Hidden deep in the mountains Army chief Süssli wants to put secret bunker back into operation
What looks like a manhole cover is actually a swivel-mounted grenade launcher: Switzerland still has over 100 well-camouflaged fortifications - and is now examining whether they should be made operational again.
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- The decommissioned fortress bunkers with mine launchers from the Cold War could be reactivated.
- According to army chief Thomas Süssli, many are still in good condition and ready for use at short notice.
- Originally intended for dismantling, the redoubt concept is experiencing a security policy renaissance as a result of the war in Ukraine.
- Politically, the reactivation is controversial: While the SP criticizes it as nostalgic, SVP representatives see it as a sensible precaution in the event of national defence.
Hardly anyone knows where they are. And that is the intention. The combat bunkers with fortress mine launchers were once regarded as Switzerland's secret weapon - deep in the mountain, inconspicuous on the surface, but highly dangerous in an emergency. Now they could return, as reported by SRF.
What looks like a harmless manhole cover is actually a double grenade launcher. Range: eight kilometers, can be swiveled in all directions. Over 100 such bunkers secure the country - many of them along transit routes and at strategic points. One of them is located near Trin in the canton of Graubünden - the only one that is open to the public today. An association runs a fortress museum there.
A relic? Not at all!
SP security politician Priska Seiler Graf calls it "retro nostalgia". But army chief Thomas Süssli sees it differently: "A large part is in good condition and could be reactivated in the short term." The background: since the war in Ukraine, the army has been thinking about stationary defense again.
The fate of the bunkers was actually sealed. In 2018, parliament decided to have them demolished. Former Defense Minister Ueli Maurer spoke of the "end of the Reduit concept". Dismantling costs? One billion francs - as much as the construction.
The bunker in Trin was built in 1988 in the utmost secrecy - and was never used during the war. A kind of "new" facility. Three thousand grenades could have been stored here. The last combat bunker was not even built until 2003, but was then quickly decommissioned. Formally made unsuitable for firing - but: reversible.
Ukraine war brings about a turnaround
Everything has changed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Further sales to private individuals have been stopped. The army is looking into new uses as ammunition depots or accommodation - with the option of rearmament. "If the security situation worsens, we could react quickly," says Süssli.
SVP Councillor of States Werner Salzmann is delighted: "In a trench warfare situation in the Rhine Valley, we would be happy to have such fortresses." For him, the mine launchers are not an anachronism - but a precaution for emergencies.
