Summary:
A WW2 Berlin air-raid shelter now houses a modern art collection which opens to the public in the summer of 2008, and this 600 word article catalogues the bunker´s grim history and advises on how and where to obtain tickets to view the works of art on display.

Details or Sample:
A new, exciting chapter is about to open in Berlin´s chequered history. A WW2 bunker designed by Adolf Hitler´s chief architect, the notorious Albert Speer, has been transformed into a contemporary art gallery which will be presenting 500 modern works to the public in June 2008.

It is the brain-child of Christian Boros, a Polish-born advertising executive who bought the five-storey building in 2002. His original idea was to convert the top floor into a penthouse apartment for himself and his wife. Having accomplished this, he was then faced with the problem of what to do with the rest of the vast structure.

Although he confesses to knowing little about modern art, he was inspired to renovate the remainder of this sprawling building into an avant-garde art gallery to display works by sculptors such as Kris Martin, whose gigantic creation of a copper bell hangs in the entrance hall,to cutting-edge artist such as Damian Hirst and the German-born Anselm Reyle. At first this was a private collection of fifty or so artists which were particular favourites of Boros, but due to the interest that was aroused by the conversion of the building he has decided to make the bunker and the art work available to the general public. It is planned to open on Saturdays only for the time being, with viewings being reserved on line via the Boros Collection website.

The bunker, which is situated on the Rheinhard Strasse, close to the famous Brandenburg Gate, was built in 1942 to provide shelter for up to 3000 Berliners. German High Command were convinced that there would be final battles in the streets of Berlin which, though they would result in Nazi domination of Europe,would necessitate the need for massive shelters such as this one to protect their citizens. The 3 metre thick walls still bear the bullet holes from street battles fought by the remnants of the Third Reich troops and the in-coming Allies in 1945, and some of the interior walls have been left untouched to show faded wall paintings and propaganda writings from that era. Many of the walls have been removed however, and more windows put in to improve the light in this vast building.

After the defeat of the Nazi regime the bunker saw many changes. The occupying Soviet forces used it as a prison for captured Nazis until 1949, after which it became a textile warehouse and in 1957 it was used as a tropical fruit store and became known as the ´Bananabunker´.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 saw the bunker´s most bizarre period when it became a rave venue and the neighbourhood reverberated with techno music far into the night. A few remaining graffiti-splattered walls .....

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Written by: Libera
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Words: 600