A little story of a lonely bomb shelter long forgotten

Along the streets, in the middle of the woods, on the nearby beaches and rocks – everywhere around me there are little details that I have not noticed before. Not even if I have been passing by dozens of times.

Sometimes I find myself walking with my eyes wide open but gazing at the neverending emptiness. I can see things but I don’t look at them.

Such details exist also in my home town Rauma. Such details as old bomb shelters. We have so many of them, built for different wars. Some of them were, luckily, never needed. Some of them are in use still today.

One of them houses a gym and a dojo. One of them is a cozy restaurant called Wanhan Rauman Kellari (Old Rauma Cellar), which is worth a dinner in case you ever visit Rauma.

One of them is standing in a park called Nyberginpuisto, next to a children’s playground. The bomb shelter itself could be a bit of a dangerous spot for children’s play, I would guess. Of course I can’t be sure, because I have never gone in.

The doors on both entrances are heavily locked, but some teenagers, I suppose, have dug tunnels going under them. I am sure, very sure, that some kids have crawled to the other side, many times. I wouldn’t fit to crawl in, I think. Although, I have never tried.

The roof of the old bomb shelter would be big enough for a football game, so the bunker itself is spacious, I suppose. It would be exciting to go in one day.

On top of the entrance you can see the year 1944. A local company that was producing defence material for the Winter War and Continuation War built the bomb shelter for protection for its’ staff in case of an air strike. Luckily the bunker was never really needed as the war ended soon after the bomb shelter got finished.

Are there similar details in your home town as well? Long forgotten buildings or items whose existence hardly anyone ever notices? Details that are just standing there, as they have been standing for years. Items that have, over years, merged into their surroundings so well that today they are difficult to see even if you passed them by every single day.