The (formerly) stashed billions of the Bundesbank | All media content | DW | 19.03.2022

Visit the new DW website

Take a look at the beta version of dw.com. We're not done yet! Your opinion can help us make it better.

Go to the new dw.com

We use cookies to improve our service for you. You can find more information in our data protection declaration.

More info OK
  1. Inhalt
  2. Navigation
  3. Weitere Inhalte
  4. Metanavigation
  5. Suche
  6. Choose from 30 Languages

World

The (formerly) stashed billions of the Bundesbank

Once upon a time, the Bundesbank bunker in Cochem stored emergency currency for use in the event of a crisis. It was so secret that allegedly not even neighbors knew about it. Today it is a museum.

  • Entrance area of the former bunker of the Bundesbank in Cochem.

    Well-hidden — the entrance area of the bunker

    Disguised as a school and recreation home of the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, the bunker was built between 1962 and 1964 under a 8,700 square-meter (93,647 square-foot) plot of land in a residential area in Cochem in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The population suspected that there was a bunker, but the purpose of the facility was completely unknown even to direct neighbors.

  • A staircase leads to the inside of the bunker.

    30 meters under the ground

    The location was deliberately chosen at the time: It was hoped that the Moselle Valley would provide good protection against a nuclear blast wave. Up to DM15 billion (€7.6 billion at today's rate) of a secret emergency currency was stored in the then top-secret facility.

  • Two hands holding up deutsche mark notes and substitute notes

    Emergency currency in the event of a crisis

    During the Cold War, the federal government feared that counterfeit money would be smuggled into the country in large quantities. The consequences would have been devastating: If confidence in the deutsche mark was lost, the entire national economy could collapse. It was therefore decided to print a parallel substitute currency — the BBK II.

  • A thick steel door protects the vault of the bunker in Cochem.

    Behind thick steel doors

    The vault itself could only be entered by a few Bundesbank employees. The combination and key were stored in Frankfurt am Main. For protection, sensors were installed in the walls that reacted to noise and vibrations. When an alarm was triggered, the local police were automatically notified, but they also did not know what was in the bunker.

  • Boxes and a mannequin stand where the secret money was once stored.

    Secret stash

    Around 15 billion of this secret currency were stored in boxes in the bunker in Cochem in small bills of 10, 20, 50 and 100 deutsche marks. In an emergency, the old deutsche mark bills would have been withdrawn and the replacement series issued. Every three months, employees of the Bundesbank from Frankfurt randomly checked the stocks.

  • Electronic equipment on a table in a bunker

    Technology from another time

    Not only the money would have been safe in Cochem: In the event of a nuclear war, it would have been possible to survive for two weeks in the bunker in Cochem. There was a direct radio link to the Federal Interior Ministry in Bonn, diesel generators for electricity, 18,000 liters (4,755 US gallons) of fuel reserve and a deep well with a 40,000-liter water tank to supply drinking water.

  • A woman walking past storage rooms

    Protection for some civilians

    In case of an emergency, the bunker could have accommodated 80 civilians. There were sleeping rooms, work rooms and a sand filter, which was supposed to ensure the flow of fresh air. Unfortunately, there is no further information on which 80 people would have found shelter here in the event of a nuclear attack.

  • A sign reading Bundesbank Bunker Cochem

    Money for nothing

    In 1988, it was decided to destroy the spare money, as the security features on the bills were no longer sufficient and the need for cash was no longer considered urgent due to electronic payment transactions. The bunker in Cochem initially stood empty. In 2014, it was sold to an investor and has been open to visitors since 2016.


  • Entrance area of the former bunker of the Bundesbank in Cochem.

    Well-hidden — the entrance area of the bunker

    Disguised as a school and recreation home of the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, the bunker was built between 1962 and 1964 under a 8,700 square-meter (93,647 square-foot) plot of land in a residential area in Cochem in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The population suspected that there was a bunker, but the purpose of the facility was completely unknown even to direct neighbors.

  • A staircase leads to the inside of the bunker.

    30 meters under the ground

    The location was deliberately chosen at the time: It was hoped that the Moselle Valley would provide good protection against a nuclear blast wave. Up to DM15 billion (€7.6 billion at today's rate) of a secret emergency currency was stored in the then top-secret facility.

  • Two hands holding up deutsche mark notes and substitute notes

    Emergency currency in the event of a crisis

    During the Cold War, the federal government feared that counterfeit money would be smuggled into the country in large quantities. The consequences would have been devastating: If confidence in the deutsche mark was lost, the entire national economy could collapse. It was therefore decided to print a parallel substitute currency — the BBK II.

  • A thick steel door protects the vault of the bunker in Cochem.

    Behind thick steel doors

    The vault itself could only be entered by a few Bundesbank employees. The combination and key were stored in Frankfurt am Main. For protection, sensors were installed in the walls that reacted to noise and vibrations. When an alarm was triggered, the local police were automatically notified, but they also did not know what was in the bunker.

  • Boxes and a mannequin stand where the secret money was once stored.

    Secret stash

    Around 15 billion of this secret currency were stored in boxes in the bunker in Cochem in small bills of 10, 20, 50 and 100 deutsche marks. In an emergency, the old deutsche mark bills would have been withdrawn and the replacement series issued. Every three months, employees of the Bundesbank from Frankfurt randomly checked the stocks.

  • Electronic equipment on a table in a bunker

    Technology from another time

    Not only the money would have been safe in Cochem: In the event of a nuclear war, it would have been possible to survive for two weeks in the bunker in Cochem. There was a direct radio link to the Federal Interior Ministry in Bonn, diesel generators for electricity, 18,000 liters (4,755 US gallons) of fuel reserve and a deep well with a 40,000-liter water tank to supply drinking water.

