Switzerland maintains the world’s largest network of nuclear shelters despite neutrality

The Sonnenberg bunker near Lucerne, originally designed in the 1970s to house 20,000 people, exemplifies Switzerland’s extensive civil-defence infrastructure that now totals more than 370,000 nuclear shelters. Although the country’s neutrality meant it expected only fallout, not direct strikes, the shelters were equipped with diesel generators for two weeks of autonomous operation. Parliamentary debates in 2010-2011 considered abandoning the system, but the Fukushima disaster reinforced its perceived necessity.

Today, law requires every residential project to include a bunker or fund a nearby public one, with owners paying between $1,700 and $3,500. In peacetime many shelters are used as wine cellars, saunas or university storage, while others, such as Sonnenberg, have been adapted for refugee and homeless accommodation, a use that has drawn protest. The federal office of civil protection continues to allocate tens of millions of dollars annually to maintain the network.