Humanity has been burrowing underground for a long time. To protect yourself, hide your secrets, prepare for the inevitable. An example would be dugouts, ancient underground tunnels, catacombs, bunkers and even entire cities.
Türkiye. Derinkuyu, Cappadocia. In 1960, archaeologists accidentally discovered the underground village of Derinkuyu, which has up to 18 levels. Presumably, it was built in the 8th century BC. e. fugitives hiding from enemies. It was possible to live there for a long time without fear of the longest siege. Scientists cannot yet answer for sure who these builders were, from whom they were hiding and who was pursuing them.
France. Naur. In ancient times, in northern France, the Romans made a stone quarry under a forest. In the Middle Ages, local residents adapted the quarry as a shelter where they could hide from mercenaries and armed groups. 3 thousand people could hide in the constructed caves; wells, chapels, bakeries and even stables were dug there.
Mining salt for seven centuries, people dug deeper and deeper into the ground. The empty spaces gradually began to take hold, turning into a seven-level palace. The tunnels stretch for 300 kilometers and are located at a depth of more than 200 meters.
Ethiopia. Lalibela. IN African country The memory of King Gebre Meskel Lalibela has been preserved. His reign spanned the period between the 12th and 13th centuries. The king of the Zagwe dynasty was a restrained ruler in food, fair in his actions and ambitious in his thoughts. Having once visited Jerusalem, he began to build a semblance of the Holy City. Of course there are such monuments Eternal City, he doesn’t have one, but there are a large number of catacombs buried in the ground, where different ones are still found.
Italy. Orvieto. In the Italian hills lies the ancient town of Orvieto. It is interesting not only for the architectural buildings located on the surface, but also for those located underground. The ancient Etruscan tribes began to delve deeper here. Each generation expanded, enlarged and ennobled the dungeon. Until it turned into something like a real city.
Jordan. Petra. Perhaps Petra is the most famous city carved into the rocks. It can hardly be called underground, since the buildings seem to be in plain sight. However, recent excavations have demonstrated that the passages and rooms go deeper and further into the rocks. Once upon a time, trade life was in full swing on the territory of Petra, until the routes for transporting goods shifted.
USA. Burlington. During the Cold War, shelters were built in all corners of the world, usually for high-ranking officials. In the American city of Burlington, underground bunkers were dug and equipped, representing a whole complex capable of accommodating up to 4 thousand people. There were offices, medical surgeries, cafeterias and a BBC radio station and studio. In 2004, the building was dismantled.
China. Beijing. Chinese large-scale plans and fears are the stuff of legends. In the 60-70s they dug into the ground, fearing nuclear war. A shelter was created under the capital of such a scale that more than a million Chinese could live there for six months, eating and having fun without going to the surface.
Surely everyone has heard stories about people living in abandoned mines, caves or subways. Or maybe someone read “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells and then probably remembers the Morlocks. In many places on Earth, underground cities not only exist, but sometimes even thrive.
1. Underground Beijing
Mao Zedong ordered the construction of temporary housing for the socialist government in 1969. Construction took 10 years, and as a result, an entire city with a total length of 30 kilometers stretched near Beijing. It had shops, restaurants, schools, theaters, hair salons and even a roller skating rink. In addition to all these amenities, the city had approximately 1,000 bomb shelters in case of attack.
Rumor has it that every house in “upper” Beijing had a secret hatch so that citizens could quickly retreat to the underground complex if necessary. In 2000, the dungeons were officially opened to tourists, and some bomb shelters are now used as hotels.
2. Setenil de las Bodegas
Unlike most of the cities on our list, the Spanish town of Setenil de las Bodegas is home to 3,000 people. True, the houses in this city are built directly into the rock, and not underground.
Most of the city streets are located in the open air, and tourists often come to this city to see houses, as if crushed by rocks. The city previously served as a Moorish fortification and was later used as an outpost in the fight against the Roman Empire.
3. Moose Jaw
The city is located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, where winter lasts for a very long time. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was so cold there that it was almost impossible to go outside, and tunnels were built under the city - this would make it warmer to get to work. Given the time period in which the tunnels appeared, it is not surprising that they soon began to be used for illegal purposes.
Bandits and liquor dealers appeared underground - then prohibition was adopted in Canada. And where there is illegal alcohol, there is prostitution and gambling, so the underground town soon turned into a mini Las Vegas. It is said that Al Capone himself was involved in all this illegal activity.
4. City of the Gods
The Great Pyramids near the Egyptian city of Giza are still considered one of the greatest wonders of the world. But the Pyramids are not only an architectural miracle. They are also interesting because underneath them lies a whole network of tunnels and chambers.
Researchers are still exploring the underground complex, dubbed the City of the Gods, but it remains shrouded in mystery. True, given the scientific interest in this place that arose back in 1978, the mysteries will soon be solved.
5. Portland
Beneath one of the largest cities in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States lies the Shanghai Tunnels, also known as the Forbidden City. They are located under Chinatown, and were previously used to transport goods and, according to rumors, people. Because of this underground complex, Portland gained fame as the worst place on the west coast of America - healthy, strong men were kidnapped from the city in the last century for forced labor on sailing ships. In addition, prostitution flourished in the tunnels. True, today the situation has changed for the better, and now there is no risk when traveling through the tunnels.
6. Wieliczka Salt Mine
Located in southern Poland, the Wieliczka Salt Mine was built in the 13th century. Salt mining continued here until 2007, making it one of the oldest salt mines in history. But besides this, the mine is an underground residential complex, where there are statues, chapels and even a cathedral.
The length of the mine is about 300 kilometers. During World War II it was used by the Germans for the construction of munitions. In addition, the mine has a large underground lake, which attracts more than a million tourists a year to this place.
7. Coober Pedy
Coober Pedy is also known as the opal capital of the world, as it is a rich deposit - almost 30% of the world's opals are mined here. The town is made up of houses called dugouts and is home to 1,600 residents. Dugouts appeared as a means of combating the unbearable heat on the surface, and in addition protected miners and their children from wild dingoes and Australian aborigines.
In addition to residential premises, the town boasts underground shops, pubs, and even a cemetery with a church.
8. Quiche
Near the city of Kish in Iran lies another city, so mysterious that it doesn’t even have its own name. It is about 2,500 years old. Initially, the underground city was used as a control system water resources.
Of course, like many ancient places, the city was recently restored and will soon open to tourists. It is planned to build cinemas, restaurants and hotels with a total area of 10,000 square meters under the city.
9. Cappadocia
The region of Cappadocia in Turkey is primarily known for its underground city of Derinkuyu. The city consists of several levels, and is said to have several thousand inhabitants. This is a big city with its own government system, shops, churches, schools. They even make wine here.
It is believed that there are secret places in underground structures where Christians who did not want to go to feed the lions hid from the persecution of the Roman Empire.
10. Burlington
In the vastness of Great Britain, in the countryside, there is a city code-named Burlington. It was built in the 1950s to house the British government in the event of nuclear war. The city was located in an old stone quarry with an area of 1 square kilometer and could accommodate 4,000 government employees, although without their families.
The town had its own railway station, hospitals, underground lakes, water purification facilities and a pub. In addition, the city had a radio station from which the prime minister could communicate his decisions to the entire small settlement. Burlington remained operational until the 1990s and was ready to accommodate residents until the end of the Cold War.
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Now everyone modern city is a populated area with a huge number of buildings, streets and other infrastructure that we see on the surface. However, as it turned out, this whole organism may well exist underground. We present to your attention a list of the ten most famous underground cities in the world.
Burlington
This city was built by the Albion government during the Cold War. The bunker occupied 240 hectares and could accommodate approximately 3,600 government officials. Burlington occupied the site of a former stone quarry. It boasted the presence of underground lakes. The conditions created in the city made it possible to stay in the bunker for three months. The Prime Minister took care of placing here not only a church, water purification facilities, but also a pub. A radio station was specially provided for communication between the government and the people. The huge number of roads made it possible to accommodate even railway station. The city existed in working order for more than forty years.
Cappadocia, Türkiye
Cappadocia is a whole complex of underground settlements, consisting of 36 cities. The purpose of building cities was, first of all, protection from the enemy. One of the largest cities had 12 floors, and its population was approximately several thousand inhabitants. It’s hard to believe, but underground there were even special premises for livestock, as well as everything necessary for processing agricultural products. Thanks to the ventilation windows, it was possible to stay underground for quite a long time. Currently, these underground cities are in a dilapidated state, and local residents use the first floors for economic needs.
Kish, Iran
Kish is a small island located in the Persian Gulf in southern Iran. It is the main beach resort in the country. However, not everyone knows that underneath there is an underground city, which is approximately two thousand five hundred years old. The city is so shrouded in mystery that it doesn't even have a name. According to residents, it was previously used for water management. Currently (as of 2013), hotels, restaurants, cinemas are being built there, and very soon the underground city will be open to tourists.
Coober Pedy, Australia
Coober Pedy ranks seventh on the list of the most famous underground cities in the world. This underground city in Australia was built by residents at the beginning of the last century for their families. The main purpose of building the city was protection from the heat. Even underground, the temperature here reaches 26 degrees, so to get really cool, you need to go down to a depth of six meters. The owners of some houses can boast of private swimming pools. The city has a gallery and a museum. You can also visit the Orthodox Church.
The age of this underground city is about 700 years. The mine consists of nine levels, on which there are huge halls, mysterious corridors and long tunnels. Each of these rooms is decorated with sculptures made of salt. The underground city in Wieliczka boasts not only a majestic chapel, but even lakes. This is the only mining facility that operates from the moment of its construction until today. Three levels of the mine are open to tourists. On the third level you will descend to a depth of 130 meters and will be able to follow the history of salt mining from the 11th century to the present day.
Portland, Oregon, USA
In the center of this city there is a whole system of underground Shanghai tunnels. In the tunnels there were special hotels for sailors, where they could rest between flights. However, the walls of these tunnels seem to still remember all the horror of the past. According to the stories of Portland residents, human trafficking previously took place in the underground city. Recruiters were engaged in selling men as sailors on ships, and the captains paid them a large sum of money for this. There are rumors that ghosts roam the tunnels at night. Most researchers noted this underground town as the most mystical in the entire area. For the bravest tourists, there is a special opportunity to plunge into the past; excursions have recently been held in the tunnels.
City of the Gods
It is known that the only one of the seven wonders of the world that has come down to us are the pyramids in Egypt. Not only are the Pyramids of Giza already of great interest to tourists, but now people talk about them incessantly. The fact is that researchers believe that under these pyramids there is an entire underground city with a huge number of tunnels and passages. Scientists have already mapped a huge underground city that could potentially be located in this place. The City of the Gods is still shrouded in mystery and is the most mysterious of all the cities that are underground. However, given the interest in the Giza pyramids in Egypt, which arose back in 1978, we can safely assume that all the mysteries will soon be solved.
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan , Canada
Unlike the beautiful underground city, which was built for protection during military conflicts, Moose Jaw was supposed to protect residents from adverse weather conditions. A whole network of tunnels and underground passages saved workers from severe frosts. However, soon after construction, crime bosses who did not accept Prohibition, which came into force in January 1920 in the United States, found another use for the city. A casino, a brothel, and also an establishment where you could buy illegal alcohol appeared in it. That's why it got the name mini-Las Vegas. There is evidence that even the most famous American gangster, Al Capone, was involved in these criminal groups.
Spanish town of Setenil de las Bodages
It is worth noting that this city is not underground, its location is even more interesting - it is located in a rock. As for safety, the residents of the city are fine with this. Firstly, these rocks have stood motionless for several million years, and secondly, the city has been located in them for more than eight centuries. This is a small city with a population of three thousand inhabitants. The houses are so skillfully and competently built between the rocks that they look like a glove. In addition, rocks not only please the eye, but also perform practical function– in winter they protect houses from cold winds, and in summer – from extreme heat.
A huge network of tunnels, 30 kilometers long, was dug during the reign of Mao Zedong. The construction of the city underground in the Northern capital took about 10 years. It is not surprising that the result exceeded all expectations. The city boasted a huge number of cafes, restaurants, shops, theaters, schools, hairdressers and even special ice skating areas. The main purpose of this city was to protect the population in case of attack from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics(THE USSR). Since 2000, the city has been open to the public and is currently a great success among tourists from all over the world. And some premises are now used as hostels, hotels and even theaters.
Humanity has been building underground cities long before our era. With the outbreak of the First World War, the construction of underground cities for fortification purposes acquired a new scope. It is known that in the territory former USSR there were more than 2 thousand underground settlements, some of them were built by our ancestors BC.
Catacomb settlements can be found all over the world. There are them in Paris, Rome, Cappadocia and other cities of the world. Each such underground structure contains many secrets and mysteries, but not every one is able to withstand the destructive blow it was created to inflict.
The construction of underground cities in case of emergency was carried out under the heading “secret”. Not every participant in this construction knew how to keep state secrets as they should be, and information about such structures went to the masses, becoming overgrown with myths and legends.
Mysterious underground cities of Russia
Many people know where exactly the underground cities are located only by the name of the area and rumors. Some walk over them every day and don’t even realize it. Only those who have access to state secrets, live, work or guard them know how to get into the underground city. The entrance to such a city can be inside any ordinary city building.
