Kemmel command bunker, Military museum and Cold War bunker in Heuvelland, Belgium
Description
The Kemmel Command Bunker is a military museum housed in an underground Cold War installation in Heuvelland that operated as a NATO coordination center. The concrete structure beneath a small house contains operations rooms, communication stations, living quarters, and the infrastructure used to manage air defense across Western Europe.
History
Built in 1954 as a NATO nerve center, this underground facility coordinated Western European air defenses during the height of Cold War tensions. The installation was deactivated in the mid-1990s and later transformed into a museum to preserve its role in postwar European security strategy.
Culture
The Operations Room displays military maps and tactical symbols that guided the coordination of allied air defense across Western Europe during the Cold War. Visitors can see how this hidden command center functioned as the nerve center for strategic decision-making by hundreds of personnel working in shifts.
Practical
Access to the site is via a forest path that winds between meadows and can be reached from a local information center in Kemmel. Plan to spend at least two hours exploring the underground rooms and viewing the displays at your own pace.
Did you know?
The bunker's exact purpose remained classified for decades, fueling local rumors and wild theories about underground nuclear storage. The site was only opened to public knowledge years after its military closure, revealing the true scope of its role in Cold War defense operations.
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