What is a shelter?
Shelters, also known as nuclear shelters / air raid shelters, are primarily built in the event of armed conflict, but can also be used as safe refuges in other disasters and emergencies.
Shelters/bunkers must be able to withstand the effects of modern weapons, i.e. they must primarily provide protection against nuclear, biological and chemical warfare agents and close-range hits from conventional weapons.
Why shelters are needed
Due to political developments over the last 70 years, protection and security have become a matter of course for most citizens in Germany. Private disaster prevention is often seen as unnecessary and is laughed at. But despite the apparently good security situation, there are real risks here too.
There are currently 75 active nuclear reactors and dozens of chemical factories in Germany's neighboring countries - and the number is rising. The number of environmental disasters, crime, terror warnings and hacker attacks is increasing year after year, which experts believe poses a real danger in Germany too. But political disputes in neighboring countries and war scenarios involving the use of ABC warfare agents and explosive weapons can no longer be ruled out.
Even in the event of a disaster that had been announced in advance, it would not be possible today to create sufficient shelters for the German population at short notice.
With your own shelter, you and your family are protected from dangers across generations.
Map of nuclear reactors in Europe [1]
How are shelters constructed?
Shelters essentially consist of a thick reinforced concrete shell made of in-situ concrete in the basement of a building. In the best case scenario, the components are therefore cast in concrete in the basement during the construction of new residential/commercial properties.
Access is secured with special, armored doors. Shelters are also equipped with an emergency exit in case the exit via the shelter door is blocked.
To ensure a safe air supply, the bunkers /shelters are equipped with a special ABC ventilation system and gas filter, which can be operated electrically and, in an emergency, manually with a hand crank.
In non-threat times, shelters can be used regularly as basement compartments, hobby rooms, wine cellars or as protected storage spaces.
What shelter concepts do we offer?
Which prefabricated bunkers do we offer?
Are there shelter spaces in the event of a disaster?
Switzerland
In Switzerland, the legal requirement that every citizen must have a shelter available has been in place since 1971. For this reason, a shelter must be built in every new building. There are currently around 365,000 personal shelters and 1,700 public shelters in Switzerland. Switzerland thus has a shelter quota of 120% - i.e. more shelter places than there are inhabitants. [3]
Germany
In the 1960s, there were shelters in Germany for about 3% of the population. [4] In 2007, the German federal government, in agreement with the states, decided to abandon the construction and maintenance of public shelters and to stop funding them. [5] There are currently no operational public shelters available in Germany. [6]
Conclusion
In contrast to Switzerland, there are no public shelters in Germany. In Germany, you have to make your own arrangements for a shelter.
Can shelters be reactivated?
Installation of a new sliding armored wall for an existing shelter in Germany
In Germany, there are still a large number of private home shelters and public civil defense facilities dating back to the Cold War. Most of these buildings have been forgotten over the years and have not been serviced or maintained for decades and are no longer operational.
We prepare expert reports for the reactivation of existing shelters. Based on the reports, we can create a reactivation plan for the existing facility.
We can subsequently equip and reactivate the protective structure with ventilation systems, gas filters, doors and gates, beds, dry toilets and furniture.
Take responsibility for your own safety.
We are Germany's experts in the construction of shelters and bunkers and offer:
Advice on shelter construction in new buildings / extensions / conversions
Specialist planning for shelter and bunker construction
Expert advice and preparation of reports on reactivation
Preparation of reactivation plans
Static calculation of shelters
Sales of shelter components
Project support and contact for architects, structural engineers, construction companies, fitters
Installation of ventilation systems, dry toilets and lying areas
Construction of shelters
Contact us for a free and non-binding consultation.
Germany's real estate agent for the brokerage of existing shelters, bunkers and former military installations
With our division Bunker Makler Deutschland, we are the central broker for the purchase and sale of shelter and bunker properties from all over Germany. We maintain a nationwide customer and property database for absolutely discreet real estate brokerage.
-
Rental of individual shelter spaces
-
Sale of shelters and properties with integrated home shelter
-
Sale and rental of bunkers and former military areas for commercial use
- Establishing contacts for joint construction projects
Further information can be found on the website at:
