Harnekop Nuclear Bunker (Atombunker Harnekop) was built between 1971 and 1976 as the main operational command bunker for the East German Army.
It was built with the highest level of protection against nuclear weapons and has three storeys each measuring 63m x 40m. In total, over 7,000 square metres of usable space lay within the protection of the bunker. On the surface, the access and cover story was an office block purporting to be a weather station. The walls of the bunker are around three metres thick.
Critical services within the bunker are mounted on hydraulic struts to protect against shock waves from high explosives. The design aim was for around 450 staff to operate entirely independently of external services for up to a month. This necessitated extensive support systems covering filtration and air-handling, power generation and fresh and foul water services.
The bunker included command and control facilities for operations personnel, meeting rooms, rooms for senior ministry and army staff, a canteen, kitchen, dormitories and a medical centre.
The building was allegedly never detected by NATO Intelligence and was used after the reunification of Germany for a few years as a military news centre. Today the bunker is classified as a National Monument and is open for occasional tours.