Schafloch: a very long and labyrinthine Swiss Army bunker with spectacular views

@ElentirENG ES 1·26·2023 · 1:20 0

Many countries have used forts dug into mountains as defenses in the event of a war. One of the countries that stood out the most in this strategy was Switzerland.

Maisy: the German Normandy battery that was mysteriously buried by the US
The interior of two well-preserved Third Reich batteries on a British island

This mountainous country has excellent natural defenses in case of invasion. During World War II, the Swiss Army prepared forts in these mountainous areas to face a hypothetical German invasion. One of these defenses was prepared near Sigriswil, in the canton of Bern, in the center of Switzerland, in a network of natural caves known as Schafloch (Sheep's Hole, in German). This network of caves was formed by ice inside a mountain. General Guillaume-Henri Dufour explored them in September 1822, writing a report on them.

During World War II, the Swiss Army enlarged the Schafloch caves into a formidable bunker, equipping them with machine gun posts. The tunnel network, about 800 meters long and located at 1,780 meters above sea level, ran through the Sigriswilgrat mountain. After the war, the bunker was abandoned but today it can be visited, although access is not suitable for people who suffer from vertigo, as you can see in the image at the top of this entry.

Of course, Schafloch is, without a doubt, one of the forts with the most beautiful views in Europe, since from several places it gives way to the mountainside, showing beautiful images of the Alps. Last year a Swiss youtuber toured that bunker, posting the video on the channel RedMedia. The images are spectacular, the only thing missing is a Balrog: