Hidden bunkers: testimonies of the past

A testimony of the heavy German presence at Saint-Germain during the Occupation, more than a dozen bunkers still exist here, hidden around the town.
They are an integral part of the urban landscape even though few of them are visible.

Between 1940 and 1944, nearly 20,000 Germain soldiers and officers occupied the town, which was the general staff headquarters of German forces in the occupied zone. Built in large numbers, these bunkers were mainly civil defence structures.

The best known is undoubtedly the one on Rue Félicien David. Partially buried underground, it could house several hundred soldiers and provide them with safe shelter in case of bombings. One of its rooms received all telephone lines from the Atlantic front for the Commander in Chief, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt.

The Saint-Germain-en-Laye bunkers are located at:

- Parc du Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
- Cité Médicis, rue Thiers
- Pavillon Henri IV, below the Hôtel
- Quartier Gramont, rue Saint-Louis
- 25 bis rue Alexandre Dumas
- Villa David, rue Alexandre Dumas
- Collège Marcel-Roby, two structures hidden in the park
- Rue Félicien-David, the shelter for von Rundstedt's command centre
- 4 rue Félicien-David, shooting post extending onto the street
- 13 rue des Monts-Grevets, gun-turret placed in a garden
- 6 bis boulevard Victor-Hugo, now a garage
- 10 ter boulevard Victor-Hugo, shelter covered with vegetation

For safety reasons, access to the bunkers is now prohibited.