Why Switzerland Has 374,142 Bunkers (and likely more) 

Thanks for watching! I made a poster about maps & i hope you like it: store.dftba.com/products/all-maps-are-wrong-poster

World: *does something that is somewhat unstable* The Swiss: *starts digging furiously*

I’m an American and lived in Switzerland for several years. You have no idea how prepared they are for ANYthing and EVERYthing all at once. The Swiss think through everything very very thoroughly…. It’s not that easy to understand until you live there and are a part of their system that you realize they have thought of everything to guard against anything from minor pitfalls to major threats. It’s an astonishingly well-run, orderly, safe society.

We lived in Switzerland for 16 years. There was a bunker in the apartment buildings we lived in and in the house we lived in. The bunker in the house was inspected and tested about every 4-5 years and there was a signed sheet for completed and passed testing on the inside of the door, for every test since the house was built. If you built a home without a bunker, you had to pay your local municipality for the right to space in the municipality's general bunker... they all have one. The bunkers are NOT just for protection from war - "traditional" or nuclear - they are also for protection from nuclear fallout in case one of many nuclear power plants goes kaboom. Because of the air filtering system, they also provide safety in case of a chemical tanker accident and other things that can contaminate the air where people live. Also, they would provide safe shelter in cases of extreme weather or run-away fires.... and, probably, the whole house falling down on top of them.

Dude that has to be the most interesting video I have watched in a long time. Great production and super informative/thought provoking. Thanks man!

Its always weird to hear people outside of Switzerland being so impressed by our bunkers, because I grew up with it and I thought every country runs like this^^.

Johnny meeting a fellow Map Enthusiast is pure joy. So happy you felt seen.

We also have a bunker with a circulating air filter (including the large yellow wrench 😊) installed in our house. It is used as a storage room and the racks are actually beds. We also have the army weapon that everyone stores at home and is allowed to keep when they finish their service. Many things are special in Switzerland that would be unthinkable in other countries.

If Minecraft was a country.

Fun fact: In Zurich, where you met the historian, there are SEVERAL machine gun bunkers hidden, and also strategic explosive charges underneath the most important bridges. Some of the machine gun bunkers were even pointed at the lake, like at the entrance to that floating sailing club, behind you at 28:14, which honestly is beyond me as to why anyone would attack Zurich by lake. We use it for wine storage now :D

As a swiss and a soldier which got trained in swiss bunkers, i have to say this documentary is done very well. You educated a lot of people on a very interesting and mostly unknown topic and all that without being disrespectful against our National Security cause you didn’t got around and searched for the ones which are classified or tried to expose anything which isn’t known to the puplic.

Just love watching this vlog, it's like a free tour in Switzerland. What an amazing country, it's my dream now to travel in Switzerland before I die

a lot of history in this video, thank you for making it :) keep up the good work

As a former officer in the Swiss army, I really enjoyed this, and wish you could see some of the stuff we have, like underground airbases complete with fighter jets hanging in the ceiling, maintenence tunnels, the insane fire suppression systems, and, as you showed it, the usual fortified maching gun position at the end of a tunnel. Not used anymore nowadays and mostly cold war relics, but that would nevertheless make any insane James Bond villain hideout look like an amateurish Disneyland prop. Anyway, thanks for this, great work and hope you enjoyed Switzerland.😉😘

swiss army soldier here: very nice job of portraying the cultural aspect of why my ancestors chose to construct these bunkers. some higher ups in the army even bought some fortresses and use them as their private residence. seeing professional videos makes the alps look that much nicer and i thank you for that as well :) I still desperately hope we will never have to use them but we are still prepared in the end as we always have been. (some political groups want them completely abandoned and i think thats a big mistake, especially under current circumastances).

this was brilliant, incredible editing and colors

High quality content for sure, great work

Looks like a fun adventure. So sorry they took your big yellow wrench.

I live in Switzerland and what is funny and you haven't mentioned is that during the skiing season you can literally go off-piste and drive over the roofs of little shacks that look like they are used for holding farming equipment like rakes etc. but they have a whole bunker underneath.

