Until now, there are cities on Earth that are not visible from satellites, which you will not find on the map. These cities are underground. Some of them have a thousand-year history, others were built quite recently.
Cappadocia. Derinkuyu
The underground city discovered in Nevsehir could become the largest in the world. But in general, underground buildings are common in Turkey. The central part of the country, Cappadocia, is the undisputed world leader in the number of underground settlements. There are about 200 of them.
Underground construction here was facilitated by the features of the natural landscape and geological history terrain: almost no trees, Cappadocian tuff is soft and easy to work with, while being highly durable. Underground cities appeared in Cappadocia in the first millennium BC. They accommodated tens of thousands of people, according to scientists, some of the dungeons can go down 20 floors.
Today, the largest excavated underground city of Cappadocia is Derinkuyu, although work on its purification is still ongoing. 8 floors of the city are already open for tourists. In total, it has at least 12 floors, and its depth presumably reaches 85 meters.
Up to 20 thousand people could live in Derinkuyu. In the city, not only living quarters were found, but also food storage, cattle pens, bakeries and wineries, even a cemetery. Thanks to the system of ventilation shafts, the air remains fresh on all levels of the city.
Who built Derinkuyu is not exactly known. According to one version, these were the Phrygian tribes, according to another - the Hittites. In the 5th century, the city became a refuge for Christians who were hiding from the persecution of nomads, and later from Muslims. During this period, the underground settlement expanded significantly, after which churches, schools and wineries appeared in the city.
Derinkuyu is connected by a tunnel to another major underground city - Kaymakli. It was also a refuge for Christians during the Arab invasion. Up to 15 thousand people could freely accommodate in the city.
Underground cities are not only in Turkey. Residents of the French town of Naur, located in the province of Picardy, have been hiding underground from enemies for several centuries.
underground city in Naur was built in the late VIII - early IX centuries. Then its inhabitants were hiding from the Normans, who began to capture the North of France. The Naur underground served as a refuge until early XVIII century. They hid there from the British during the Hundred Years' War and from the Spaniards during the Thirty Years' War. Then the dungeon was used for economic purposes. And the underground Naur was finally abandoned by people only in 1830, when there was a danger of collapse.
Underground Naur accommodates up to three thousand people, that is, all the inhabitants of the city along with livestock could freely settle there. Sometimes the danger needed to wait a long time. Underground were well-equipped kitchens, which used an ingenious chimney system to minimize the risk of detection by the enemy. The church of the underground city accommodated up to 400 people. Moreover, there was even a prison underground.
The underground Naur is typical of the North of France, whose inhabitants constantly faced enemy raids. In total there are 74 such shelters.
Underground Beijing
Underground cities were built not only in antiquity. The 20th century was marked by the most terrible wars in the history of mankind and the invention nuclear weapons, which led to the construction of underground shelters around the world. One of the most famous of these structures is the underground city near Beijing. It was built between 1969 and 1979 when there was danger nuclear war between China and the USSR. Underground Beijing was supposed to accommodate up to 40 percent of the city's population, and its total area is about 85 square kilometers. Shops, schools, hospitals, restaurants - all traditional urban facilities - were built under the ground of the Chinese capital.
Today, most of underground Beijing is closed. But many underground spaces have been turned into shopping and office centers, others are used as cheap apartments, hostels and hotels. Until now, the authorities of the Chinese capital regularly monitor the state of the giant underground shelter.
Burlington
The danger of nuclear war has led to the construction of a huge underground shelter in the UK. In the 1950s, the Burlington bunker was built near the town of Corsham in Wiltshire, designed for 4,000 people. In the event of a nuclear attack, Burlington was supposed to be a safe haven for government officials who were seriously considering running the country from underground. The bunker was designed for three months of completely autonomous existence. There was even a pub built underground.
However, already in the late 1960s, it became clear that the evacuation of the government to Burlington would be impossible, since the speed of approach of Soviet strategic missiles was reduced to a few minutes.
Today, the British bunker has been declassified, and options for its commercial use are being sought. One of them is to turn Burlington into the largest wine cellar in Europe.
coober pedy
Not all underground cities of the world today have changed their functional value. For example, in the Australian town of Coober Pedy, half of the inhabitants still live underground. This city was founded in 1915 around the world's largest deposit of precious opals. From the tongue Australian aborigines"Coober Pedy" translates as "white man's hole".
The decision to live underground in Coober Pedy is driven by the climate: frequent sandstorms and heat make life on the surface unpleasant. And if today the situation is saved by air conditioners, then a hundred years ago the only option was to build their homes underground, where the temperature is kept at 22 degrees all year round. The vast majority of the city's inhabitants are engaged in the extraction of opals, so underground houses are often directly connected to mines.
Today, half the inhabitants of Coober Pedy live on the surface, but many continue to live underground.
