Officials hope to draw tourists with Communist nuclear bunker

In this photo taken Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, the wood-paneled office of a minister is seen inside an old bunker in Tirana, Albania. A formerly top-secret installation meant to keep Albania running after a nuclear attack is the latest relic of the country's Communist past being reinvented as a modern tourist attraction.
In this photo taken Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, the wood-paneled office of a minister is seen inside an old bunker in Tirana, Albania. A formerly top-secret installation meant to keep Albania running after a nuclear attack is the latest relic of the country's Communist past being reinvented as a modern tourist attraction.

TIRANA, Albania — A structure designed to keep Albania running after a nuclear attack is the latest relic of the country's Communist past that is being reinvented as a modern tourist attraction.

Fearing invasion by a host of imaginary enemies, Albania's regime had about 700,000 concrete bunkers of all sizes built across the country.

A quarter-century after the fall of communism, most are still there, with the bigger ones serving as sheep barns, bars, restaurants, public toilets, love nests or even homes.

The queen of them all — a secret five-story underground extravaganza on the outskirts of the capital Tirana — opened to the public two years ago. It has since closed because of a shortage of funds, but authorities are planning to reopen it this summer.

Its smaller sibling in downtown Tirana is tapped to become a museum of the Communist era, but the move has sparked complaints from Albania's conservative opposition party, which accuses the governing Socialists of trying to glorify the country's dark past.

Located under the Interior Ministry, the secret nuclear bunker was built in the early 1980s. Auron Tare, who heads a government tourism agency, said opening the former bunker as a museum will help preserve the country's history.

"Twenty-five years after the fall of communism, the younger generations have no idea of what that regime was like," he said. "The collective memories of the regime, which had so much impact on the country's life, are being wiped out fast."

The 1,000-square-meter bunker has thick reinforced concrete walls to withstand nuclear attack. Machinery kept the air fresh from radioactive pollution, generators provided electricity, and water came from a well inside the structure. Its East German-made air conditioning system is still functioning.

Staff offices doubled as dormitories and were equipped with iron tables and beds. The minister had a small, wood-paneled suite to himself, which included a small room for his secretary, a bedroom, bathroom and a hotline to the party's leadership.

Authorities said they hope to open it to the public later this year.

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