So far, and only today, I've found a couple of your videos to be unusually useful and informative. I really can't thank you enough. Previously, all I knew about William Tell was that he was an excellent archer and that there was an overture bearing his name. (Plus, I never looked into the difference between a symphony and an overture... save your keyboard, I looked it up on the 'information super-highway! LOL!) I'm preceding my comment re. your comment with a point of view a preacher pointed out to me 20-30 years ago, as it related to the lessons he was hoping others could find useful... "I don't/can't expect anyone to know what they've never been taught". That concept is quite profound after a bit of thought is applied. What struck me as 'remarkable' was your comment, "Putin's invasion of Ukraine is changing everything..." as it defied what I've come to understand or conclude regarding this horrific exercise in national security, both abroad and here in America. There wouldn't be 1.5 million civilians on the war front if this had been untouched by the United States. In the fashion of DJT (I don't want to 'trigger anyone, so I don't use the full name - SMH) and considering his THREE Nobel Peace Prize nominations, and now with DSJ* and his masters at the helm, everything is going to pot... both literally and figuratively. This idea is difficult for me to share because it's so upsetting. At 65 years old, I've discovered that I've been put through a 'mill' designed to push my way of thinking towards a narrative that often, simply isn't factual. When I was a kid, lying to me was the most effective method of prompting me to 'reach out and touch' someone. Call me crazy, but lying to me (for no apparent reason) just pisses me off. If the U.S. wasn't providing funds and weapons, this war would have found a natural end long ago. Due the the world-wide military/industrial complex and the money involved, it's being prolonged in an effort to line the pockets of tyrants and promote a centralized control or management of the world's populations (Please note how the more educated populations are being propagandized the most). I must add that the most damning effect these efforts have cultivated weigh on my mind terribly. Here in America where 'free speech' has been championed as the NUMBER ONE MUSCLE OF MANKIND, since it's founding, I have concerns about retaliation for simply sharing my point of view. This sucks big time. (re. DSJ*, figure it out... I'm sure you'll catch my drift) SMH, once again.

I need to go bunker hunting in Switzerland now! thanks for sharing this master piece!

Production value is off the Charts. As a swiss i thoroughly enjoyed the video, but i wish you would have gone more into the redoubt tactic and what the swiss people were willing to sacrifice in case of invasion. keep it up!

This documentary is amazing, but please make each shot longer. Its such a fast chop between shots and you never allow enough time for shots to linger, so I feel like I'm missing so much and not letting me absorb this beautifully shot and framed images

This was dope!! I know you love what you do!

Are the Swiss actually dwarves?

I'M READY! Heartbroken to hear about the Yellow Wrench..

This video is shot and edited with such a high level of production value! Thank you for this! Absolutely incredible.

Good on you snd thank you for presenting!!!!!!!! The people and their culture seems so strong & aware & alive!❤❤❤❤❤

Crazy high quality production values. Respect*

I cant believe Johnny was in a bunker.. and said " this place is nuts" instead of " This place is bunkers" missed opertunity

In 2012 my wife and I were on a train headed north from Geneva. I was looking out across open fields up ahead of the train when I spotted what looked like maybe an F-16 taxi out onto what looked like a large food producing field. I watched as the aircraft took off, then spotted another one taxiing out from an earth-covered bunker, and a third before I lost sight of them. I was amazed and seriously impressed.

Great video man!!

This, hands down, is one of the best documentary posts on RU-vid. This is not hyperbole whatsoever. It was astonishing in context, with cogent explanations, entertaining in a contributing way, and is produced with perfection e.g. one could say “it’s so Swiss.” I know a fair amount about the bunkers and feel that the narrative here is spot on-or more precisely, each segment and location packed a salvo of information gunning for the passes of our curiosity. And what can I say, after the good old U.S. of A, Switzerland is my second favorite country. I’m rather fond of their rail network and the terminal in Zurich. But, I digress. While watching this post I wondered about two things. First-how would the majority of Swiss bunkers withstand the 5,000 pound U.S. “bunker buster” bomb like the ones lobbed at Iraq in 2003? Second, with such HUGE guns tucked inside mountain beaver conduits, how well and for how long can the rock withstand the repeated concussion and recoil of the cannon when they are fired… …not to mention the decibel level, the deafening sound, of a firing gun echoing throughout the corridors of a bunker of any size? With each kaboom upon firing would assuredly give everyone the bunker shakes-I mean, if you’ve seen “The Hunger Games” you know what I mean. Finally, it’s been awhile since I’ve watched an “independent” RU-vid post that gave me a bang for my RU-vid “Premium” buck. Bravo!

