Schutzraum is an independent platform that displays shelters in Germany on a map. It helps citizens find potential shelter locations such as bunkers, underground garages, subway stations, and tunnels near them. The site is not an official recommendation but an information resource.
No. Schutzraum is an independent, private project and has no connection to the German federal government or authorities. Official information on civil protection is available from the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) and through the NINA warning app.
No. As of March 2026, the German government has not released an app specifically for shelters. The BBK's NINA warning app provides alerts about current dangers but does not include a map of shelters. The Federal Office for Civil Protection has not published a public database or app that systematically catalogs shelters. Schutzraum aims to fill exactly this gap.
Yes, Schutzraum is and will remain completely free. The map and all shelter data are accessible without registration. A free account enables additional features like favorites, submissions, and API access. There are no ads. The project is funded by donations and run by volunteers.
Under News, you'll find automatically curated articles about shelters, bunkers, and civil protection. The articles come from public RSS feeds of various news sources and are updated regularly. You can search the news by keyword. Schutzraum is not responsible for the content of external sources — articles link to the original pages.
Schutzraum is available in 21 languages: German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian, Arabic, Persian, Kurdish, Bulgarian, Greek, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Danish, Czech, and Portuguese. You can change the language at any time via the language menu in the top right corner.
Always follow the instructions of the responsible authorities. Install the NINA warning app from the BBK to receive current alerts. Schutzraum can help you identify potential shelter locations nearby in advance — every minute counts in an emergency. In case of danger, seek the nearest solid shelter (basement, underground garage, subway) and stay there until the all-clear is given.
Stay calm and follow any on-site instructions. Bring your emergency kit (water, medications, documents, charger). Set your phone to silent but keep it on for warning messages. Help others, especially elderly people, children, and persons with disabilities. Do not leave the shelter until the official all-clear is given.
This depends greatly on the type of shelter. Simple protective locations like underground garages or subway stations are designed for short-term stays of a few hours. Professional bunkers with ventilation systems, water supply and sanitary facilities can provide protection for several days when fully equipped. In practice, you should prepare for a stay of at least 24 hours and bring water, food and medications accordingly.
If no designated shelter is within reach, seek the nearest solid protection: Go to the basement of your building, an underground garage or a windowless interior room on the ground floor. Avoid windows, glass facades and upper floors. Lie flat on the ground and protect your head and neck. Even a simple basement provides significantly more protection than being outdoors or in a room with windows.
There is no uniform regulation. In many cases, pets are tolerated in shelters, especially dogs and cats in carriers. However, there may be restrictions due to space and hygiene concerns. Prepare a separate emergency bag for your pet (food, water, leash, carrier). When in doubt, human safety should always take priority — but take your pet with you if possible.
Under the Emergency Kit menu item, you'll find a comprehensive checklist. The most important items: water (2 liters per person/day), non-perishable food, essential medications, ID and documents, flashlight, power bank and charging cable, warm clothing, and a blanket. Prepare an emergency backpack that's ready to grab.
Yes! The Schutzraum app is available for iOS and Android. Download it for free from the App Store or Google Play.
The app offers an interactive map with all shelters, nearest shelter search with walking directions, offline maps for emergencies, favorites, photo submissions, reviews, and push notifications for important updates. You can also submit new shelters directly from the app.
The app offers offline maps, push notifications, and faster access to location features. All other features like submissions, corrections, and reviews are available on both platforms. The website additionally offers the blog and the emergency checklist.
Yes! The app supports offline maps. Download map areas in advance to find shelters nearby even without an internet connection. This is especially important in an emergency.
The app processes location data exclusively on your device. No movement data is sent to our servers. The app only requires location permission to find the nearest shelter. All other permissions are optional. More info in our privacy policy.
Yes! The app receives official warnings from the BBK (NINA). In case of a hazard near you, you'll receive a push notification with the nearest shelter and distance. You can enable or disable warnings in the settings.
Yes. You can save frequently used addresses (e.g. home, work) and shelters as favorites. These are quickly accessible via the star button on the map. Favorites sync with your account and are available on all devices.
Yes! On each shelter detail page there's a 'Submit photo' button. You can take a photo directly or choose from your gallery. The capture date is automatically read from EXIF data. Submitted photos are reviewed before publication.
In the app, you'll find a donation page in the account section. You can donate via PayPal, Ko-fi or Patreon. Donors receive a 💎 symbol next to their name and are highlighted on the leaderboard.
No, core features (map, shelter search, offline maps) work without signing in. A free account additionally enables: saving favorites, submitting shelters, uploading photos, leaving reviews, and syncing your emergency checklist progress.
The list view works offline if you have previously visited the page. However, the map view requires an internet connection for map tiles. With the upcoming app, full offline use will also be possible.
Discuss an emergency plan with your family: Establish meeting points in case you can't reach each other. Identify the nearest shelter in your area and practice the route. Pack an emergency kit for each family member. Install the NINA warning app on all smartphones. Discuss who will take care of elderly relatives or pets.
Bunkers and above-ground bunkers are massive protective structures, mostly dating from World War II. Underground bunkers are located below ground. Underground garages offer some protection due to their subterranean construction. Subway stations are deep underground and often quickly accessible. Tunnels (highway, road, and historical tunnels) also provide protection through their solid construction. Basements are the simplest form but already offer basic protection in many buildings.
A shelter (Schutzraum) is a structure specifically built or converted for the protection of the population — typically bunkers with ventilation systems, blast doors and reinforced walls. A protective location (Schutzort) is any place that can offer a degree of protection due to its construction, even if it wasn't built for that purpose — for example underground garages, subway stations or basements. On our map, we use the term shelter as an umbrella term for both categories.
