#TRAVEL My Weekly Powerup | #club100 | One of the largest fortification in Denmark from WWII | #steemexclusive / 21 photos

The Bunker Museum in Hirtshals is unique. It is the only complete defense facility from WWII that has been excavated in Denmark. The area has 54 excavated bunkers, as well as several cannon and rifle positions. Radar and searchlight systems were also part of the defence. All of these are connected to each other by a 3.5 kilometer running trench.

Hirtshals is located in the northwestern corner of Denmark. It is a small but busy port city. Fishing is an important part of the town's economic base. The town also has a ferry connection to Kristiansand in Norway. A few weeks ago, before getting on board the ferry to Kristiansand, I visited this Bunker Museum. My plan was to visit the lighthouse as well. But it was undergoing restoration and was covered up. Usually it is open to the public, but unfortunatly it will be closed for some time. As you can see, the lighthouse and the bunkers are placed above the sea.

During WWII, the Germans built up to 7,500 bunkers in Denmark alone. Some of theese bunkers are found in Hirtshals. Today they make up a museum called "Bunkersmuseet". It's open all year round. During the summer month it's possible to get a guided tour. The bunkers here in Hirtshals were part of the Atlantic defense system that Hitler built during the war (1940-45). This defense system stretched from southern Europe close to the Spanish-French coast and up along the coast to the North Cape (Norway) in the north.

The bunkers are spread over a larger area, but they are numbered. You can enter outside several of the largest ones. There is an information board outside. These provide good information about the type of bunker you are entering. You can get down into the trench and follow it to the next bunker. If you do, you feel you are well hidden.

The Germans built this Atlantic defense system to be able to defend the western front. These fortifications were to be built in a way that would make them as effective a defense as possible. After all, the Germans would have to assume that they would get bombardment both from the sea and the air.

It is assumed that up to 100,000 workers were involved in the construction. These were Danes who were nevertheless unemployed. If they said no, they lost their unemployment support. I also found out that the price for this entire facility was 10 billion Danish kroner Today, that value would correspond to NOK 300-400 billion. As of today, it shoud be almost 42 billion USD!

I leave the area with the bunkers and walk through the campsite back to town and down to the ferry. Now I do realize that there are more to Hirtshals than just the ferry. I will definitly want to spend more time here again.