Energiebunker Wilhelmsburg
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This is the best preserved of Hamburg’s “Flaktürme”, i.e. former anti-aircraft-gun batteries and air-raid shelter bunkers from WWII. After standing derelict and inaccessible for six decades it was converted into a (mostly) green energy plant for the district it is located in, and the bunker, as well as an on-site café, have been opened up to the public, but some parts are accessible only on guided tours. These also cover the dark history of the bunker. In addition there are also info panels for self-guided exploration in and around the bunker (though only in German).
>Combinations with other dark destinations
More background info: For general information about this type of bunker see also the background section for the Augarten Flaktowers chapter (about those in Vienna). For the WWII Allied air raids on Hamburg see especially the Nikolaikirche chapter and also Bunkermuseum Hamm.
The preserved tower in Hamburg’s harbour district of Wilhelmsburg was built in 1942/43, as part of a larger programme intended to protect the Third Reich’s largest cities against the increasing Allied air raids. As so often at that time, the construction was overseen by the “Organisation Todt”, which utilized the slave labour of POWs and concentration-camp inmates (e.g. from Hamburg’s own main camp Neuengamme).
Hamburg was given two pairs of such towers (whereas Berlin and Vienna got three each). One is in St Pauli closer to the city centre on what is called Heiligengeistfeld (where the city’s annual funfairs also take place!), and the other here in Wilhelmsburg close to crucial harbour infrastructure. The main “Gefechtsturm” (for the anti-aircraft guns; the one still standing today) was complemented by a somewhat smaller “Leitturm” for detecting and ranging equipment to assist in the guns’ aiming at targets.
The Wilhelmsburg “Gefechtsturm” has a square footprint of 155 by 155 feet (47 x 47m) and is nearly 150 feet (45m) high with four round turret-like structures, each of 40 feet (12m) diameter, at the top for the placement of the heavy guns. Along a wrap-around terrace at 100 feet elevation (30m) were smaller anti-aircraft machine guns to be used against lower flying planes.
Inside were nine interior storeys, the lower ones serving as air-raid shelters for thousands of the civilian population, the upper floors were for military purposes, including an infirmary. The reinforced concrete walls and ceilings were between 6.5 and almost 12 feet thick (2 to 3.5 m) and in total the amount of concrete used weighs 80,000 tonnes.
While providing air-raid shelter, the giant concrete towers also served political purposes and were glorified in the Nazis’ propaganda of the time. From a military point of view, however, they were pretty ineffective and didn’t manage to bring many enemy planes down – too imprecise were the big guns and too low the range of the smaller ones. Another reason was that the Allies had learned how to blind the towers’ detection and guiding systems at night by simple clusters of strips of tinfoil which became informally known as “Christmas trees”.
In the final phases of the war, when soldiers had become scarce and the remaining adults were needed for other work , teenagers were drafted from schools to serve as “Flakhelfer”, i.e. as support staff for the operation of the Flaktowers and guns, so desperate had the situation become.
During heavy air raids on Hamburg’s harbour the Wilhelmsburg towers were hit by bombs a few times but remained largely undamaged. That was quite in contrast to the surrounding workers’ residential areas and the harbour, which by the end of the war had been largely destroyed.
After WWII the Allies decided to destroy the Flaktowers in Hamburg and Berlin (but not in Vienna, as that was not regarded as an enemy country but as a victim of Nazism – a concept that the Austrians long welcomed, as it masked their participatory role in the Nazi legacy). In Berlin the destruction efforts were more successful and only parts of the ruins can be seen today (see Berliner Unterwelten). In Hamburg, the British occupying forces set about blowing the Wilhelmsburg towers up in October 1947. First came the “Leitturm”, which was brought down by means of 8.5 tonnes of explosives. It took five years to clear the rubble away.
In the “Gefechtsturm” about a tonne of explosives were placed in the interior in various spots across the nine floors. The subsequent explosion brought the ceilings down and thus made the tower unusable. Apparently that was the goal. However, it is rumoured that they expected this tower to collapse too and when it didn’t but emerged still standing after the smoke and dust from the explosion had drifted away, the British were mocked for having failed and the tower was praised as “made in Germany!”. Given the much smaller amount of explosives, however, I doubt the British had really expected the tower to collapse completely.
Anyway, thus rendered unusable, the tower remained standing in its brooding giant form with its blackened walls and the interior was now off limits. Still some kids managed to sneak inside in 1959, got lost and had to be rescued from an open hatch at a height of 65 feet (20m).
Almost six decades on, the top of the tower had become quite overgrown and that contributed to a deterioration of the outer layers of concrete. In 2004 some bits fell off and a fence was erected around the tower.
In 2009 came the decision to convert the bunker and turn it into a green energy hub.
From 2011 the rubble-filled interior was cleared – for access a large opening first had to be cut into one of the walls. This is now one of the bunker’s two windows.
Once the rubble was gone and new support columns were rebuilt, the equipment for the energy technology was installed. The core is a huge hot-water reservoir. From this some 3000 of the surrounding residential buildings are supplied with heating. The energy for this comes from a mix of technologies including solar panels on the south side and atop the roof of the bunker. The bunker also generates its own electricity and in addition utilized previously wasted residual heat energy from a nearby industrial plant to add to the energy mix. At the time of writing the energy coming from the bunker is 95% renewable/sustainable.
Almost the whole exterior of the bunker received a new layer of fresh concrete so it looks a lot “cleaner” than it had used to be with its former blackening coat of bitumen. In a few places this has been preserved for comparison (from a distance these dark patches also look like windows, but aren’t).