Moreover, the history of its discovery in itself is quite interesting. No, archaeologists and historians were not the first to discover it. It is believed that one of the villagers accidentally opened it when, having started repairs in his house, he demolished one of the walls and discovered a passage leading to an underground labyrinth.
Derinkuyu - (from Turkish Derinkuyu - “deep well”) - an ancient multi-tiered underground city, the largest cave settlement of Cappadocia accessible to tourists
For centuries, people have been hiding here from nomadic raids, religious persecution and other dangers.
Reaching a depth of about 60 meters, in ancient times this city could shelter up to 20 thousand people, along with livestock. The Derinkuyu Dungeon is a complex branching system of rooms, halls, tunnels and wells, diverging downwards, upwards and to the sides.
The city was built in such a way that it was impossible to capture
All precautions were provided there: in case of danger, the entrances were closed with huge boulders, and even if the enemy had overcome them, he would hardly have been able to get back to the surface without knowing the secret passages and the plan of the labyrinths.
The underground city is located on eight levels, reaching a depth of 55-60 meters. Some scientists believe that the city goes underground even deeper.
There are small holes in the floor in many places for communication between floors.
From the inside, the city was closed with large stone doors.
Each door is a large stone disc 1-1.5 meters high, 30-35 centimeters thick and weighing 200-500 kilograms. The doors were opened with the help of the holes inside them, and only from the inside and by the efforts of at least two people.
The city is famous for its very sophisticated ventilation and water supply system, which is amazing for such an early historical period.
As to whether people lived underground permanently or periodically, scientists still do not have a consensus. According to one version, the inhabitants of Derinkuyu came to the surface only to cultivate the fields, according to another, they lived in an above-ground village and hid underground only during raids.
In the latter case, they quickly eliminated signs of life on the surface and went underground to hide there for several weeks.
Surely everyone has heard stories about people living in abandoned mines, caves or subways. Or maybe someone has read H.G. Wells' The Time Machine and then probably remembers the Morlocks. In many places on Earth, underground cities not only exist, but sometimes even thrive.
1. Underground Beijing
Mao Zedong in 1969 ordered the construction of temporary housing for the socialist government. The construction took 10 years, and as a result, a whole city stretched under Beijing with a total length of 30 kilometers. It had shops, restaurants, schools, theatres, hairdressers and even an inline skating rink. In addition to all these amenities, the city had about 1,000 bomb shelters in case of an attack.
Rumor has it that every house in the "upper" Beijing had a secret hatch so that citizens could quickly retreat to the underground complex if necessary. In 2000, the dungeons were officially opened to tourists, and some bomb shelters are now used as hotels.
2. Setenil de las Bodegas
Unlike most of the cities on our list, the Spanish city of Setenil de las Bodegas is home to 3,000 people. True, the houses in this city are built right in the rock, and not underground.
Most of the city streets are located in the open air, and tourists often come to this city to see houses, as if pressed down by rocks. Previously, the city served as Moorish fortifications, and later was used as an outpost in the fight against the Roman Empire.
3. Moose-Jo
The city is located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, where winter lasts for a very long time. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was so cold there that it was almost impossible to go outside, and tunnels were built under the city - it was warmer to get to work. Considering the time period in which the tunnels appeared, it is not surprising that they soon began to be used for illegal purposes.
Bandits and liquor dealers appeared underground - then Prohibition was adopted in Canada. And where there is illegal alcohol, there is prostitution with gambling, so soon the underground town turned into a mini Las Vegas. It is said that Al Capone himself took part in all this illegal activity.
4. City of the Gods
The Great Pyramids near the Egyptian city of Giza are still considered one of the greatest wonders of the world. But the Pyramids are not only an architectural marvel. They are also interesting because there is a whole network of tunnels and chambers under them.
Researchers are still studying the underground complex, called the City of the Gods, but it is still shrouded in mystery. True, considering scientific interest to this place, which arose back in 1978, mysteries will soon succumb to unraveling.
5. Portland
Beneath one of the largest cities in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States lie the Shanghai Tunnels, also known as the Forbidden City. They are located under Chinatown, and were previously used to transport goods and, according to rumors, people. Because of this underground complex, Portland gained fame as the worst place on the American west coast - healthy strong men were kidnapped from the city in the last century for forced labor on sailing ships. In addition, prostitution flourished in the tunnels. True, today the situation has changed for the better, and now there is no risk when traveling through the tunnels.
6. Salt mine in Wieliczka
Located in the south of Poland, the salt mine in Wieliczka was built in the 13th century. Salt was mined here until 2007, making it one of the oldest salt mines in history. But besides this, the mine is a residential underground complex, where there are statues, chapels and even a cathedral.
The length of the mine is about 300 kilometers. During the Second World War, they were used by the Germans for the construction of ammunition. In addition, there is a large underground lake in the mine, which attracts more than a million tourists a year to this place.
