The Urbanist: Tall Stories 488

The Bunker in Schönbornpark, Vienna

Date: December 8, 2025
Host: Andrew Tuck | Reporter: Alexey Korolyov
Theme: Rethinking WWII Relics: Vienna’s Wartime Bunker as a Space for Memory, Warning, and Art

Episode Overview

This episode of Tall Stories explores the transformation of a dormant WWII air-raid bunker in Vienna’s Schönbornpark, examining how a once-ignored wartime relic is now being creatively reused. Through immersive reporting and interviews, host Andrew Tuck and reporter Alexey Korolyov reflect on the bunker’s overlooked presence, its fraught history as a Nazi structure, and contemporary efforts to recast it as an artistic venue and a warning against cultural exclusion.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Bunker: Hidden in Plain Sight

• The Schönbornpark bunker stands as a "massive" but "invisible" structure — a persistent reminder from Vienna’s WWII past that most locals know little about.
• Quote:
  • “When you look at the building, you see, okay, it's massive, but you don't know what's inside. And so it's also invisible.”
    — Florian Kmet (01:10)

2. The History of Denial and Reluctant Recognition

• For decades, Austria grappled with its Nazi history by propagating the postwar "victim" narrative, which led to WWII relics like the bunker being ignored or earmarked for destruction.
• A turning point came after 1986’s Chernobyl disaster, when public sentiment shifted toward preserving civil shelters rather than demolishing them.
• Quote:
  • “Austria has long struggled to face up to its Nazi past… structures like this were quietly ignored because they pointed to an uncomfortable truth.”
    — Alexey Korolyov (02:16)
  • “And then they said, we can't destroy civil shelters. That's why it stayed ... There were so many civil movements like peace movement or anti nuclear movement.”
    — Andrew Tuck (02:47)

3. The Bunker’s Unofficial Status

• The bunker wasn't officially recognized as a legal structure until 2025, despite its decades-long presence in the park.
• Quote:
  • “Only this year this building was officially erected. There was no what is called Baulicher Consens. That means it was never officially built.”
    — Andrew Tuck (01:46)

4. Reimagining the Bunker Through Art and Performance

• A collaborative initiative with the Volkskundemuseum has turned the bunker’s individual rooms (“niches”) into installation spaces.
• Notable Installation:
  • Waiting for the Barbarians (2024): Explored "bunker mentality" and xenophobia, using satire and irony to critique Austria’s and Europe’s mechanisms of exclusion. Rooms featured:
    • Shelves of jars with "pure Austrian air."
    • A world map with all countries redrawn as Austria.
    • A room painted in Austria’s flag.
• Quote:
  • “This bunker is of course also a symbol for this bunker mentality, to keep everyone out and to stay very narrow minded... there's one with Austrian air, for instance.”
    — Andrew Tuck (03:58)
  • “It was all satiric and provocative and boot camp against the barbarians, but always in a sarcastic and ironic provocative way.”
    — Andrew Tuck (04:35)

5. Rethinking Memory and Legacy

• The museum’s vision is not to preserve the bunker as a straightforward war relic, but as a site that warns against insularity and historical amnesia.
• Quote:
  • “We want to make this war and violent building and transform it into something. Reuse it… remembering, but always with this: What happens if we have this fortress and we are not open and we don't fight for democracy and civil movements?”
    — Andrew Tuck (05:03)

6. Plans for the Future

• More artistic installations are planned, with hopes of opening the bunker permanently to the public as a space for critical reflection, rather than passive remembrance.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “What do you know about the bunker in the Schonbon park? Nobody knows.”
  — Andrew Tuck (00:47)
• “If you calculate, there should be about eight people, maybe in one. Not so much space. For hours. For hours.”
  — Florian Kmet, on the bunker’s cramped rooms (03:32)
• “This is not the original bunker. It's not as it was, so we can't go back to there. So we take the next step and say we want to make this war end violent building and transform it in something.”
  — Andrew Tuck (05:03)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:57 — Alexey Korolyov describes his personal connection to Schönbornpark and introduces the bunker’s hidden presence.
• 01:36 — The Volkskundemuseum’s team discusses the bunker as a prism of Vienna’s 20th-century history.
• 02:16 — Examination of postwar Austria’s memory politics and the impact of Chernobyl on public attitudes.
• 03:10 — Inside the bunker: Florian Kmet introduces the artistic sound installation and the spaces within.
• 03:48 — Detailing the “Waiting for the Barbarians” installation and its satirical critique of exclusion.
• 05:03 — Andrew Tuck outlines the museum’s ambition to repurpose the bunker as a space for warning and dialogue.

Conclusion

This episode of Tall Stories provides an insightful look into how Vienna is coming to terms with its complex past by transforming a WWII bunker from a symbol of violence and secrecy into an open site of artistic critique and remembrance. Through installations that provoke reflection on nationalism and exclusion, the bunker now invites the public to remember, question, and engage.

Recommended for city mayors, urban planners, architects, and all listeners interested in urban memory, historical reckoning, and adaptive reuse of the built environment.