Switzerland is a politically neutral country, yet it has a strong military.
Enormous caverns are dugout on the mountain side to function as ad-hoc airbases with hangars.
Highways can be converted into runways by quickly removing the grade separations in between the lanes.
Every male citizen under 34 years old (under 50 in some cases) is a reserve soldier.
Soldiers are even allowed to take all personally assigned weapons to home.
If anyone were to invade Switzerland, they would find a nation armed to the teeth.
The country hasn’t been involved in any military conflict for 200 years.
A bunker disguised as a house.Photo credit
Fortification of the Swiss alpine region began in the 1880s.
They were intensified and modernized during the World War and again during the Cold War period.
Some have been converted into shelters for homeless people, others house things like museums and hotels.
“Neutrality is no guarantee against radioactivity,” they say.
In 1978, a law was passed requiring all new buildings to incorporate a shelter.
If a family decides against building a shelter, they must pay for a place in the public shelter.
Another bunker disguised as a barn.Photo credit
Photo credit
Sources:MiGFlug/Swissinfo.ch/NY Times/RT.com/The Guardian
