Ruud Streefkerk

It's a beautiful day on the coast of Sjaelland in Denmark. Chalk cliffs with a length of 14.5 km and a height of up to 40m form the coastal strip of this island towards the Baltic Sea. The spot looks quiet and peaceful, but was that always the case? In the Cold War (in 1953) the Danish government secretly carved an underground fort (Stevnsfortet) into the chalk rock, with 1.6 km of corridors in which command centers, living quarters, ammunition depots, a hospital and a chapel were set up. The entire fort was located 18 to 20 meters below the surface. Among other things, due to deposits of Bryozoa (moss animals) in the lime, the Chalk cliffs have a high resistance to the impact of conventional and nuclear weapons. The fort remained in use until the year 2000.