‘Illuminate the Underground’ or ‘The Day Underground’ ran for the second year in Prague on November 25th and 26th 2017. On these dates, numerous hidden underground locations opened to visitors for free.

Tickets went really quickly but we managed to get them for four locations:

• Crypt of the Church of Our Lady of Victory and St. Antonín Paduánský – visited Saturday 25th November
• Crypt of the Church of St. Cyril and Methodius – visited Saturday 25th November
• A storm sewer under Stromovka – visited Sunday 26th November
• A former nuclear shelter (Bunkr Parukářka) in Parukářka Park, Žižkov – visited Sunday 26th November

It was already dark when we arrived at Parukářka Park, Žižkov – luckily we found an open gate with some people waiting in a courtyard. Well courtyard is actually too posh a name for this run-down, graffiti-covered, space. The exterior door to the bunker was open:

But the interior door was locked:

We signed another disclaimer. We still had our badges from the sewer tour.

A previous tour exited and we were guided down a large winding staircase:

At the bottom of the staircase were the corridors of the bunker. It felt claustrophobic and smaller than the nuclear bunker in Folimanka. Our guide was pretty entertaining (in Czech) and nothing like the serious guides whom we’d met on the previous three underground tours.

The other difference between this bunker and Folimanka was that rooms were staged like a museum/exhibition:

At the end of the tour we had to climb the staircase back up to the entrance – there’s a lot of steps.

It was interesting, but I prefer the place just left deserted, where you can explore empty corridors by yourself. The Folimanka Bunker is open, one Saturday each month and you can just turn up and wander around. I think that is much better.

But if you want to see this bunker, check the http://nadenpodzem.cz/ website early November next year for tickets. Or you can try and contact the bunker direct here: http://www.bunkr-bezovka.cz/museum-home-page-cz