outlet for the existential fear caused by the Cold War.

The bunker is not only a contemporary witness, it was also used to house the Dokumentationsstätte Kalter Krieg (DOKK, Cold War Documentation Center). It is a branch of the Kölner Festungsmuseum (Cologne Fortress Museum) under the auspices of the Kölner Institut für Festungsarchitektur (CRIFA, Cologne Institute for Fortress Architecture). Cold War fortifications from all over Germany are documented and explained here.