I’m from Switzerland and my father has a bunker in his basement as well. As a child, I never realized that it was an actual BUNKER. We always stored food in it, but one day, my father explained, what it actually is and it blew my mind. I love how you dig into things like this, Johnny. Awesome video once again👏🏼😍

His video is like a movie...He knows how to keep the audience engaged from the beginning to the end, well-done, a lot of effort went into this video

This was the best youtube doco I've seen in ages. Well done.

the bunker hotel you stayed in was my favorite. ty for making another great vid

As a Swiss kid it was always completely normal for me, that the cellars had this big and heavy doors. Never really thought about it. It was just what a cellar had to look like for me (even though our own house didn‘t have a bunker due to being old).

I grew up in a city that has man made caves from the early 1900's for storing and keeping beer cool. Also some were used for growing mushrooms.

Great Video! Appreciate all the explanation of everything! Honestly makes me want to move there! 🤘🏼

Bro I just fucking loved that video ! It kept me interested through the whole thing, I've always always want to go to Switzerland. Thanks for a great video.

I'm swiss. Almost every mountain here is hollowed out and fitted with one or more artillery pieces. The whole Linth plain (where I live) is covered with anti-tank barriers and many areas have a flood plan in place to prevent enemy tanks from advancing further… really fascinating but so normal for us Swiss people 😅

Worked with a Swiss National for years who ended his service as a Lt. Col in the same anti-tank unit his father served in, protecting the same pass for 40+ years. Not only are the Swiss “bunkered in” but know every inch of the ground they are defending.

what a breath-taking content. i am at awe with your courageousness and meticulousness in making this video. i know how difficult this is. so thank you for letting us know. thank you for showing us.

Wowwww that piece blew my mind theres really so much i had no idea about THANK U JOHNNY FOR PIONEERING TODAYS INDEPENDANT JOURNALISM

Nice work Johnny. And yet, as you have indicated, just scraping the surface! I think people don't believe me when I tell them about a hatch cover I saw in a re-entrant beside a road in Switzerland when I was hitch-hiking in the 80s. As we drove along beside a steep mountain side I looked off to my left and fleetingly saw a hatch cover on a cliff face. The hatch cover was about the size of a large house with bolts around the raised perimeter. The bolt heads were each about the size of a small car. I never did find out what was in there. Fascinating.

this is a great video, im Swiss and i cant even express how much i love my country and how grateful i am to be able to feel this safe.

That's Awesome, Thanks for Finding All them Bunkers,💯

I came here expecting to watch a 'lite' video about Suisse bunkers but came away with way more. Kudos.

I just wanted to tell you how much you have helped me in my struggles with addiction and homelessness! Even been able to have 25 minutes clean time was a huge deal at one point! Now I'm approaching 12 months clean and nearly have my own house please God! I am in college now doing social studies but I want to be a investigate journalist and that's all because of you Johnny! I will get there and 2023 I wish you all the luck that you deserve! Keep doing you! Love from Dublin Ireland!

Switzerland did not just build bunkers, it basically turned the entire country into one massive fortress. As European I have been there several times. Loved the country, loved the culture, loved the people

This is so amazing and cool. I'm so glad I found your channel

Your content is so clean and refreshing. Subscribed. :)

From a Swiss perspective... this is incredibly well researched for RU-vid-video standards. You talked to different people, you managed to catch the essence of the topic, and you also shed a light on different political views and aspects. So often in internet-discussions you will only hear one side of the medal. E.g. when looking for the reason why Germany didn't attack us in WW2, where some people will say it was entirely due to the bunkers, and others will claim it was only because of the banks. You said it correctly, it was most probably both and an elaborate risk vs reward analysis. Same goes for the neutrality topic that was big in 2022 due to the Ukraine war. I am very much pro sanctions, because in my view neutrality does not mean inactivity. A judge or a referee is expected to be neutral, but sanctioning is part of their job by definition. However, I thought you shed light on both sides of the argument in an adequate way. Discussions and debates are a huge part of Swiss direct democracy. In the more recent years, certain groups and parties tried to underminde that by using more emotionalized and populist approaches, so it's nice to even see a foreigner capturing the essence of a civilized discussion, not giving any ground to those polarizing forces.