All secret underground cities are supervised by the FSB of the Russian Federation and the Main Directorate of the Russian Presidential Intelligence Service. Conversations about them began to be widely discussed in the early 90s of the last century. This was preceded by the declassification of some KGB archives.
Underground city in Ramenki
One of these mysterious underground cities is located in one of the capital's districts - Ramenki. It is believed that a city was built under them in case the Third War began. World War, designed for 12-15 thousand people. It is completely autonomous. It has its own power supply, sewerage, water and air supply systems. The location of the underground city is determined between Moscow State University and Udaltsova Street. This area of the capital has not been built up for a long time.
The underground city in Ramenki is associated with the mysterious Moscow Metro-2, which is sometimes called Stalin’s subway. It was built in parallel with the existing metro of the capital. Articles have repeatedly appeared in the media that the depth of underground Moscow buildings, which could become a shelter from the outbreak of the Third World War, can reach 300 meters.
You can get to the underground city from the existing Moscow metro, which was built with the possibility of being used as a bomb shelter for residents and guests of the capital. There is an opinion that there are other ways to get into the city. This can be done from one of the buildings of Moscow State University, the Rossiya Hotel, the Kremlin and other places. In Ramenki themselves there are elevator shafts for descending deep into the earth.
In the event, this underground city can be used as a command post. It has underground connections to Vnukovo airport and other strategic sites.
Secret cities in Russia
IN modern Russia There are cities and closed-type production facilities. They are under the jurisdiction and control of the Russian Ministry of Defense. All of them have a ground and underground part, which can go deep into the ground significantly below 10 floors. All such buildings are autonomous and have food and water supplies for at least three months. They are scattered throughout the country, but it is impossible to find them on maps until the special secrecy label is removed from them. Instead of a name, they have a letter. An example is the well-known, declassified city of Arzamas 16.
For a very long time it was impossible to find it on the map of the country in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Now the general public knows how. Near this closed city there is a place sacred to many believers - Diveevo. The local monastery houses the relics of Seraphim of Sarov, and Orthodox people from all over the world come to touch them. Despite the large number of tourists, not a single stranger can get past the Sarov checkpoint, and one can only guess about the depth of the underground buildings and their reliability.
There are 32 such closed cities in Russia. Most of them are located in the Moscow region, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Chelyabinsk region and the Ural region. The most famous of them are Zarechny in Penza region, Lesnoy in the Sverdlovsk region on the banks of the Tura, Zheleznogorsk and Zelenogorsk in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Underground city Yamantau
Sixty kilometers from Magnitogorsk is the Abzakovo mountain resort. In the media of many countries around the world you can find articles about this remarkable place. This is due to rumors that next to this resort in Mount Yamantau there is an underground city - the secret residence of Putin and military headquarters in case of World War III.
For the first time, such a well-known American publication as the New York Times wrote about this secret residence of the Russian Government. This happened in April 1996. The construction of the city itself has been rumored since the Cold War. From Beloretsk it is connected to Yamantau Railway and highway, the top of the mountain is carefully guarded. Any nuclear weapon will not be able to destroy the strength of the shelter structure.
The official status of Yamantau is a repository of state values. Very often, the Abzakovo mountain resort is visited by Putin. This gives rise to speculation about the President's secret bunker in case of nuclear war.
Where will the Chinese government hide from a nuclear attack?
In 1969, Mao Tse-tung ordered the creation of a reliable underground bunker for the Government. The Third World War, in the Chinese understanding, is inevitable. It is very important to preserve leadership of the army and the country as much as possible in the event of use by the aggressor. Beijing was chosen to build such a shelter. The length of the government bunker underground is 30 kilometers. It's practically a city within a city. It has shops, schools and even an ice skating rink. There are quite a lot of similar bunkers in Beijing. 40% of the population of the Chinese capital will be able to escape in them if nuclear weapons are used.
In addition to the Beijing bunker, a network of secret tunnels has been created in the Celestial Empire, which has been called the “Great Underground Wall of China.” The tunnels are connected to underground facilities where nuclear weapons are stored. They are located in the Urumqi region - in the direction of Russia, next to the Korean Peninsula - opposite Vietnam, India and Taiwan.
Where did the Americans build underground cities?
You can even find a well-equipped bomb shelter in the USA in the courtyard of a private house. The fear of World War III has lived in Americans since the days of Cuban missile crisis and Khrushchev’s promises to show them Kuzka’s mother. The FSB probably knows where the American government will be hiding. Ordinary people can only guess. A large number of articles have appeared in the media over the past few years about underground construction in the Denver Airport area. Many journalists describe the pace of construction of the facility as feverish. Construction of the facility began back in the 50s.
