Underground civil defense vault Dukla, Havířov (Czech Republic)

The fallout shelter in the former Dukla coal mine (Havířov city, Czech Republic) was in the early 1960s. Planning began in 1954, and construction took place between 1960 and 1962. The shelter was designed to protect 450 people from radiation for 24 hours.

The vault was built to withstand a 250 kt nuclear explosion, impacting at a speed of 300 m/s and an incidence angle of 15 degrees. It features a concrete monolith structure with a circular floor plan (11 meters in diameter) and 1-meter-thick walls.

There are two surface entrances - one civilian and one military. The military entrance includes decontamination and dosimetric rooms. Each entrance has a separate angled staircase, leading 10 meters underground to the first floor. The staircases face away from each other. A 250 kg capacity lift is also available inside the vault.

Currently, a group of enthusiasts is reconstructing the vault, which is open to the public. More information can be found here (in Czech), and the Facebook group is here. The shelter's location is here.


First floor

Decontamination room, pressure chambers, emergency exits, air cleaning filters room, workroom

Second floor

infirmary, operating room, warehouses

Third floor

command room, low-voltage workroom, telephone exchange room

Fourth floor

lodging for protected people, washroom, warehouse - now party floor :-)

Fifth floor

lodging for protected people, washroom, warehouse - recently transformed into a civil defense museum

Sixth floor

lodging for protected people, washroom, diesel engine room, diesel engine control room, drinking water reservoir (14 m3)