@flapiz 15 September 2022

A Visit to The German Underground Hospital in Guernsey

Hello readers! Today, I am going to be showing you around Guernsey's German Underground Hospital. I was hesitant to enter it at first as a lot of people had told me that the place give them the creeps. And being a nurse, I don't really want to associate anything supernatural or scary to hospitals. But let's just say, my curiosity got the better of me so I went there for a visit with my friend, Ermy.

Now here's a little side bit of history, since this is a place of historical importance after all. During most of World War II, the Channel Islands had been occupied by Nazi Germany up until it's liberation day on the 9th of May 1945. During the occupation, a lot of German structures were erected in Guernsey and the largest of them all is the German Underground Hospital which is almost 7,000 square metres of maze tunnels!

This hospital was used by the German troops between 1940 to 1945. Initially, it was built as an ammunition store for machine guns but around 1944 it was decided to turn it into a hospital. The hospital is built under a small hill in the heart of Guernsey countryside in the Parish of St. Andrew which makes it almost invisible from the surface, apart from its entrances. It became possible through efforts of forced workers and builders and some of them even perished during the building process.

The current admission fee for the year 2022 are as follows: adult £4.50; child under 15 y.o. £2.50; infant under 2 y.o. free entry. The hospital is open daily from 10 AM to 4PM. According to the lady issuing our tickets, one can even make arrangements to sleep overnight or visit the hospital at night time specially during Halloween time. The hospital can also serve as venues for special events and was known to have been transformed as a fashion shows stage, photography gallery, and also a musical theatre stage.

If you're a history fan or mainly looking for some spook, then the German Underground Hospital is definitely a place to visit. I must admit the place did give me the creeps too but it may just be because it is quite chilly inside the tunnels. I enjoyed my visit as it is interesting for me to see how healthcare has evolved from then till now. And I think we are quite lucky to be in this generation and to be enjoying a better healthcare situation. It may not be perfect yet, but it did come a long way and the conditions are a lot better. Anyhow that concludes this tour. I hope you enjoyed this!