  • A woman walking past storage rooms

    Protection for some civilians

    In case of an emergency, the bunker could have accommodated 80 civilians. There were sleeping rooms, work rooms and a sand filter, which was supposed to ensure the flow of fresh air. Unfortunately, there is no further information on which 80 people would have found shelter here in the event of a nuclear attack.

  • A sign reading Bundesbank Bunker Cochem

    Money for nothing

    In 1988, it was decided to destroy the spare money, as the security features on the bills were no longer sufficient and the need for cash was no longer considered urgent due to electronic payment transactions. The bunker in Cochem initially stood empty. In 2014, it was sold to an investor and has been open to visitors since 2016.


More in the Media Center

Embargoed until May 8, 2022 - 16:00 GMT / German Chancellor Olaf Scholz makes a televised speech on May 8, 2022, the 77th anniversary of the 1945 victory against Nazi Germany. (Photo by Britta Pedersen / POOL / AFP)

Chancellor Scholz: Putin falsifying history 08.05.2022

German-Russian relations through history

German-Russian relations through history 19.03.2022

DW Sendung Euromaxx

Automotive History: the August Horch Museum in Zwickau 27.12.2021

DW Sendung Euromaxx DW euromaxx 14.03.2020 Baumkuchen

Three European sweets with tasty backstories 28.02.2022

More from German News Service

Teaser: Water appears to be nature's most renewable resource. Rain replenishes reservoirs above and below ground. But our planet faces increasing shortages. Eco India looks at efforts to secure crucial water supplies. Sendung vom 29.04.2022 Bilder aus der DW-Sendung EcoIndia

Drought shrinks Germany's lakes 25.06.2022

Füssen ist eine Stadt im bayerisch-schwäbischen Landkreis Ostallgäu. Sie liegt im Südwesten Bayerns an der Romantischen Straße und an der Via Claudia Augusta. Altstadt von Füssen ( Ostallgäu, Bayern ) Feet is a City in Bavarian Swabian County Ostallgäu Them is in South West Bavaria to the romantic Road and to the Via Claudia Augusta Old Town from Feet Ostallgäu Bavaria

The Romantic Road 25.06.2022

Schlagworte: Mukoviszidose, Medikamente, In Good Shape Copyright: NDR Bildbeschreibung: Still aus Beitrag „Mukoviszidose“

New cystic fibrosis treatment 24.06.2022

Type 2 diabetes. File photo dated 15/07/14 of a child being weighed on scales. Diabetes UK has said the rising tide of obesity has led to thousands of youngsters having Type 2 diabetes. Issue date: Thursday November 22, 2018. The charity reported that 6,836 children and young adults have Type 2 diabetes in England and Wales, according to data from GP surgeries. See PA story HEALTH Diabetes. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire URN:39827528 |

The Diet Shot 24.06.2022

Read also

HANDOUT - 20.06.2022, Niederlande, Herwen-Hemeling: Archäologen haben im Osten der Niederlande eine fast vollständig erhaltene römische Tempelanlage gefunden - hier Altarsteine (undatierte Aufnahme). Der Fund habe auch international eine hohe Bedeutung, teilte das Reichsamt für Kulturelles Erbe am Montag mit. «Noch nie zuvor wurde in den Niederlanden eine so vollständige Anlage gefunden mit Tempelgebäude, Weihealtären und Kuhlen mit Resten von Opfern.» Foto: Archäologisches Forschungsinstitut RAAP/dpa - ACHTUNG: Nur zur redaktionellen Verwendung im Zusammenhang mit der aktuellen Berichterstattung und nur mit vollständiger Nennung des vorstehenden Credits +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++

Dutch researchers uncover Roman temple complex 20.06.2022

In a "highly unusual find," archaeologists in the Netherlands uncovered the remains of temples where Roman soldiers once paid tribute to their gods and goddesses.

Nach dem Niedergang des Dritten Reichs” kommt das volle Ausmaß der Nazi-Gräuel zum Vorschein. Kann nach der Unfassbarkeit von Auschwitz und der Shoah Antisemitismus noch möglich sein? Fotograf: © arte (Stills aus einer arte-Doku) Rechte: Verwendung nur im Zusammenhang mit dieser Dokumentation Schlagwörter: Antisemitismus, Holocaust, Shoah, Nazis, Israel, Zionismus, Antizionismus Via Cordula Mücke-Ballue

A History of Antisemitism - The New Face of Antisemitism: 1945 to Today 22.06.2022

After the fall of Germany’s "Third Reich,” the full extent of Nazi atrocities came to light. Today, after the incomprehensible crimes of Auschwitz and the Shoah, how can antisemitism still exist?

ARCHIV - 17.03.2021, Brandenburg, Sieversdorf: ILLUSTRATION: Viele Eurobanknoten stecken in einer Geldbörse (gestellte Aufnahme). Zu dpa: (Schlechte Stimmung in der Wirtschaft - Inflation steigt rasant an) Foto: Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++

Bundesbank raises inflation forecast for 2022 10.06.2022

Germany's Bundesbank has predicted annual inflation of 7.1% as prices spiral upward. The central bank also cut its economic growth forecast, warning that the situation could get worse depending on the war in Ukraine.

++Bildmaterial lediglich für eine aktuelle Berichterstattung über die Ausstellung unter Angabe der entsprechenden Bildlegende++ Märchenerzähler – al-Hakauwati © Lutz Jäkel Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum - Kulturen der Welt 9. Juni bis 11. September 2022

Remembering vibrant daily life in Syria before the war 19.06.2022

"Syria — Against Forgetting," at Cologne’s Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, focuses on Syria's artistic and cultural heritage and pays tribute to the country before the war.