Underground sites in the United States can be found in Mount Cheyenne, Colorado, in Virginia - the Greenbrier Bunker and Mount Weather, Massachusetts - Iron Mountain, Pennsylvania-Maryland - the Raven Rock mountain complex. All these shelters in the event of a nuclear war will be used by the American elites to save their lives. There is also a deep underground base at a US Air Force facility called Area 51, which became famous after the Rosewell UFO incident.
Underground Crimea
There are quite a lot of catacombs on the territory of the peninsula, which played the role of a reliable shelter during the Second World War. While part of Ukraine, many secret underground facilities were declassified and lost their strategic relevance. Among such objects is underground command post No. 221 near Sevastopol. At Cape Ak-Burun there is object No. 100 - an underground shelter for coastal ships. Between Sevastopol and Yalta there is the “Barrel of Death” and the concrete casemates of the Southern Fort of Balaklava.
Between Sudak and Feodosia there is underground facility No. 76. During Soviet times, nuclear weapons were stored there.
Secret underground cities of the world
There are secret underground cities or bunkers in all the capitals of nuclear powers. All of them are equipped with systems for autonomous power supply, communications, water supply, air supply, sewage system and food and water supplies. Information about the presence of such facilities in any country in the world is secret. The protection of such objects is carried out by the internal security services of the state.
There is a high probability that in the event of the outbreak of the Third World War, underground cities will become the only objects in which humanity is possible. After all, a series of nuclear bombings will lead to such an effect as a nuclear winter, which will provoke a number of natural disasters, starting with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, ending with large-scale tsunamis and, as a result, floods.
After the Earth's atmosphere ends and becomes unsuitable for human habitation, contaminated air and radioactive ash will cover the entire planet. Even those people who do not fall into the bombing zones will one way or another be doomed to a slow death. Take care of the lives of yourself and your loved ones; if you do not belong to the scientific, military or political elite of the country, you still have a chance to find refuge in one of the civilian bomb shelters that are available in almost every city. Civilian objects are not classified as classified; a list can be provided to you at the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Humanity was engaged in the construction of residential dungeons long before the advent of our era. Secret ones were necessary for residents of large settlements for various needs. IN modern world The construction of underground catacombs acquired special significance during the First World War, when chemical weapons began to be actively used. In the territory Soviet Union there were over two thousand underground settlements. Underground cities in Russia still exist today.
Secret under your feet
Many people have heard about the existence of bunkers. At the same time, people often don’t think about the fact that every day they pass over mysterious cities, suspecting nothing. The entrance to the dungeon can be in the most ordinary building, for example, in a residential building. Only a limited number of people have access to the secret. These are well-tested people who live underground for years and perform certain functions. Among the underground settlements are:
Secret underground cities of Russia
It is believed that the first underground buildings appeared in Rus' during the time of Ivan the Terrible’s grandmother, Sophia Paleolog. Of course, underground buildings could have existed before, but only during the time of Princess Sophia did their creation begin to take on a large scale. Most underground buildings were not included in the registers. Only a select few knew about their location.
The creation of dungeons is directly related to Orthodoxy. The first Christians were forced to practice their religion secretly, gathering in caves and catacombs. In memory of the first followers of Christ, underground churches and monasteries were built. The catacombs served not only as a place for quiet, solitary prayer. Here they hid from Muslim cavalry from the Golden Horde and from Catholic knights from the west. The construction of dungeons required special knowledge and sophisticated equipment. In Rus' there was neither one nor the other. Grand Duke John was forced to invite Italian specialists Pietro Antonio Solari, Andrei Fioravanti and his father Aristotle.
Secret underground cities were necessary for protection not only from external, but also from internal enemies. Rus' often suffered from princely strife. One ruler sought to destroy another in order to take a more advantageous throne. Even after the unification of Rus', the Grand Duke had to be wary of his entourage.
Another problem that underground buildings helped to cope with was fires. Unlike Western Europe Where preference was given to stone in construction, wood was used in Rus'. Every year there were severe fires, after which entire streets burned out. People lost not only their homes, but also other property that they had accumulated over the years. The richest residents of the capital began to build dungeons where they could store the most valuable things. After the tower burned down, the catacombs also became a temporary place of residence for fire victims.
The underground cities of Russia, built several centuries ago, still exist today. They were not included on the maps, and entry into them was kept in the strictest confidence. Sometimes the keeper of a secret died before he could pass on his secret to the next keeper. In this case, the underground city remained a secret forever. Probably, the secret will be revealed only by archaeologists of the future.
Underground cities: video
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