Inside ex-Nazi bunker after £50m transformation turns it into luxury hotel

24 February 2024 , 11:37

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View of the ex-bunker before it was converted (Image: (Image: GETTY))

A former Nazi bunker, built during World War 2 in the heart of Hamburg by hundreds of concentration camp prisoners, has been transformed into a stunning £50m luxury hotel.

The Flak Tower IV bunker, situated in the St Pauli district, was one of two towers made by the Nazis for air defence. This huge building, which still stands tall in St Pauli's skyline, once sheltered up to 30,000 residents from the Allies' airstrikes under its 16.4-foot thick concrete roof.

Constructed by over 1,000 forced labourers in just 300 days, this 131-foot tall grey structure was taken over by developer Matzen Immobilien in the 1990s and has since been used for various commercial and cultural purposes. Over time, it has served as a nightclub, a library, a music store and a music school.

However, in 2019, plans were revealed to transform the former bunker into a luxury hotel. The renovation involved adding five tapering floors supported by 16 large concrete-filled steel columns on top of the former bunker's walls. The developers also created a beautiful roof garden, home to nearly 5,000 various trees, shrubs and hedges. This lush garden is designed to be the end point of a "mountain path" starting from the ground floor.

The building was given a modern makeover, including sports areas, but it wasn't cheap the cost was nearly £50million.

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This ex-bunker provided refuge to tens of thousands of people during WW2 ((Image: GETTY))

They remembered the bunker's past linked to Nazi Germany by making a memorial in the garden for those who suffered under the regime. Now there's a hotel at this important place complete with 134 rooms, plus a bar, a coffee shop, and a big restaurant.

The hotel is called REVERB by Hard Rock Hamburg and it has really cool rooms with special designs, the Daily Express reported.

The development cost nearly £50m ((Image: GETTY))

How much you pay for a room changes depending on when you want to stay and if there are rooms free. The hotel must be good because it looks like you can't book a room until May.

Alice Scarsi