Would love to see a breakdown video on how you pack and the gear you bring on these adventures! Looks like you got a pretty good system

well done documentary!

wow i learned so much from this. great content

I'm a WW2 history freak, and, I'm blown away. I had no idea these bunkers were here, I'm fascinated. Thanks for this geez, amazing!

What you saw under the city with a room for surgery, patient care and essentially a morgue is a nuclear shelter for citizens. Until very recently, every resident of Switzerland needed a spot in one of those in the vicinity of their residence, or to build a bunker in their cellar that can provide shelter in case of a nuclear attack. Where I grew up in Switzerland, my family had spots in a nuclear shelter in the mountain behind the house, which has the same facilities, food rations for a specific amount of time and a bunk bed for everyone. Also, people doing civil service still are being trained in first aid, how to build rudimentary telephone lines etc and how to protect these sites. Imho this actually is a very good defense strategy: try invading a country where the majority of the population is prepared for such a worst case scenario, either through training in the military or in civil service. Anyone playing with the idea of an attack would have to consider the extremely high cost of doing so and the resistance they'd run into.

Does everyone overlook the genius of this guy? He used RU-vid to travel the world and tell amazing true stories. Wow

This story was absolutely amazing, thank you very much for uploading it and showing us how beautiful and secretive Switzerland actually really is. You sir, have a new subscriber. Thanks again, take care. ~Jonny5🥁

I am from Switzerland, went to google to look for some bunkers in a town next to me, because there are these Tankwalls Toblerone things. Turns out I drive everyday past a huge bunker system hidden in the valley pointing at the road, yet I never knew. Also important to mention is the swiss military has a giant high tech Air Force base in a mountain where they store, repair and rearm their jets.

When I was in Switzerland in May I remember seeing heavy duty metal doors randomly all over while driving and was wondering the purpose for such intense protection, it all makes sense now, very cool!!

I’m so hungry for good journalism like this! I know the world at large must be too. This is my 5th 30 min video of Johnny’s in a row 😂❤

Wow! I had no idea about this😳 Great video!

Now Johnny will stop whining about his favorite country.

An absolutely wonderful documentary about the soul of the Swiss people. Keep it up Johnny, compliments - many greetings from Switzerland, Thomas

Great stuff!!

Thanks for such a great documentary. i love it ! Kind regards from switzerland :D

In Sweden we have community bunkers/shelters that looks alot like the shelters in the video. Our bunkers/shelters all combined can accommodate approximately 7million of our citizens :)

This is amazing! I'm Swiss and I obviously know of the bunkers. In fact, we have one under our house too! But I never thought about how weird it must be for some other people to think about this. It's such a mundane thing for us, we don't even think about it.

What a great video! Great content!

Awesome video! Such an awesome concept the Swiss have!

Swiss Person here: As a child, I've always thought the bunkers we had everywhere in our woods where just like- what you could see, so one room. Windows and doors were shut, so it wasn't much more to see than a blob of concrete, the size of a small delivery van. I grew up with one of those "cellar-bunkers", and our school had two big bunkers as well, entire networks I've only ever explored parts of. In I think 7th grade our [sweetheart of a] teacher briefly told us about his time serving in the military in a HUGE bunker, an entire mountain. Even before I've stayed in these city-bunkers multiple times, either when helping out at Conventions/Events where it's easier to rent a bunker than a hotel, or when I was in gymnastics summer camp at my old school. When I moved out from home, our apartment building had maps and noticed on the wall detailing the way to the nearest nuclear safety bunker. That's the way it is, that's normal, we grow up with it. But I think most us "civillians", especially people who've not served in the military ever, will never TRULY realize just how fortified we are, have been, or could be. And we're not even talking about the idk how many bridges they would've blown up in case of invasion, or how we got a shitton of guns. It's fascinating to me, really, because you can stay completely oblivious to all that if you choose. And it's also just- easily forgotten, honestly.

