Zürcher Nachrichten - Finland's colossal bomb shelters a model for jittery Europe

EUR -
AED 4.172469
AFN 82.254285
ALL 99.443091
AMD 442.669245
ANG 2.033568
AOA 1042.821867
ARS 1220.13733
AUD 1.80657
AWG 2.044748
AZN 1.935661
BAM 1.955664
BBD 2.288841
BDT 137.74043
BGN 1.961167
BHD 0.42777
BIF 3370.065862
BMD 1.135971
BND 1.496896
BOB 7.833456
BRL 6.659749
BSD 1.133621
BTN 97.596219
BWP 15.810902
BYN 3.709842
BYR 22265.033118
BZD 2.277042
CAD 1.575536
CDF 3265.353315
CHF 0.926352
CLF 0.02877
CLP 1119.192243
CNY 8.283619
CNH 8.27647
COP 4910.258856
CRC 581.659589
CUC 1.135971
CUP 30.103234
CVE 110.25734
CZK 25.124845
DJF 201.665989
DKK 7.469696
DOP 70.015136
DZD 149.546094
EGP 58.259952
ERN 17.039566
ETB 147.302266
FJD 2.589451
FKP 0.870523
GBP 0.868347
GEL 3.135724
GGP 0.870523
GHS 17.570779
GIP 0.870523
GMD 81.226307
GNF 9813.318212
GTQ 8.743393
GYD 237.163523
HKD 8.810422
HNL 29.369959
HRK 7.534333
HTG 148.329695
HUF 409.938323
IDR 19081.076584
ILS 4.222235
IMP 0.870523
INR 97.663012
IQD 1484.996829
IRR 47824.382762
ISK 145.295033
JEP 0.870523
JMD 179.687516
JOD 0.805522
JPY 163.035006
KES 146.799801
KGS 99.341107
KHR 4541.684463
KMF 499.263598
KPW 1022.294878
KRW 1614.4251
KWD 0.348107
KYD 0.944734
KZT 585.8193
LAK 24559.293723
LBP 101571.343247
LKR 338.136508
LRD 226.724248
LSL 21.868981
LTL 3.354228
LVL 0.687138
LYD 6.299562
MAD 10.546067
MDL 20.093604
MGA 5113.644725
MKD 61.530725
MMK 2385.0762
MNT 3994.555643
MOP 9.055971
MRU 44.687895
MUR 49.87338
MVR 17.498202
MWK 1965.663434
MXN 23.067966
MYR 5.023837
MZN 72.60034
NAD 21.868981
NGN 1814.225757
NIO 41.717102
NOK 12.117749
NPR 156.154151
NZD 1.949496
OMR 0.437393
PAB 1.133621
PEN 4.231206
PGK 4.684675
PHP 64.754939
PKR 317.835518
PLN 4.289579
PYG 9069.369898
QAR 4.133413
RON 4.979761
RSD 117.211857
RUB 94.489935
RWF 1633.886484
SAR 4.263339
SBD 9.490317
SCR 16.273869
SDG 682.154808
SEK 11.102759
SGD 1.499032
SHP 0.892695
SLE 25.877842
SLL 23820.746739
SOS 647.85499
SRD 42.083228
STD 23512.307787
SVC 9.919311
SYP 14769.561249
SZL 21.857481
THB 38.057346
TJS 12.316644
TMT 3.975899
TND 3.411763
TOP 2.660562
TRY 43.085154
TTD 7.708464
TWD 36.779567
TZS 3038.088926
UAH 46.92884
UGX 4165.710584
USD 1.135971
UYU 49.176583
UZS 14700.978637
VES 87.603875
VND 29259.775028
VUV 140.62449
WST 3.205325
XAF 655.91143
XAG 0.035181
XAU 0.000351
XCD 3.070019
XDR 0.815743
XOF 655.91143
XPF 119.331742
YER 278.657784
ZAR 21.729241
ZMK 10225.106937
ZMW 31.995777
ZWL 365.782223
  • CMSD