7. Coober Pedy
Coober Pedy is also known as the opal capital of the world as it is a rich deposit - almost 30% of the world's opals are mined here. The city consists of houses called "dugouts" and is home to 1,600 inhabitants. Dugouts appeared as a means of combating the unbearable heat on the surface, and in addition protected the prospectors and their children from wild dingoes and Australian aborigines.
In addition to living quarters, the town boasts underground shops, pubs, and even a cemetery with a church.
8. Kish
Beneath the city of Kish in Iran lies another city so mysterious that it doesn't even have its own name. He is about 2500 years old. Initially, the underground city was used as a water management system.
Of course, like many ancient places, the city was restored not so long ago, and will soon open to tourists. Under the city, it is planned to build cinemas, restaurants and hotels with a total area of 10,000 square meters.
9. Cappadocia
The Cappadocia region of Turkey is best known for its underground city, Derinkuyu. The city consists of several levels, and is said to have several thousand inhabitants. This Big city with its management system, shops, churches, schools. They even make wine here.
It is believed that there are secret places in the underground structures where Christians, who did not want to feed the lions, hid from the persecution of the Roman Empire.
10 Burlington
In the UK in countryside There is a city codenamed Burlington. It was built in the 1950s to house the British government in the event of a nuclear war. The city was located in an old stone quarry with an area of 1 square kilometer and could accommodate 4,000 civil servants, however, without their families.
The town had its own railroad station, hospitals, underground lakes, water purification facilities and a pub. In addition, a radio station was provided in the city, from which the prime minister could communicate his decisions to the entire small settlement. Burlington remained operational until the 1990s and was ready to take on residents until the very end. cold war.
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Everyone has heard stories about people living in abandoned mines, caves or subway tunnels. Or maybe you've read The Time Machine and remember the Morlocks who lived underground. What most people don't realize is that not only did underground cities not exist, they flourished in many cases.
10 Underground Beijing In 1969, Mao Zedong ordered the construction of a temporary shelter for the socialist government, and its construction continued for the next decade. It was located near Beijing and stretched for 30 kilometers. The giant city was built during the war on Soviet-Chinese border, and its main purpose was military defense.
The city had shops, restaurants, schools, theatres, hairdressers and even a roller skating rink. The underground city also had over 1,000 bomb shelters and was built to house up to 40 percent of Beijing's population in the event of an attack.
Astonishingly, there are still rumors that every house had a secret hatch that allowed citizens to quickly descend into a large underground complex. In 2000, the giant city was officially opened as a sort of tourist attraction, and some of its premises are actually used as youth hostels.
9. Setenil de las Bodegas, Spain Unlike most of the cities on this list, Setenil de las Bodegas continues to thrive and is home to over 3,000 people. In this Spanish city nestled in the mountains, the houses aren't completely underground, they're built right into the stone walls.
Much of the city is built on open space, and the town remains a charming place to visit with incredible carved structures. The city served as a Moorish fortification, and was used by the Roman Empire in a similar way.
8. Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Moose Jaw is located in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, which means that the winter here lasts a very long time. Not surprisingly, it was just as cold in the early 20th century, which led to the construction of a series of tunnels under the city to allow workers to move around the city in warmer conditions. Considering the period of time in which the tunnels were built, it is not surprising that this network of tunnels soon began to be used for illegal purposes.
The Moose Jaw Tunnels were used by bandits and bootleggers because it was the era of Prohibition. Where there is illegal alcohol, gambling and prostitution soon appear, so the underground city quickly turned into a mini-Las Vegas. Rumor has it that Al Capone himself took Active participation in all this illegal activity that led to the tunnels being called the "Chicago Link".
7. City of the Gods, Giza Plateau The Pyramid of Cheops is the only miracle ancient world which has survived to our time. In addition to being an architectural marvel in its own right, some believe that something almost as unusual exists beneath the Giza Plateau: a vast series of underground tunnels and chambers.
Beginning in 1978, researchers began to map the vast underground complex they call the potential "Metropolis". Known as the City of the Gods, it is still shrouded in mystery. Considering that this huge underground city lies directly below one of the most important historical buildings in the world, it is unlikely that its secrets will be revealed in the near future. In addition, many opponents of the theory of the existence of the City of the Gods argue that such a city does not exist and that pseudoscientific ideas are invented only in order to support belief in alien gods.
6. Portland, Oregon The Shanghai Tunnels are located under one of the largest cities in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. They are located under Chinatown and, according to legend, were used to transport goods and even people. Because of this gigantic underground infrastructure, Portland has become known as the worst place on America's west coast due to Shanghai, the practice of kidnapping people for forced labor on board ships.
