Cold War Claxon. Photo: Jeppe Carlsen
The Victorian Rampart
Attraction of the Month, Denmark
Play your part in protecting Copenhagen In 2001, the Danish military authorities finally gave up a top-secret bunker west of Copenhagen which had been mystifying the general public since the beginning of the Cold War. Though conspiracy theories and guesses multiplied, few local residents in Rødovre suspected that the old Victorian rampart was actually hiding the main anti-aircraft operations centre supposed to protect the capital and country in case of an attack from the East.
so important to modern Denmark – it’s so important that no one knew about it,” Jespersen says. “Now we want everyone to experience this vital piece of Denmark’s history.”
By Louise Older Steffensen | Photos: Kim Matthai Leland
The Experience Centre is much more than a traditional museum. “We want people to immerse themselves in the events that unfolded here,” Jespersen explains. “As well as information, we want to convey the excitement and emotions from ages past.” Visitors are encouraged to enter into history, reliving important decisions and jobs as they explore the museum. The centre uses multiple layers of storytelling, ranging from information signs to apps and interactive games. One of the most fascinating of the games has visitors hunt down a spy during the Cuban Missile Crisis using the museum’s iPods and QR codes. Five suspects are gradually revealed through the chase, but the spy
When the Ejbybunker finally opened to the public as the Vestvolden Experience Centre in 2012, the scale and importance of the bunker and the surrounding 14-kilometre West Rampart became apparent. The Ejbybunker itself, which spans two floors and 1,300 square metres, had been built in secret in the middle of the old Victorian rampart. If war had erupted, the bunker would have been the headquarters controlling the anti-aircraft defence of Copenhagen. It is a story which the centre’s museum director, Martin Jespersen, is keen to broadcast. 96 | Issue 86 | March 2016
“The crew constantly had to be within 30 seconds’ reach of their post in case the claxon sounded, and during the ‘50s and ‘60s, the bunker was manned by 30 people 24/7,” he explains. “Denmark was so close to the Eastern bloc that nuclear bombers could reach Copenhagen within ten minutes. Being here really makes you realise how close Scandinavia was to the Cold War tensions – both physically and psychologically.” The rampart itself played an equally important role in its day: it protected Copenhagen from very different enemies in the runup to the First World War. “This place is
Interactive history