On the corner facing north-west another opening was cut and it’s here that the site’s café was installed on the wrap-around terrace at 155 feet (30m) above ground level.
The bunker and the café opened to the general public in 2013.
What there is to see: First and foremost, obviously the big concrete tower as such. From the north, east and west you can still see its shape largely unhindered, while the south side is mostly covered with solar panels. More solar panels “hover” on stilts above the entire roof. But this intervention with the original look isn’t too drastic. The colour, however, is artificially “clean”, in fact a new layer of concrete sprayed over the old. In the past the entire tower was covered with blackening bitumen paint giving it a more sinister aura.
At the bottom of the north side by the street are a few murals that further brighten up the edifice. On the western side is a huge window where the hole had been cut at the top of a ramp serving as access for heavy machinery during the clearing of the rubble inside and the installation of the energy technology there afterwards.
At street level is also an information panel about the bunker and a few of the in total 20 info cubes with yet more photos and information about the bunker’s past and its present use … on the sides of these cubes are also QR codes nominally for accessing extra info via a smartphone or tablet. However, I found that all the QR codes lead to a ‘page does not exist’ message on the current website of the bunker and the café inside it. You can navigate that website, but no information specific to the info cubes was given when I was there (in April 2024).
Through the entrance on the western side of the bunker you get to a lift that takes you up to level 8. This is where the wrap-around terrace is and also the café. Dotted around at this level are yet more of those info cubes. The small shop inside the café also sells a booklet with more in-depth information about both the (dark) history of the bunker and its current role as an “Energiebunker” (‘energy bunker’). Like the info cubes and panels, this is in German only. But if you understand German, the booklet, which at 2.50 euros is very reasonably priced, is highly recommended.
From the café and the north-facing terrace a distant but marvellous view of the Hamburg skyline can be had and you can make out some of the city’s key iconic sights such as the Elbphilharmonie, the TV tower and the various church spires including the Michel, Hamburg’s premier landmark. There are outside seats by the café and also at other spots along the terrace. When I was there it was a gloriously sunny day, people were even picnicking on the terrace and the café was doing a bustling trade. In less conducive weather, especially when it is very windy, access can be restricted to the indoor café.
In addition to exploring on your own you can also join one of the free guided tours (see below). Again, these are conducted only in German but in addition to a wealth of yet more information the tour allows access to the Energiebunker’s interior. Here you can see the giant hot-water reservoir tank and other technology, which the guide will explain. There are also yet more info panels. The tour also includes a visit to the roof where the big guns once stood. Along the way an original WWII-era inscription can also be seen.
All in all, I found the visit to the Energiebunker and especially the guided tour fascinating – but if you don’t understand German you’d be at a significant disadvantage, let that be clear.
Location: While most of Hamburg is to the north of the River Elbe, Wilhelmsburg, like much of the harbour lies across the river to the south (strictly speaking on an island, as there’s a second arm of the Elbe further south still). But the bunker is nevertheless fairly easy to reach by public transport. Its address is Neuhöfer Straße 7, 21107 Hamburg.
Google Maps locator: [53.5100, 9.9898]
Access and costs: a bit outside the city centre, opening times restricted to weekends only; free
Details: To get to the Energiebunker from central Hamburg, take an S-Bahn (regional metro train), line S3 or S5 southbound, either to the stop Wilhelmsburg and from there a bus (line 13 or 152) to Neuhöfer Straße (Ost) or Veringstraße (mitte); or get off the S-Bahn at the previous stop Veddel and take bus line 13 to Veringstraße (Ost) from there. From these stops it’s just a short walk and you will already see the tall bunker.
The opening times are restricted to Saturdays and Sundays only, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission is free.
The guided tours are also free and take place at 2, 3 and 4 p.m., also at weekends only. The meeting point for the tour is between the lift and the café foyer on level 8.
Time required: The free guided tours last about 50 minutes; but add some time to explore independently before or after the tour (maybe ca. half an hour) and for taking in the views, maybe over a coffee or something else at the “café vju” (note the wordplay!).
Combinations with other dark destinations: in general see under Hamburg.
The closest other site covered on this website is the BallinStadt emigration museum in Veddel, easily reached by bus (line 13 to S Veddel).
Thematically the closest in nature to the Wilhelmsburg bunker would be Hamburg’s other, larger “Gefechtsturm” in St. Pauli. Its interior has long been used for various purposes (photo and music studios, for example), and it is currently undergoing a major conversion too. In particular it is being crowned by extra floors on the top featuring an urban “forest” to literally make it green. Apparently a hotel is also part of the ensemble in the making. I’ll keep monitoring the developments … This bunker’s “Leitturm” was laboriously demolished in the 1970s so that’s completely gone. The only largely unaltered Flaktürme can be found in Vienna, Austria.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: Wilhelmsburg is not particularly mainstream touristy. In fact it has long had a reputation for being a rather “rough” area, due to the high proportion of migrants (especially from Turkey) and also jobless people, with the concomitant poverty in this traditionally workers’ residential district. But these days things are changing, with city planning investments, artists and students moving there (seeking low rents here) and even the first hints of gentrification and hipsterness (including a craft beer brewery). The most lively and multicultural part is the Reiherstiegviertel especially along Veringstraße. But Wilhelmsburg also has some historical buildings amongst the comparatively drab residential architecture and even an old windmill as well as nature parks. Yet all this is more for locals than tourists. For proper mainstream tourist sightseeing you’ll have to head back to the other side of the River Elbe and central Hamburg.
