Titos bunker history and facts
Armijska Ratna Komanda ARK D-0 KONJIC, also known as the Ark, ARK/D-0, Atomska Ratna Komanda, and nicknamed Tito's bunker Konjic, is a Cold War era underground nuclear bunker and military command center located near the town of Konjic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Built underground, to protect Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito and up to 350 members of his inner circle in the event of an atomic conflict, the structure is made up of residential areas, conference rooms, offices, strategic planning rooms, and other areas. The bunker remained a state secret until after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
The facility was under construction for 26 years, from 1953 until 1979. The construction cost about 4.6 billion U.S. dollars, what would be equal to over 10 billions U.S. in today's value The Cold War (in which SFRY had a very specific role), was time of fears of a nuclear disaster, but also a time of utopian ideas about world peace and the present time, which is characterized by an apocalyptic scenario of the end of the world. Hence, object D-0 was created to make sure that important persons and intelligence of Yugoslavia would survive that cataclysm.
The construction of the object began in 1953, as decided by the highest-ranking commanders of the former Yugoslav People Army. The information about the object was known only to Tito himself, Chief of Federal Secretary of Peoples Defense (SSNO), Chief of Headquarters of Yugoslav Peoples Army (JNA), Chief of State Security Administration, and Chief of Communications of Federal Secretary of Peoples Defense, 6 people in total. The complete secrecy of D-0 was kept until after the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992, when the Yugoslav Peoples Army soldiers left the object and handed it over to Territorial Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and later Army of B&H and Armed Forces of B&H.
Today the facility is preserveing intact with all its symbols of the social, economical, political and ideological system of Socialist Yugoslavia and since 2011, when first exibition of contemporary art biennial project happenswith the fact that during the war of the 1990s many monuments in the former Yugoslavia were destroyed, ARK is a unique exhibition space, a nontraditional artistic setting from both a psychological and intellectual point of view. Therefore since 2011. D-0 ARK is becoming hybrid museum between military, historical and contemporay artefacts.
Guided tours for general public became available only in 2011, when Ministry of Defense of B&H, in presence of NATO, proclaimed that the object had no military perspective, everything moved by the idea of contemporary art project called Biennial D-0 ARK Underground which was implemented for the first time and proclaimed as cultural event of Eurpe by Council od Europe.
Project Biennial primarily associates the period of the Cold War (in which SFRY had a very specific role), time of fears of a nuclear disaster but also a time of utopian ideas about world peace, the present time, which is characterized by an apocalyptic scenario end of the world. The goal of Project Biennial, no matter its biennial form, is to establish unique institution a hybrid museum as a result of the merger of military museum and contemporary art museum. Entire Project is inspired by the nuclear shelter a military object today, without any function, and thus no future.
The organizers believe that contemporary visual art can save the bunker from the inevitable disappearance and thus save extraordinary artifact of Yugoslavias socialist past, Cold War era and global paranoia of nuclear war. Over fifty works of art have remained on-site as permanent exhibits.
Titos bunker purpose
Built underground, to protect Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito and up to 350 members of his inner circle in the event of an atomic conflict, the structure is made up of residential areas, conference rooms, offices, strategic planning rooms, and other areas.
Bunker remained a state secret until after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
History
Armijska Ratna Komanda ARK D-0, also known as the Ark, ARK/D-0, Atomska Ratna Komanda, and nicknamed Tito's bunker, is a Cold War era underground nuclear bunker and military command center located near the town of Konjic in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The facility was under construction for 26 years, from 1953 until 1979. The construction cost about 4.6 billion U.S. dollars, what would be equal to over 10 billions U.S. in today's value
Present
Since 2011. D-0 ARK is becoming hybrid museum between military, historical and contemporay artefacts.
Guided tours for general public became available only in 2011, when Ministry of Defense of B&H, in presence of NATO, proclaimed that the object had no military perspective, everything moved by the idea of contemporary art project called Biennial D-0 ARK Underground
FUN FACT 1
The complete secrecy of D-0 was kept until after the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992. Only 6 people knew about bunker, including Tito himself.
FUN FACT 2
Built underground to withstand a 20-kiloton nuclear blast, it's divided into 12 blocks, the most important being Blocks 6 (communication), 8 (Tito's block), 9 (air filtration), 10 (fuel storage), and 11 (water storage). Designed to protect and accommodate up to 350 people for up to six month, and contains over 100 rooms.
FUN FACT 3
Tito s bed in the Block 8 of the ARK (Photo on the left)
