Berlin Turns Bomb Shelters into Beauty

Some World War II remnants remind visitors of the dread that swept the world in the middle of the 20th century. But one art collector is turning an abandoned Third Reich building in Mitte into something useful—and beautiful.

In 2003, Polish-born art collector Christian Boros bought a 1942 bunker built by Hitler to protect Berliners from air raids during the war. Hitler had planned to cover the building in marble after the war's end, but instead it remained an odd edifice (after the Berlin Wall fell, it was home to a "techno/S+M club," according to Globespotters). In June, the building opened as a contemporary art museum, showcasing some 500 works by over 50 artists, including Wolfgang Tilmans, Tobias Rehberger, John Bock, Damien Hirst, and Olafur Eliasson).

Impressively, Boros's architects were able to keep some of the bunker's integrity. Says Kimberly Bradley, of Globespotters,

While the artworks are certainly thought-provoking—Boros claims he “collects art he doesn’t understand”—I couldn’t help also thinking about the bunker itself and its many incarnations. Some interior walls are painted white; others are left raw or show layers of chipped, sometimes fluorescent, paint. Windows cut out along a back stairwell expose old bar reinforcements. Berlin architectural firm Realarchitektur cleverly carved out 80 spaces from the original 120, at times having to cut through ten-foot thick concrete; some ceilings were removed to create spaces that soar nearly 43 feet upwards.

The museum is available to see by appointment only, and Saturday tours are almost completely booked through November. The gallery offers English tours on Sundays for 10 euros. Tours must be booked through the website.