Hospital in the Rock Nuclear Bunker Museum
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Castle Hill which is part of the Unesco World Heritage Danube waterfront, and one of the most visited sites in Budapest conceals a system of caves like a huge cheese full of holes.Its depths hide many secrets a cave system streches over 10 km long whose chambers were carved out by hot water springs several thousand years ago.Those who lived before the magyars and their royals utilize this caves hidden in the depths and further enlarged them and made them into cellars.
The passages of the long labyrinths were fortified by the citizen Buda from the medieval times.Part of this extensive cave system was developed into an emergency hospital and shelter when World War II broke out.
The hospital had its own water system ( so the enemy could not poison the water supply), its own power supply and ventilation was provided by secret pipes that opened at ground level.
During the Siege of Budapest in 1944-45 , with a capacity of 120 people provided emergency care and shelter for 500-700 people huddled together in the passages .The hospital was closed in june 1945. It was reopened the day after the outbreak of Medicine and vaccination was produced in the hospital after the war.During the 1956 uprising, the hospital was reopened to help the wounded, and seven babies were born in this bomb-proof building.Between 1958-1962 it was remodelled, expanded and developed into a chemical and nuclear bunker to which the communist leaders could have fled in the event of a nuclear attack.
The residents living above had no idea that a well-equipped bunker lay beneath them.It was well-prepared for everthing. During the Communist era, there were many small concrete flower boxes along Tóth Árpád promenade that were each linked through a pipe system to the hospital.
These hid taps which supplied the drinking water and the gasoline needed in the bunker and hospital.The manouvre was conducted from a van disguised as a watering truck in the summer and a milk truck in the winter by employees disguises as gardeners or milk men. Later, the doctors and nurses only held drills to practice the duties they would have in any case of an enemy attack. Altough the hospital was not in use, a caretaker couple lived there. The husband and wife had taken a strict oath of confidentiality, and their main task was to keep the hospital in order.The secret hospital and nuclear shelter were turned into a museum that opened to visitors in 2007
The mission of the Hospital in the Rock Nuclear Bunker Museum, which has won the title of “Most popular Hungarian Museum” several times, is to show that is possible to remain human even surrounded by the inhumanity of war and dictatorships.The real heros are not those who take others’ lives, but those who help and heal.The museum also aims to show the reality of war and convey historic facts to the public. The foundation that runs the institution in independent od politics, religion and ideology and relies solely on its income and donations for its operations. Guided tours in English are available every 60 minutes from 10:00 to 18:00 daily.Audio guides are also available in six additional languages.
