Underground city

An underground city is a network of tunnels that connects buildings underground. Usually these are in city centers. Among other things , they connect authorities , department stores , train stations and underground stations with one another. Access to these networks is usually made possible via several public entrances.

Underground cities are sometimes located in cities that are in a cold climate zone so that public life can take place regardless of the weather.

The most famous underground city is the Ville intérieure in the Canadian city ​​of Montreal . This includes around 32 kilometers of tunnel and extends over 12 square kilometers, making it the world's longest tunnel network. The PATH tunnel system in Toronto has the largest retail space.

In Germany there are larger pedestrian tunnel systems in several cities. In Frankfurt am Main there are so-called B-levels at numerous underground and S-Bahn stations . In Hamburg , the “ Jungfernstieg ” and “Rathaus” stations are connected by a pedestrian tunnel . In Stuttgart , a major shopping street connects the main train station with Königstraße . In Munich there are several underground mezzanines above underground stations and S-Bahn tunnel stations, which are known as barrier floors . The two largest tunnel systems of the city are at the main railway station and under the Karlsplatz (Stachus) located underground and railway station . These are only 100 meters away from each other and are indirectly connected via a department store that connects to both basement floors, as well as via underground and S-Bahn lines.

In Switzerland , Geneva and Zurich ( Shopville ) have larger underground shopping centers.

In Paris , longer distances can be covered on foot underground using the metro's extensive network of access and connecting tunnels . In individual stations, such as B. Montparnasse , there are even treadmills .

The northern French city of Arras is under tunnels. During the First World War, the Allies were able to assert Arras against all attacks by the Germans - largely thanks to a gigantic system of tunnels below the city, in which up to 24,000 soldiers could be accommodated.

literature

• Leoni Hellmayr: Under the asphalt. What is hidden under the world's metropolises . 192 pp., Theiss Verlag , Darmstadt 2014. ISBN 978-3-8062-2716-1

Web links

Commons : Underground City  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Angelika Franz: First World War: Tunnel city under hell. In: Spiegel Online . April 16, 2008, accessed June 10, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Metropolises from below "Downtown is where the action is" , review by Martina Wehlte on Deutschlandfunk from May 4, 2015, accessed May 6, 2015