Tito's bunker in Konjic has been a well-kept secret for years. It was built in secret from 1953 to 1979, called DO ARK (Atomic reserve command), in order to get Tito and his 350 closest associates to safety in case of an atomic catastrophe. This imposing space, concrete mass structures, occupies 6,500 square meters of space and is located about 300 meters below the surface of the earth.
The Bunker was built with the intent that, in the case of (atomic) war, it functions as a center of military operations (shelter for Supreme Command Staff) and shelter for President Tito, his family and closest associates. This building, reminiscent of a labyrinth, with more than a hundred rooms and a fully preserved inventory (consisting of numerous residential areas, conference rooms, offices and "presidential blocks"), was designed to provide uninterrupted living space for 350 people for six months. Until the early 1990s this construction (in which 4.6 billion US dollars were invested) and its existence was the most heavily guarded military secret.
Nature hiding a nuclear bunker
The object, in general known as Tito`s bunker, consists of three parts. The first is visible and is called the camouflage section, consisting of three buildings: a residency facility, a facility for closer insurance of former SFRY President Josip Broz -Tito, and the facility where technical support staff should be located.
When you go through the hallway of the first house, three heavy metal doors are opened, 1.20 meters thick, behind which there is a tunnel leading you to the heart of an atomic shelter at a depth of 280 meters and a length of 202 meters. The tunnels connect the camouflage part with Part III of the object - an atomic shelters that can withstand a 20-tonne nuclear impact. The tunnel walls, made of wood, were constructed entirely by hand. The whole object is illuminated by 6,000 neon lights.
The third part of the building is in the form of a chassis (horseshoe) and it is a protected part, because it contains protection systems, anti-fire system, nuclear weapon protection system, airIt is divided into 12 blocks. The most significant blocks are 6 (communications), 8 (Tito block), 9 (air-conditioning lungs), 10 (oil tanks) and 11 (water).
An object with ideal living conditions
In the event of a nuclear bomb threat, the bunker was ready to receive 350 people from the highest military and political top of the former SFRY. They could stay for six months without any contact with the outside world, because the bunker had everything they need for normal life.
The Bunker covers a total of 6,854 sqm, has over 100 dormitories with comfortable beds, two large conference rooms, five operational centers with direct telephone connections with the presidencies of the federal republics and cable television, two kitchens, five large toilets, crypto center, an operating salon hospital. There are also a number of rooms within the facility for a total of 21 maintenance systems. It contains two tanks of 50 tonnes of oil, two types of climate, a pool of 170 cubic meters of water, liquid water and a natural well in the mountain. Each system has an alternative in the event of the first one not functioning.
Tito's residence in this building is elite. It consists of five rooms: the secretarial and party room leading to Tito's office connected to the bedroom and from which one can enter the room of the first lady of former Yugoslavia Jovanka Broz. The temperature in the bunker is between 21 and 23 degrees Celsius and air humidity of 60 to 70 percent, which is ideal for life. There is a forced exit from the object that is not mapped. It leads to a hill above the bunker (an altitude of 170 meters).
