What have humans built in the last 100 years that will survive 1,000 years? Are things no longer intended to last for eternity? Will all things be torn down before they reach their structural end of life to be replaced?

Mateo Elijah

This marvelous feat of modern aesthetics sits smack in the center of Hamburg, and will keep doing so for at least a millennium. It’s a flak tower / bomb shelter for the population, the kind of thing that was really needed in the mid-20th century in Germany.

When the war was over, the new government tried to get rid of most of the old Nazi-looking stuff that the previous administration had left behind. They commissioned their most elite demolition crew to this specific building. The guys scratched their heads for a very long time and came to the conclusion that tearing this beauty to the ground would require enough explosives to blow the whole city sky-high. So better not.

It’s still there. One of the best clubs in town uses the top floor. The walls are up to 3.5 meters thick, so the music doesn’t bother the neighborhood.

It’ll be the last building standing in Hamburg.

Leave a comment