Germany turned World War II bunker into a luxury hotel. Photos

A massive Nazi bunker from the Second World War in Germany was recognized as a building that was too difficult to demolish. It was decided to turn the building into a luxury hotel with restaurants, a concert hall and a roof terrace.

The five-story structure in Hamburg's St. Pauli district has towered over the city for decades. It is one of the largest bunkers in the world with a dark history associated with the Nazi regime. Now, its gray concrete roof has been covered in greenery thanks to a five-year, $100 million renovation that includes a 134-room hotel, a 2,000-seat concert hall, and a community garden for local residents, the NY Post reports.

"The idea of increasing the height of the building with greenery was to add something peaceful and positive to what was left of the Nazi dictatorship," said Anita Engels of the local Hilldegarden neighborhood association.

In 1942, the Nazis built the St. Pauli bunker as part of a series of massive "anti-aircraft towers" that served as cover during air raids and to propagandize Hitler's rule in Germany. Two bunkers from the Second World War were built in Hamburg, three in Berlin, and three more in Vienna. All of them have survived to this day, with the exception of one of the Berlin structures, which was demolished due to security concerns.

After the war, the St. Pauli Bunker was used as a shelter for the homeless in Hamburg and in the 1950s was converted into office space for a broadcasting center and advertising companies. Over time, the lower floors became a place for musicians to perform and even began to function as nightclubs, while other sections housed a radio station and even a climbing gym.

In 2019, the city of Hamburg and private investors launched a renovation project to completely transform the bunker as part of a new "denazification process," as stated on the site's website. Five years later, the new hotel officially opened its doors to the public.

While Germany and Austria continue to deal with the reconstruction of Nazi structures for modern use, St. Pauli will be reminded of its past with a museum exhibition located on the ground floor. While the reconstruction was underway, the Hilldegarden neighborhood association collected testimonies from people who lived in the bunker during the war. The group also tracked down the records of those who were forced to build the bunker for only 300 days, and now their stories can be seen in the exhibition.

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