That video was just sent to me. Great stuff and yes, as a Swiss soldier I've been doing some of my services in bunkers too.I think the most impressive bunker is the one where we store a bunch of F/A-18 Hornet fighter planes. So amazing when they roll out of the bunker.

Loving this channel ❤

wow that was amazing!

Probably the most engaging documentary I've seen in 2022. Loved the historical flashbacks and context! Great flow, energy and layering -- you're so good at what you do, Johnny!

as a Swiss its fascinating how people think of Switzerland as this peaceful Heidi like country with mountains and chocolate, yet not many people know how filled with bunkers guns and tanks are those mountains. xD great video, great explaining!!

Zurich airport took your wrench! My heart breaks for you dude, did they let you mail it to yourself? Also, amazing drone footage. Great video all in all - & even though you’re supposed to land and takeoff the drone outside, *I highly recommend a car with a sunroof* at least for roadtrip drone footage! This was my tactic during my road trip thru the Rockies with my homie a couple years ago. Flawless 💯 Epic video! Subbed

wow amazing video actually learn something about the world in a long time 👍

Same thing happened in Finland, but now that it's not a requirement to build bunkers into homes, my local council came up with a good idea. They tunnelled below the town and made underground parking, which also doubles as a bunker for the town. I guess the logic behind it is that it will pay itself off in parking fees. It also aides in traffic congestion as you can drive to different parts of the town through this network via one of the many entrances/exits.

I live in Switzerland, and I was tasked to create a "video essay" on our neutrality last summer. I wish I had this vid as a reference creatively and from a storytelling standpoint. Great work, Johnny and Team!

Well done, not far away from a bigger budget production, and much funnier :-)

Thank you so much for this vid❤

Thanks for all the generous comments everyone!

I lived in Switzerland for 16 years. The block of flats I lived in had a community bunker in the cellar space. It had two blast doors with a set of shower cubicles between them. This was so people arriving late in a Nuclear Fallout would be able to strip and shower off before entering the inner shelter. It was a little scary the first time we saw it.

Wow that’s incredible..smart to dig and dig deep

Switzerland is an amazing country, and I would love to visit one day! Thank you for the amazing video!

I've wanted to move to Switzerland for years. When I told my parents about my plans, they asked, "Why?" I replied, "Well, the flag is a big plus."

That was actually amazing to watch 🙂 Thanks for doing this video

Gorgeous video and sights dude! So amazing. And a lot of history to go with it. lol so awesome. 10/10, even the music was dope.

Great info man! I was in Switerland a few months ago. We went to a few world war two bunkers. Amazing country!

Really interesting video! Especially the dilemma of neutrality and how (or whether) to maintain that. The dedication to democracy is really impressive.

I was fortunate enough to travel to Switzerland as a teenager and loved it. Siglostorf was the name of the village i stayed in, and the people there were so incredibly kind and generous!! Thank you to Joseph and many others for hospitality i will never forget. I'd love to move there with my family. Big hug to the Swiss people!!!

its true, nearly every structure has one too. might be used for storage, a home theater or even a gun range, but theyre readily converted to survival shelters

Bro, that was definitely the most convincing Nord VPN add I have ever seen or heard. Good job. I’m gonna do it now

Thanks for the video. Being Swiss, the scale of our bunker system never ceases to amaze me. Three things to add: During WWII, the idea was for the government to perform its functions from the redoubt in case of an invasion. Private cellar bunkers aren‘t mandatory in new constructions anymore, but all inhabitants have a place in a public bunker. The chalet bunkers weren‘t primarily camouflaged to hide them from enemy intelligence but rather to not destroy the picturesque views of the towns and landscapes.

As a Swiss I must say that Switzerland and the way we think around here was depicted very well in this video. Especially the point regarding modern neutrality is still discussed even around young people. Very cool and interesting video!

I live in Liechtenstein, a really small country. And my old elementary school had one of these bunkers, also with one of the big doors and similiar beds.