The capacity indicates approximately how many people the shelter can accommodate. For underground garages, it is calculated from the number of parking spaces (one space can accommodate several people). For tunnels, the capacity is estimated based on tunnel length, number of tubes, and usable width. For bunkers and other shelter types, it is based on historical or official data when available. All capacity values are approximate and may differ from the actual intake capacity.
The displayed condition is an estimate and is not based on an official inspection. As a rule of thumb: if a facility is still actively used (e.g. as a parking garage or subway station), it is likely in good structural condition. Facilities that are no longer in operation (e.g. decommissioned bunkers) are rated as medium to poor condition. For many historic shelters, no current information is available — the condition is then shown as "Unknown". If in doubt, we recommend checking the shelter in person.
The protection level is an estimate based on the type of shelter — it has not been measured on-site or officially certified. Generally: only active, massively built bunkers and high-rise bunkers with reinforced concrete walls, ventilation systems, and blast doors receive a "High" protection level. Parking garages, subway stations, tunnels, and basements offer some protection from debris and blast waves due to their underground location, but are rated as "Medium" to "Low" since they were not designed as shelters. The actual level of protection depends on many factors (wall thickness, depth, condition) and may vary in individual cases.
Tunnels are displayed as a simplified straight line between their entry and exit points. The actual route may differ, as tunnels often follow curves. The representation serves as an orientation for where the tunnel is approximately located and where the entrances are.
No. According to official statements, Germany currently does not have enough shelters for the entire population. Many former Cold War shelters were released from civil protection obligations after 2007 and repurposed or demolished. The BBK estimates that existing shelter capacity covers only a fraction of the population. This makes it all the more important to know alternatives like underground garages, subway stations and basements as potential shelter locations.
Yes. Since 2022, there have been political efforts to strengthen civil protection in Germany again. The federal government has announced plans to review existing shelters and potentially reactivate them. The BBK is working on an inventory of public shelters. Some municipalities have already begun re-designating underground garages and other subterranean facilities as shelters. However, the process is still in its early stages and will take years.
The data comes from public sources, OpenStreetMap, media reports, and community contributions. It is compiled to the best of our knowledge but may be incomplete or outdated. In particular, the structural condition and accessibility of shelters can change at any time. When in doubt, you should verify the shelter on-site yourself.
The verification checkmark means that additional research has been conducted for this shelter to improve the accuracy of the data. This may include an on-site inspection, but also research via satellite imagery, map services, online sources, media reports, interviews with local residents, or official documents. Time was specifically invested to gather information from various sources to get the most accurate picture possible. Verified shelters therefore generally have more reliable data than unverified ones. However, verification is not an official certification and does not guarantee that all information is current and correct.
Location data is processed exclusively on your device. If you create an account, your name, username, and email address are stored. You can request a GDPR data export or completely delete your account at any time. For more information, see our privacy policy.
You can help in several ways: Create a free account and submit new shelters or suggest corrections for existing entries. Check shelters on-site and share your observations. Share the site with friends and family. If you're a developer, you can request an API key in your account.
Data is continuously updated as new information becomes available. Registered users can submit corrections directly through the platform. Verified shelters are regularly reviewed. Since the structural condition of shelters can change at any time, we recommend checking on-site.
Click on Register and enter your name, username, and email address. You will receive a confirmation code and a link by email. Your account is only created after confirmation. An account allows you to save shelters as favorites, submit entries, suggest corrections, and request an API key.
Go to the login page and enter your email address. You will receive a link and an 8-digit code by email. On the same device, you can click the link — on another device, enter the code. There is no password, login is done securely via email. If the email doesn't arrive, you can request a new one.
Yes, in your account settings you can change your name, username, and email address. For email changes, a confirmation email is sent to the new address. The change only takes effect after entering the confirmation code.
Yes, you can delete your account at any time in your account settings. All your personal data, favorites, and sessions will be permanently deleted. Submitted shelters and corrections remain anonymized.
As a logged-in user, you can mark shelters as favorites (star icon). Your favorites can be found in your account overview. This way, you always have the most important shelters at a glance.
Badges reward your engagement. You earn badges for approved submissions (First Responder, Cartographer, Expert), approved corrections (Corrector, Reviewer), photos (Photographer, Photo Pro), community engagement (Explorer, Master), and donations. View all badges with progress in the 'Badges' tab in your account.
The checklist helps you prepare an emergency kit. You can check off items — progress is saved. When signed in, the checklist syncs between website and app, so you have the same progress on all devices.
Yes, to prevent spam, there are daily limits: By default, you can submit a maximum of 10 shelters per day and suggest a maximum of 20 corrections. These limits reset daily at midnight. You can see your current usage in your account. If you regularly reach the limits, they can be increased upon request.
Yes, Schutzraum offers a REST API for registered users. To use the API, create a free account and request an API key in your account profile. The key will be activated after manual review (usually within 48 hours). The API provides shelter data as JSON and GeoJSON. All endpoints can be found in the API documentation.
Some shelters are marked as accessible if they have an elevator or ground-level access. Unfortunately, accessibility is often limited in many historical bunkers and tunnels. On each shelter's detail page, you can find information about wheelchair accessibility and whether an elevator is available.
Currently, Schutzraum focuses exclusively on Germany. Expansion to other countries is conceivable in principle but not currently planned. Some other countries have their own civil protection databases maintained by their respective authorities.
