Luxury hotel to be built on top of old Nazi bunker

Luxury hotel to be built on top of old Nazi bunker
By Travel Weekly


A former Nazi bunker is going to the next level – literally – with a luxury hotel to be built on top of it.

NH Hotel Group recently won the tender for the operation of a nhow hotel on the roof of Bunker St. Pauli in Hamburg, Germany.

Built in 1942 by forced labourers, the bunker was initially used during the Second World War by the Nazis for air defence. During the bombardments on the city of Hamburg, up to 25,000 people were sheltered in the bunker at times, according to the Bunker St. Pauli website.

Germany’s National Socialist regime also used the concrete fortress as a propaganda tool to demonstrate its own strength.

Scheduled to open in mid-2021, the new nhow Hamburg will comprise 136 rooms, including a bar, a coffee shop and a restaurant.

The hotel is part of a bigger project to redevelop Bunker St. Pauli, with plans to also build a public roof garden with views over Hamburg and a planted ‘mountain path’ that winds its way up the bunker.

In addition, the bunker will receive a memorial for the victims of the Nazi regime and the Second World War for the first time, creating spaces for district culture, exhibition areas and a hall for sports and cultural events.

Maarten Markus, NH Hotel Group’s managing director across northern Europe, said: “I am very proud that nhow Hamburg can be built in this extraordinary location as part of this fascinating project.

“Of course, we are aware of the history of the bunker and its significance for the city of Hamburg.

“Our design and lifestyle brand has an open approach, so that nhow Hamburg wants to integrate itself well into the neighborhood and creative scene.”

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