A bomb shelter that lay hidden for decades in the city of Lublin and was recently unearthed by chance during building work has been registered as a historic monument by the municipal authorities. Officials say the building is unique in the city and hope it can become a tourist attraction.
The find, made on land belonging to Poland’s state railways and the local authorities, is a partially subterranean concrete passage with steps at both ends. It is slightly over one metre wide and more than two metres high, reports Dziennik Wschodni.
Rubble at the entrances has so far made it impossible to explore the shelter fully, but it is thought to be in good condition and to contain ventilation and filtration devices and a dry, hermetic toilet.
Lublin’s historic conservation office is unsure of who built the fortification and when. They say it is a typical example of a shelter built in the decades from the mid-1930s onwards, and which after the war were constructed as protection from a nuclear attack.
One possibility is that the shelter was built in 1942-44, when Lublin was under German Nazi occupation. Alternatively, it may date to the first half of the 1950s, after the Soviet-backed communist government set up the Territorial Air Defence organisation to protect civilians from a potential air attack or atomic bombs.
“It is the only building of its type in Lublin and, furthermore, has been preserved in good condition, so could be a big tourist attraction,” Izolda Boguta of Lublin city hall told Dziennik Wschodni. “Its protection is important for preserving our city’s historical heritage.”
“It is hard to say how many people could have fitted inside…50 at most,” Michał Trzewik of the Lublin historic monuments conservation office told TVN24. “Its shape resembles an extended lightning bolt symbol, with thick metal doors at either end.”
The shelter was discovered by chance by builders working on Lublin’s new transport hub, which is due to be completed by the end of 2022. Next to the shelter, a manoeuvre area for the new bus station is being constructed. Registering the bunker as a historic monument give it protected status.
The city’s conservation office has recommended clearing the shelter’s entrances and restoring its original form before giving it a new function, possibly commercial. “The use of this building depends on the decision of the owner,” said Boguta.
Main image credit: Biuro Miejskiego Konserwatora Zabytków, Lublin
Ben Koschalka is a translator and senior editor at Notes from Poland. Originally from Britain, he has lived in Kraków since 2005.
