Route of Commemoration No.1: State Tunnel Burgau Air-Raid Shelter

In the middle of the 19th century, a slate quarry for roof and slate boards was created in the rock below the castle of Monschau. The tunnel that was created in order to get the slate received a whole new function during the fall and winter of 1944/45. Next tot he rock cavern of the brewery, the slate tunnels of Dreistegen, the bunker at Wiesental and the crypt of the Au-church, this slate tunnel served the people of Monschau as an air-raid shelter during the fights of World War II, protecting them against bombs and grenades.
On the day that the civil population was asked to leave the old town there were approximately 700 to 800 people, mostly women and children, hiding in this safe hideout. Many inhabitants also went tot his hideout before the invasion of the first American soldiers and the expected bombardment of the German artillery. Up until the final truce around Monschau this tunnel has been a safe hideout spot not only for the people of Monschau but alsof or refugees who had found a temporary home in the old town.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Hans Tasma