Cochem (DE)

History of the Bundesbank Bunker Cochem

From 1964 to 1988, the bunker was used by the Bundesbank to store the BBk II replacement series. This use was abandoned in 1988 and all the stored money, which was never needed, was shredded. The bunker then stood empty. In 1994, Cochemer Volksbank bought the bunker and set up lockers in one part for flood-proof storage of its customers' money. This use was also abandoned and in 2014 an entrepreneurial couple from the neighbouring village bought the facility and, after extensive restoration, turned it into a museum. The two camouflage houses (used for training purposes for Bundesbank employees until 1993) were converted into a hotel while preserving the listed façade. The interior design is reminiscent of the sixties with loving details. In the basement of the hotel is an entrance to the bunker complex, which is now closed to guests.

Architecture of the Bundesbank Bunker Cochem

Hochtief AG used approx. 3000 m³ of concrete in the 2 years of construction of the bunker facility from 1962-1964. The facility was built into the rock and approximately 30 metres underground.
The bunker, with concrete walls up to four metres thick in places, was given various entrances:

• in the basement of the residential building at Brauseleystrasse 7,
• behind the residential buildings (accessible from the street „Am Wald“),
• Emergency exit in the cooling structure for air dehumidification
• Emergency exit in the ventilation structure

On the one hundred metre long corridor from the cellar of the residential building towards the main gallery (it was also the accommodation for 90 civilians), there is an exit on the left that leads to one of two safe areas. Mesh boxes were installed in a 140 square metre room, secured by a steel door with a combination lock that was approx. 50 cm thick and weighed several tonnes. The second, even longer vault is located at the end of the 100 metre corridor, also on the left. A staircase leads to the accommodation and work rooms on the upper floor. The supply and recreation rooms and a radio room were located here. Adjacent to the radio room is the so-called cooling tower, including the surrounding staircase. This 14 metre high shaft with a concrete casing more than 2 metres thick was once used to supply the construction site and as an emergency exit.

The security concept of the vault system consisted of vibration sensors being attached to the walls at short intervals, which then activated an alarm system. The facility has been a listed building since 2011 and is recognised as a cultural monument in Rhineland-Palatinate.