It is believed that the Shanghai Tunnels, also known as the Forbidden City, were used for other illegal activities such as prostitution. Today it is possible to travel through tunnels with much less risk of being Shanghained than in the past.
5. Salt mine in Wieliczka, Poland The salt mine in Wieliczka is located in southern Poland. It was built in the thirteenth century. The mine produced salt until 2007, making it one of the oldest salt mines in history. In addition to producing tons of our favorite nutritional supplement, the mine was also a massive underground complex that included statues, chapels, and even a cathedral.
The mine itself is huge in size, and its length reaches 300 kilometers. During World War II, the mine was used by the Germans to make ammunition. It has an underground lake and is visited by more than a million tourists a year.
4. Coober Pedy, Australia Just like Setenil de las Bodegas, Coober Pedy still exists and is home to over 1,600 people. It is considered the opal capital of the world because it produces more opal than anywhere else on earth. The town consists of houses called "dugouts", which were built underground to combat the unbearable heat that prevails on the surface, as well as to protect children from dingoes.
Ever since opal was first discovered at Coober Pedy in 1915, this area has been in constant development. Here they mine gems, and if you have anything with opal, then most likely this opal came from the mines of Coober Pedy. In addition to dugouts and mines, the town boasts underground shops and pubs, as well as a church, and even a cemetery.
3. Kish, Iran Under Kish in Iran, there is a mysterious city that is so mysterious that it has no official name. It is called in many ways, including kariz, but most often tourists call it simply the underground city of Kish. The city is over 2500 years old and was originally used as a water management system.
Like many other antiques, the underground city was, of course, renovated, and this moment there are plans to turn it into a modern tourist complex. The new version of Kish will include restaurants and shops in a vast space of 10,000 square meters.
2. Cappadocia, Türkiye The Cappadocia region of Turkey is famous for its underground cities - most notably the underground city of Derinkuyu. It consisted of seven underground levels and, according to legend, thousands of people lived in it. It was not a small city, nor did it consist of a series of small houses carved into a cave. Shops, churches, and even schools were located throughout Derinkuyu, as well as areas in which the inhabitants made wine. It is believed that the underground cities were a haven for Christians who fled persecution from the Roman Empire, because no one wants to be eaten by lions.
1. Burlington - secret English city While many people have heard of Cheyenne Mountain, a not-so-secret underground government facility in the United States, not many people know of a similar facility located underground in the English countryside. The facility, codenamed Burlington, was built in the 1950s to house the British government in the event of a nuclear war.
Burlington was built in an old stone quarry and covered an area of 1 square kilometer. It could accommodate 4,000 government officials. However, it could not accommodate their families. Burlington had 95 kilometers of roads, a railway station, a hospital, an underground lake, a water treatment plant, and a pub. It also housed a BBC studio from which the prime minister would have been able to address all the surviving population from a safe and comfortable underground location. Burlington was operational until 1991, when the Cold War ended.
Beijing is one of the unique cities of our planet. It is striking in everything and medieval buildings, with its history going back to the depths of centuries and the architecture of a modern metropolis. However, hardly anyone knows that with all this external splendor, such as the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City or the famous Tiananmen Square, there is another, unknown and invisible to the eye Beijing, this is Beijing - underground (website).
The underground city (Dixia Cheng) appeared relatively recently, in the 70s of the 20th century. Its appearance is connected with the same notorious cold war. Relations with the USSR reached a critical point of heat, and China seriously feared a nuclear strike from an all-powerful neighbor. Then the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong, decided to build an underground city, where, in the event of an attack, almost the entire population of Beijing could hide.
The city construction project was developed back in the 60s of the twentieth century, and after its approval in record time almost under the center of Beijing, on a total area of more than 80 square kilometers, it completely arose, where about 800 thousand Beijingers could accommodate in fairly comfortable conditions.
This city is not just a temporary bomb shelter, it has all the infrastructure inherent in cities: streets, residential areas, places of deployment of troops and equipment; schools, hospitals, theaters, cinemas, cafes, markets, farms for growing animals, mushrooms and plants; food storage facilities and even sports facilities. Along the perimeter of the entire city, a system of wells has been established to provide the city's population with water, a specially designed ventilation system is impervious to radioactive and chemical waste.
Massive cement concrete walls and doors are able to withstand not only a nuclear strike, but also protect against earthquakes and floods. It is not known exactly how many floors deep the city was built, since the Chinese government has not made this information public.
In early 2000, after the end of the Cold War, the Chinese leadership opened up access to a small part of the city, allowing limited access for tourists. According to the reviews and descriptions of the first tourists, they were amazed by the scale of the buildings of the underground city. However, from 2008 to the present, Beijing Underground was officially closed by the authorities for reconstruction. Beijing is a modern metropolis with an acute problem and local unsecured residents have arbitrarily occupied some underground bunkers. Currently, this structure is the largest of the known modern underground cities.
