Underneath the world’s happiest country, Finland, lies a massive network of bunkers and tunnels across a total length of more than 200 kilometres in Helsinki. Originally known as Asematunneli, the Helsinki Underground City provides shelter for 5 million citizens in emergencies, featuring more than 5,000 bomb shelters and over 50,000 bunkers throughout the entire city of Helsinki.
The complex can house around 5 million people. For many years, Helsinki’s underground City was created as civil defence for citizens during the 1960s and 1970s, but now acts as a vibrant city suitable for everyday public use.
Inside most of the bomb shelters share the following features: reinforced concrete walls, air filtration systems, water and food storage, bunk beds, emergency power lighting and communication facilities.
Catering to a range of cultural activities, there are bomb shelters that have been repurposed into multi-purpose amenities that include swimming pools like the Itäkeskus Swimming Hall, sports arenas, Ice hockey rinks, parking garages and shopping centres like Kamppi’s underground City.
Kamppi is a part of the Helsinki underground city and boasts the Kamppi Centrem which includes shops, a bus terminal and parking, which is connected to other shopping centres like Forum and Rautientunneli.
This pedestrian-inclusive network allows easy access to the bomb shelters at any time. Despite some bunkers being excluded from public use, there are many ways to experience the thriving city through guided tours.
Guided tours of Helsinki Underground Network are held by Helsinki’s City Museum and some independent vendors, explaining the history and functions, and the Tytyri mine experience.
Helsinki’s public bunker spaces can be converted into a shelter within just 72 hours.
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