CyberBunker
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CyberBunker is a former military Nuclear warfare bunker
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[edit] History of the bunker complex
During the Cold War the NATO maintained various top-secret hardened facilities all over western Europe. In 1955 a large command bunker was constructed just outside a small town in the south of the Netherlands. The facility was designed to house 72 people in case of a nuclear attack and was used as a NATO Radio Base Band Relay Station, as well as local (counter) espionage. It has been kept a secret for many years, for the reason that it is where NATO and military commanders would have administered the country in the event of a war.
The facility underwent a complete rebuild in the 1970’s as part of the ASCON early-warning system, but the localized system soon was rendered obsolete.
The staff in the bunker would have slept in one of the six dormitories. The dormitories were capable of sleeping up to 72 personnel. The staff would sleep for six hours, after which they would swap their bunks with another staff member for the next six hours. It was known as hot beds.
During the time spent underground, the personnel would never see daylight. Showering was even forbidden, as uncontaminated water was too precious a commodity to waste. The entire staff may have had to stay underground for up to 10 years.
The facility comprises a labyrinth of tunnels and operations rooms on four levels. One level is above ground and the other levels are underground protected by up to 5 meters thick reinforced concrete outer walls. The accommodation and dining rooms, communications center, power plant, computer room, and emergency broadcasting studios are all preserved. The level on the surface acts as an entrance and decontamination area.
In 1996 NATO decommissioned the facility, all furnishings and equipment were removed.
[edit] CyberBunker
Around 1996 the bunker complex was up for sale and it was bought by its current owners and became a datacenter in 1998 with the code name "CyberBunker". Most people that lived in the direct vicinity of the complex did not even know that the bunker was there. Compromised by a fire in 2002, the bunker is now known to the public. It remains a sobering reminder of how Europe lived with and prepared for the possibility of a Soviet nuclear attack.
On Saturday 27 July 2002 there was a fire in the bunker. It started in the ecstasy lab which was in the swimming pool and burned out almost half of the bunker interior. The Dutch firemen saved the bunker from further damage, after which the Dutch police arrested 4 people. Some Chinese people were later arrested in the Netherlands for operating this and several other laboratories.
[edit] Today
Even today, the CyberBunker is still hidden in the woods. There is a 126 meters long driveway that leads to the main gate of the facility. But that’s pretty much all there is that can be seen by passersby, aside from a remote controlled fence overlooked by a surveillance camera and a 60s-era parking lot.
The facility extends four stories below ground, with multiple data floors, employee areas, and living quarters (the staff doesn’t see the sun very much).
A virtual tour at the CyberBunker web site includes the top floor server room, dormitories, the decontamination chambers, a indoor swimming pool and a security room. Areas designated as top secret, such as the power plant, which was the source of emergency generators, water storage and air filtering systems, and the incinerator room (a.k.a. an oven for cremations) are not included.
[edit] Speculations
There are many speculations and rumors about all kinds of incidents that should have happened inside the CyberBunker, most of which are not supported by any solid facts. The number of ghost stories and here say related to the people that operate the facility are just too extensive to elaborate on it here.
[edit] Facility Specifications
Many hardened biometric-protected doors stand between the outside world and the data floors. The bunker was constructed to function at energy saving capacity, totally cut off from the outside world for over 10 years The four level facility is over 5 000 m2 in size. • Entire complex is equipped with airlocks for an independent atmosphere. • Fully redundant air handling/cooling systems. • Air tight rooms. • Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) shielding to military standards. • Up to 5 meters thick reinforced concrete subterranean construction. • Designed to survive a 20-megaton nuclear blast at 5 kilometers. • Backup 750 KW turbine generators. • Large diesel fuel reserves.(how long the diesel engines will run stays classified) • 10 000 liters freshwater reserve tank. • 240 000 liters freshwater reserve stored at a remote backup bunker. • All critical equipment shock-mounted on isolation pads. • Nuclear/Biological/Chemical (NBC) air filtration.
Built to withstand a 20-megaton nuclear blast at 5 kilometers (according to the website) your data will be intact even if the rest of the Internet has been vaporized.
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