Swimming pools, playgrounds and amusement parks: Finland’s underground facilities, which can double as bomb shelters, have emerged as an inspiring approach as Europe ramps up preparedness after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland shares a 1,340km (830-mile) border with Russia. Its network of civil defence shelters is an integral part of its preparedness strategy, which harks back to just before World War II.
Blasted into Helsinki’s granodiorite bedrock dozens of metres underground, people of all ages swim and splash in the pools or relax in saunas in the cavernous Itakeskus swimming hall.
The complex is one of Finland’s 50,500 civil defence shelters which have space for around 4.8 million of its 5.6 million population.
Intended to accommodate up to 3,800 people, the pools can be emptied of water and turned into a bombproof shelter within 72 hours.