Bunkermuseum Frauenwald

The Bunkermuseum Frauenwald is an underground complex in the Thüringer Wald near the village of Allzunah. It was built in the 1970s as a secret command bunker for the East German Ministry for State Security. The site was designed to shelter up to 130 people for a year under normal conditions or six to eight days in the event of nuclear war.

The museum shows how the bunker worked as a backup headquarters for the district crisis management team. Visitors can see the original communications links, including a tapped telephone cable and a disguised antenna vehicle. The Führungsstelle was linked into the ruling party’s radio network, but its signals were absorbed to avoid detection.

Today the museum offers guided tours and overnight stays described as ‘time travel’. The bunker’s technical rooms and living quarters remain largely intact. Outside, the entrance is hidden beneath a warehouse roof. The whole site is a rare surviving example of this kind of Cold War command post.