Miles of incredible tunnels can be found underneath a Spanish city loved by Brits – and hardly anyone knows about them.
The construction of various military infrastructures, including tunnels or bunkers, have emerged over time out of mere defensive necessity against air and ground attacks. These buildings have also been essential in carrying out covert tactical movements.
Below ground has provided security and discretion when performing clandestine tasks such as personnel training or storing essential war materials. Underground combat has been a prevailing strategy that has led to great victories.
Despite being popular in different events throughout history, it became especially famous during World War One, when tunnels and trenches were dug by hand under enemy lines.
During World War Two, they expanded enormously. In London, extensive bunker systems were built to protect citizens from German bombers during The Blitz, and in the Pacific, on the Japanese islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, complex networks of tunnels were constructed, allowing them to resist for weeks against superior American forces.
However, some of the most recognised shelters, both for their historical and military value and for their preservation, are those built during the Spanish Civil War. In Spain, thousands of shelters were created between 1936 and 1939, which determined the course of the conflict.
The Almeria underground shelters were the result of the 52 air and sea bombardments suffered by the population, in which a total of 754 bombs fell during the Spanish Civil War.
During the Civil War, Almeria was one of the most affected areas by bombers, mainly due to its maritime importance – the Republican side used the port to introduce and distribute supplies and military support throughout its territory. One of the most significant episodes in the region’s conflict was the Bombardment of Almeria: an attack by the Nazi navy in 1937, which resulted in between 20 and 40 victims with the launch of 300 projectiles in just one hour. This attack was due to an incident caused by Republican Spain in May that year when it was docked in Ibiza.
Since up until that moment the population was left unprotected against any attack, there arose a need to build an underground complex where foodstuffs, men, women, and children could hide.
This led to the decision to build underground shelters, more than 2.5 miles long in total, with an operating theatre and the capacity to house some 40,000 inhabitants of the city – more than half of the population at that time.
These were designed by the local architect Guillermo Langle Rubio between 1937 and 1938, with the help of the mining engineer Carlos Fernández Celaya and the civil engineer José Fornieles and would become one of the most important and best preserved in Europe.
In 2006, this network of underground tunnels was restored and since then it has been open to all those who love history and the Civil War. Thanks to conservation efforts by the city today everyone can imagine what life was like in galleries 10 metres underground.
The children’s rooms or operating theatre where several children were born are among the most surprising rooms. Additionally, some original entrances remain at Plaza de la Virgen del Mar and Plaza Marqués de Heredia.
Although these corridors are extremely long, less than one mile is open to visitors which helps give an idea of what experiences Almería’s inhabitants lived through during wartime.
