Netherlands has no functioning bomb shelters after decades of neglect, study finds
Nearly all of the Netherlands’ Cold War-era bunkers and shelters have fallen into disrepair, been dismantled or converted to other uses, leaving the country without any demonstrably usable civilian shelters and effectively without functioning civil protection infrastructure, according to an investigation by Binnenlands Bestuur.
During the Cold War, the Dutch government invested heavily in civil defense, constructing hundreds of bunkers across the country. Metro stations in major cities were reinforced with steel doors, air filters, and large ventilation systems, while millions of guilders were spent on water tanks, oil reserves, and generators. These measures were intended to protect civilians in the event of a nuclear attack, though they were never used.
As the Cold War ended and threat levels dropped, the urgency to maintain these shelters declined. After the Civil Protection Act was repealed in 1986, ownership of most bunkers transferred from the national government to municipalities, which assumed responsibility for maintenance.
A survey by Binnenlands Bestuur of 342 municipalities found that most have not kept up the maintenance. Of the 190 municipalities that responded, representing 10.7 million residents, 116 claimed they had no Cold War bunkers, while 74 acknowledged having them. Only 35 of those municipalities reported having an up-to-date inventory of bunkers, and just 13 said they had any local maintenance plan.
“This means only 17.6 percent of municipalities with bunkers have policy for their upkeep,” the report said. Cross-checking municipal responses with historical records and the database of the Menno van Coehoorn Foundation revealed that at least a third of municipalities claiming to have no bunkers actually do, and ten more had recently demolished theirs. Even Rotterdam, home to the largest number of bunkers in the country, was unable to provide complete information for the survey.
In Rotterdam, a bunker at Schiebroekselaan illustrates the state of these facilities. Hidden among trees, the small underground shelter could hold about 50 people. Rémon de Man, chairman of the Stichting Cultureel Erfgoed Koude Oorlog, led a brief tour. “In 1952, it was decided civil defense was needed, forming the Civil Protection or BB,” he told Binnenlands Bestuur. “They looked at London, where shelters were built for 50 people. If a bomb fell, only fifty people would be at risk.”
The bunker’s interior remains basic: wooden benches, small tables, water, crackers, and a corner toilet. Plans to build 100 similar shelters were abandoned due to cost, and by 1962, authorities shifted to large metro station bunkers, such as Rotterdam’s Station Beurs, which could shelter 15,000 people with 100 air filters for radioactive fallout. Modernizing even a single small shelter would now cost millions.
Most Dutch municipalities have transferred bunkers to foundations or associations, which now use them as music studios, art ateliers, schools, museums, or storage spaces. For example, Utrecht has converted bunkers into creative studios, Nijkerk uses one as a bowling alley, and Helmond operates a school classroom in a former bunker.
Many local governments cite the lack of national legislation as the reason for not maintaining or building new shelters. Venlo, for instance, said, “In terms of heritage, we consider preserving bunkers important. For other purposes, there is no national legislation. Therefore, we have no policy for any function other than heritage preservation.”
Even when municipalities maintain inventories, the bunkers are reportedly largely unusable. Only ten municipalities initially reported their shelters as “usable,” but further investigation revealed some were buried or no longer owned by the municipality.
Raphaël Smid of the Menno van Coehoorn Foundation noted that the Netherlands never aimed to shelter all citizens. “During the Cold War, the policy was home sheltering under stairs or in cellars, with basic self-sufficiency supplies. Some companies had their own shelters, like Philips in Eindhoven or Postgiro in Arnhem.”
He warned that revitalizing old shelters or building new ones would require billions of euros and emergency laws to bypass zoning, environmental rules, and legal challenges. Even with maximum effort, protecting all citizens is likely impossible.
Amsterdam, which has 41 bunkers including the Vondelbunker in Vondelpark—now an event space and rehearsal room—has no plans to reactivate shelters, AT5 reported. “The current threat is mostly hybrid, meaning digital attacks on critical infrastructure are more likely than nuclear strikes,” a municipal spokesperson said. The city is preparing by maintaining critical processes and establishing local emergency support points, rather than restoring Cold War bunkers.
