Because it has the most nuclear bunkers than any other country

In Switzerland, there are over 370,000 bunkers, with space to house the entire population. But in a serious crisis scenario, if it happened, would the shelters be up to the mission? Not yet, for now

In February 2022, when Russia began to bombard Kiev, Zora Schelbert, Operational Director of bunker Nuclear Sonnenberg-who is one of the largest civilian nuclear shelters in the world-in Lucerne, Switzerland, has seen the number of questions about that place have been multiplying. “They even wanted to know which measures to take, where they should take refuge,” at the beginning, this director thought it was a mistake. But it wasn’t. However, it is normal for strangeness. From her, from the director.

What is for Europeans a curiosity, between admiration and unbelief, for the Swiss is a reality of decades: to ensure each resident, each resident, each citizen, a place in a place in a bunker that protects you from the worst. With almost nine million inhabitants, Switzerland leads the world in bunkers By inhabitant – a policy that has consolidates since 1963 and that forces all new buildings to include an underground structure or finance a nearby public space.

During the Cold War, the bunkers They were the clear answer to the nuclear threat. More recently, interest (Swiss) oscillated between skepticism and indifference. Many saw us as a costly and unusual luxury, spaces that, in peacetime-and even a long-term Swiss neutrality-they even served to keep wine, weird or paintball practice-yes, fun. But the invasion of Ukraine completely changed this. “Our public perception has changed deeply,” confirms to The Guardian Silvia Berger, historian at the University of Bern. “We are in the middle of a transformation.”

The Swiss Civil Protection System is at least singular. There are 370 thousand shelters – from small divisions to families to true bunkers for hundreds and hundreds of people. All, or almost, equipped with ventilation that neutralizes radiation – and chemical or biological agents -, these spaces still remain operational, although many as we have seen to work (or work) as warehouses for forgotten or utility objects, the so -called “mamarracho” at home.

There are also underground command centers – therefore small underground “cities” with industrial kitchens, showers or internet. It impresses, but it will import this reference: even these structures reveal their limitations. In recent tests already done, the (civil protection) teams took weeks to prepare the space and could not close the armored doors, fundamental for safety in case of nuclear radiation, in full.

But let’s talk about what matters – and here the title brought him, reader – “Why does Switzerland have more bunkers nuclear than any other country. ”Switzerland is not just an example of blameless civil engineering; it is even another culture. bunkers They are part of Switzerland’s identity, ”explains Guillaume Vergain, again to The Guardian, who is responsible for Civil Protection in Geneva.“ This is our DNA. ”

This mindset was born during World War II, when the country, surrounded by axis powers, prepared the so -called Swiss Réduitor “fortified refuge”, in free translation, a series of fortifications in the Alps, dozens of bunkers, casamatas and rock -lavished artillery positions that, in the event of foreign invasion, would allow resisting indefinite time. The experience of seeing European (and neighboring) cities devastated by bombing made imperative protecting civilians from the country.

This program reflects a deep belief in the total defense of the nation – not only military but ideological: in democracy, in neutrality, independence. In Switzerland, an underground refuge is prudence and not fear. You bunkers In cities are natural extensions of the plan for the Alps, safe spaces, not dug in the rock, but dug in the soils.

But the effectiveness of these shelters depends on the catastrophe, of course. Let’s talk about nuclear, for example. A nuclear explosion leaves radiations that dissipate in weeks – for this these were thought bunkers. However, accidents like Chernobyl show other limits: zones contaminated for centuries where bunker It is not enough.

There are also those who ask if these costs are worthwhile, or whether diplomacy and prevention would be wiser investments. Still, not ignoring, but believing in him, Switzerland maintains its model of years, decades, while other countries reevaluate policies and are still being aware. They’ve been more, actually. In Europe, the return of the fear of war brings back the interest in Norway’s civil protection – which again demanded to have shelters in new buildings to Germany, where the theme resurfaced in the public debate.

In the end, the bunkers Swiss are more than concrete and steel. They are today (as before) a manifesto: prepare for the worst so that it does not happen.