    -0.3000

    21.9

    -1.37%

  • AZN

    1.4200

    66.29

    +2.14%

  • BTI

    1.0200

    41.57

    +2.45%

  • RIO

    1.9900

    56.86

    +3.5%

  • GSK

    1.0400

    34.64

    +3%

  • SCS

    -0.0300

    10.18

    -0.29%

  • CMSC

    -0.3500

    21.8

    -1.61%

  • RBGPF

    62.0100

    62.01

    +100%

  • NGG

    2.4700

    68.06

    +3.63%

  • BCC

    0.9800

    95.66

    +1.02%

  • BCE

    0.3800

    21.36

    +1.78%

  • JRI

    0.1450

    11.91

    +1.22%

  • RELX

    0.1000

    49.12

    +0.2%

  • VOD

    0.2800

    8.73

    +3.21%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    9.12

    -0.11%

  • BP

    0.3600

    26.59

    +1.35%

Advertisement Image
Finland's colossal bomb shelters a model for jittery Europe
Finland's colossal bomb shelters a model for jittery Europe / Photo: Alessandro RAMPAZZO - AFP

Finland's colossal bomb shelters a model for jittery Europe

Swimming pools, playgrounds and amusement parks: Finland's underground facilities, which can double as bomb shelters, have emerged as an inspiring approach as Europe ramps up preparedness after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Advertisement Image

Text size:

Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia. Its network of civil defence shelters is an integral part of its preparedness strategy, which harks back to just before World War II.

Blasted into Helsinki's granodiorite bedrock dozens of metres underground, people of all ages swim and splash in the pools or relax in saunas in the cavernous Itakeskus swimming hall.

The complex is one of Finland's 50,500 civil defence shelters which have space for around 4.8 million of its 5.6 million population.

Intended to accommodate up to 3,800 people, the pools can be emptied of water and turned into a bombproof shelter within 72 hours.

"This is the world's biggest civil defence shelter facilitating a swimming hall," Teemu Raatikainen, who has been the head of maintenance for almost 30 years, proudly explained as he gave AFP a tour.

Finland's security strategy based on long-term investments in both the military and preparedness -- including civil defence shelters -- has attracted international interest after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the deteriorated security situation across Europe.

"We always have this multi-use -- peacetime use and wartime use -- of our shelters," Jarkko Hayrinen, a senior rescue officer at Finland's interior ministry explained, as he showed AFP another one of Helsinki's large bomb shelters.

- Blast-proof tunnels -

With space for 6,000 people, the Merihaka shelter in central Helsinki houses an underground playground, several ball courts and a gym.

"The shelters are very well maintained because people are using them in normal times," Hayrinen said.

The Finnish "cultural mindset" of involving all sectors of society in security has become something of a "trademark" for Finland after it joined the NATO military alliance in 2023, said Matti Pesu, a senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

"And the civil defence shelters are a real tangible symbol of how the authorities are preparing to protect citizens in emergency situations," he added.

High-level guests such as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Denmark's King Frederik X and Queen Mary have recently been given guided tours through the zigzagging blast-proof tunnels of the Merihaka shelter.

- Long tradition -

"The first act on building defence shelters was adopted already in 1939, two weeks before the Winter War started," Hayrinen said, referring to the Soviet Union's invasion of Finland which lasted more than a 100 days.

"Finland was not prepared for defending civilians during wartime and it was a hard lesson for us," he added.

The Nordic country now has bomb shelters to protect almost all its citizens, with Helsinki providing space for 900,000 persons -- enough to host all the capital's residents and thousands more.

Designed to withstand explosions, building collapses, radiation and toxic substances, the largest public shelters in Finland have primarily been situated in populated areas.

Buildings or housing complexes with a floor area exceeding 1,200 square metres are required by law to have a bomb shelter.

Other countries with a similar wide access to bunkers are Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Israel.

"All of these countries are united by a tradition of neutrality or a strategically difficult position," Pesu noted.

Finland, where military service is mandatory for all men and voluntary for women, can quickly mobilise some 280,000 soldiers and the total military reserve comprises some 900,000 people.

On April 1, the country announced it will increase national defence spending to at least three percent of GDP by 2029 in response to the security threat posed by Russia.

T.Furrer--NZN

Advertisement Image