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Former Nazi bunker to be redeveloped as a futuristic hotel

The former Nazi bunker in Hamburg will be trimmed with layered gardens, as seen in this rendering - Matzen Immobilien
The former Nazi bunker in Hamburg will be trimmed with layered gardens, as seen in this rendering - Matzen Immobilien

It was once a Nazi bunker, built in Hamburg 1942 in using forced labour by concentration camp prisoners. Today, it's being transformed into a futuristic hotel, trimmed with layered gardens.

The 136-room 'nhow Hamburg', located in the central St Pauli district, is expected to open in 2021 and will inhabit only the top portion of the building, complete with a bar, restaurant and coffee shop, arranged over five new floors to be constructed in the form of a pyramid.

The hotel group's senior communication manager told Telegraph Travel: "We are aware of the history of the bunker and acknowledge its significance for the city of Hamburg as well as the responsibility it carries.

“Our design and lifestyle brand nhow has an inclusive approach, meaning that nhow Hamburg will integrate itself into the neighborhood and creative scene. The concept for nhow Hamburg will reflect on the history of the building, and will use it to create a positive impact and meaningful experiences for guests and visitors alike."

NG Hotel Group, a Spanish developer, is part of a wider project to regenerate the building and the 40 other companies that rent space in it. Among the planned features is a memorial in the rooftop park for the victims of the Nazi regime and a 560-square-foot exhibition space, which will be open to the public.

The hotel will inhabit the top portion of the building, arranged over five new floors in the form of a pyramid - Credit: Matzen Immobilien
The hotel will inhabit the top portion of the building, arranged over five new floors in the form of a pyramid Credit: Matzen Immobilien

The hotel itself will enjoy 'fantastic panoramic views of Hamburg, in the line of sight of the Elbphilharmonie and a leafy and meandering green walkway that will surround the bunker,' according to the group.

The former fort, then named Flakturm IV Hochbunker, is among the largest of more than 1,000 bunkers built in Hamburg - a greater number than in any other German city - to protect citizens from Allied strikes during the Second World War.

It took only 300 days to build at the hands of over 1,000 forced laborers, and consisted of 11-foot thick walls and a wide entrance for women pushing baby carriages. Though designed to accommodate 18,000 people at a time, up to 30,000 sought shelter there during the heaviest raids in the summer of 1943.

The Flakturm IV bunker, seen here in 1945 - Credit: wikipedia
The Flakturm IV bunker, seen here in 1945 Credit: wikipedia

Three years after it was built, when the Nazis were defeated, the government considered demolishing the bunker altogether but decided the amount of dynamite required would damage too wide an area around it.

Now known as St Pauli Bunker and one of the 650 that survived the war, it has been renting units as office space to various companies ever since.

In 1950 public broadcaster NWDR, while occupying the space, became the first to air television images in Germany, and by the 1990s it came to be referred to as the "media bunker" thanks to the number of studios and radio stations based there.

In more recent times, its impenetrable, sound-proof walls have been put to good use for music events and nightclubs.

The building as it is now, before new development begins - Credit: Matzen Immobilien
The building as it is now, before new development begins Credit: Matzen Immobilien

Inevitable criticism has arisen among some locals who are uncomfortable with the bunker's fraught history. Thomas L Doughton, a senior lecturer at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, who takes his students to Holocaust sites across Europe, told The New York Times: “Part of the concern with some people in Hamburg, as well as in other locations in Europe and elsewhere is that the real significance of some of these sites will become lost.”

On the other hand, Dr Philip Stone, executive director of the Institute for Dark Tourism Research, told CNN: "Plans for an in-house memorial within the hotel shows how sensitive heritage can be appropriated, and where heritage can help us remember, whilst in some places history is forgotten."

He conceded that there will always remain "a fine ethical line between exploitation and commercialism", but that if handled with delicacy, "dark tourism can shine a light on our painful past."

Your views

Do you think it’s insensitive to repurpose a former Nazi landmark for use as a modern hotel? Should buildings in which human atrocities once took place be destroyed altogether? Lend us your view in the comment box below.