Atomic bomb shelter

Nearly a kilometre of interconnecting passages carved into the rock below Petrov Hill

A network of vaulted passageways, forming a rectangular plan approximately 85 x 60 metres in area, provided 4-days’ shelter for up to 3,000 people in the event of a nuclear explosion.

Contact and address

Opening hours

Guided tours always take place on a Sunday according to the scheduled timetable when purchasing in advance. Our offer includes the classic tour of the Denis Shelter, as well as special times and dates for the ‘Finding Shelter in Wartime Brno’ tour, and – for the more intrepid – the guided tour in the dark. 

This energy self-sufficient shelter offered protection for 2,000 people

One of the essential human drives that shapes our behaviour so as to ensure survival in the face of danger is the instinct for self-preservation. From the dawn of human history, humans have sought shelter against the malignant fates, searching out places in which they felt safe and that offered protection against a multiplicity of natural and societal threats.

The twentieth century, distinguished by its unprecedented scientific and technological development, introduced a new term to the strategy of war. With the onset of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and development of the aviation industry, protecting civilian populations meant focusing on building anti-aircraft – and later fallout – shelters. In Brno, one such complex, buried beneath Petrov, was given the name ‘Denis’. It is located inside the rock massif of Petrov Hill and stretches for the most part below the area occupied by the Capuchin Gardens.

The Denis Shelter comprises a system of passages, intersecting at right angles, whose plan forms a rectangle approximately 85 x 60 m, with several entrances and an array of emergency exits. The arched corridors, cut into the rock and subsequently lined with brickwork, have a median size of about 3 x 3 m, and their total distance, combined with escape routes, comes to about 900 m. In the event of a nuclear attack, it would have been possible to survive inside the shelter for up to 4 days. In terms of water, electricity and a breathable air mixture, the shelter was self-sufficient, especially when ample stocks and rations had been stored away. These cramped spaces could have provided refuge for up to 3000 inhabitants. The only psychological support inside the passages was a public address system, broadcasting through a wired network.

Today, its long and empty corridors serve only as a depository for masonry fragments of King’s Chapel (Královská kaple), which once stood on the corner of Veselá Street and Dominican Square.

Tours

Denis Shelter Tour

A guided tour of this rectangularly shaped, energy self-sufficient shelter, with a scattering of emergency exits. These long, vaulted passageways are an awesome sight: cut into the rock below St. Peter and Paul Cathedral and walled in brick, they stretch for a distance of approx. 900 metres. The tour lasts 50 minutes.

Finding Shelter in Wartime Brno

In addition to the actual exploration of the energy self-sufficient bunker, carved out of the rock, this special guided tour of the Denis Shelter below Petrov Hill also offers you lots of information on how people sheltered in wartime Brno, presents testimonies of eye-witnesses, and demonstrates chemical protection equipment. The tour lasts 75 minutes. 

Denis Shelter Tour in the Dark

For the more daring among you, we also offer a tour by headtorch, during which all lights inside the bunker are extinguished, and visitors walk almost the entire trail purely by the light of their headtorches. Only in selected areas of the shelter is there any additional illumination, coming from the coloured lights emitted by some of the shelter’s technical equipment. Tour lasts 60 minutes. 

Admission fees

The trail ‘Finding Shelter in Wartime Brno’ has a single admission fee of 180 CZK. 

Practical information

The tour is conducted over uneven terrain and we recommend strong shoes. There are no toilets available. 

People younger than 15 only when accompanied by an adult.

Interpretation is currently only in Czech.

Online or in ticket presale and information center

Temporary closure of the Denis Shelter

For technical reasons the Denis Shelter is closed until the end of August. If you have bought tickets online we will automatically refund your money. If you have bought tickets at an information centre, we will refund your money at the same information centre. Thank you for your understanding.

VOUCHER

Voucher je nutné vyměnit za vstupenku osobně na pokladně podzemí Jakubské náměstí 1 v období jeho platnosti. Platnost voucheru je 6 měsíců ode dne zakoupení.

Doporučujeme vytvořit rezervaci předem na telefonním čísle +420 515 919 793 popřípadě e-mailem: kostnice@ticbrno.cz. U voucheru se slevou (senioři, studenti do 25 let, děti a ZPT)  musí být na pokladně podzemí prokázán nárok na slevu. Voucher pro rodinné vstupné platí pro 2 dospělé a 2 děti do 15 let. Voucher je platný pouze jednou a pro podzemí, do kterého je zakoupen. Voucher nelze vyměnit za finanční hotovost ani vrátit.

 

VOUCHER do Kostnice u sv. Jakuba

Voucher je nutné vyměnit za vstupenku osobně na pokladně podzemí Jakubské náměstí 1 v období jeho platnosti. Platnost voucheru je 6 měsíců ode dne zakoupení.

Doporučujeme vytvořit rezervaci předem na telefonním čísle +420 515 919 793 popřípadě e-mailem: kostnice@ticbrno.cz. U voucheru se slevou (senioři, studenti do 25 let, děti a ZPT)  musí být na pokladně podzemí prokázán nárok na slevu. Voucher pro rodinné vstupné platí pro 2 dospělé a 2 děti do 15 let. Voucher je platný pouze jednou a pro podzemí, do kterého je zakoupen. Voucher nelze vyměnit za finanční hotovost ani vrátit.

VOUCHER do Labyrintu pod Zelným trhem

Zakoupený voucher do Labyrintu pod Zelným trhem je nutné vyměnit za vstupenku osobně na pokladně podzemí Zelný trh 21 v období jeho platnosti.

Platnost voucheru je 6 měsíců ode dne zakoupení. Doporučujeme vytvořit rezervaci předem na telefonním čísle 542 212 892 popřípadě e-mailem: labyrint@ticbrno.cz. U voucheru se slevou (senioři, studenti do 26 let, děti a ZPT)  musí být na pokladně podzemí prokázán nárok na slevu. Voucher pro rodinné vstupné platí pro 2 dospělé a 2 děti do 15 let. Voucher je platný pouze jednou a pro podzemí, do kterého je zakoupen. Voucher nelze vyměnit za finanční hotovost ani vrátit.