The Bunker (also Reichsbahnbunker Friedrichstraße) in Berlin-Mitte, Germany, is a listed air-raid shelter that was constructed in 1943 and is nowadays used as an art gallery and private apartment.

1km
0.6miles

Bunker

  

Location of the Bunker in Berlin

Originally based on plans of the architect Karl Bonatz, it was constructed in 1943 by Nazi Germany to shelter up to 3,000 Reichsbahn train passengers.^[1] The square building has an area of 1,000 square metres (11,000 sq ft) and is 18 metres (59 ft) high; its walls are up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) thick. There are 120 rooms on five floors.

In May 1945, the Red Army took the building and turned it into a prisoner-of-war camp. From 1949, it was used to store textiles and from 1957, as storage for dry and tropical fruit, which is why the building was known as the Banana Bunker among East Berliners.^[2]

In the summer of 1992, it was turned into a hardcore techno and fetish club^[3] called "Bunker". Gabba, hard trance, house and breakbeat parties were held on four floors. After a police 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. The annual Fuckparade began in part to protest the closing of the club; for several years, the demonstrations would start at the Bunker.

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".^[4]

• List of electronic dance music venues