The Soviet communist elite would ‘escape their own rallies’ underneath a skyscraper in Poland (Picture: Pen News)
An eerie maze of secret underground rooms once used by the Soviet communist elite has been uncovered for the first time in decades.
The private retreat lies directly beneath the parade square at The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland.
Originally named after dictator Joseph Stalin, the skyscraper was built under his command in the 1950s and has loomed over the Polish capital ever since.
In years gone by, thousands gathered for rambling speeches by communist party chiefs at the large podium outside the front of the building.
Crowds would have been blissfully unaware at the time of the labyrinth below their feet where politicians would escape to for a life of luxury away from their own rallies.
Complete with a kitchen and toilet, the complex comprises a number of lounge-like rooms.
Now the chambers are badly deteriorated with some even underwater, but the hideaway has some of its original marble fittings and wallpaper very much still intact.
The wallpaper inside some of the rooms is still intact, but much of the hideaway has deteriorated (Picture: ZDM via Pen News)
Uncovered for the first time since the 1990s
The derelict bunker was unearthed by Polish authorities working on renovating the building’s precincts.
While the palace is no longer in communist hands, efforts to transform the site have revealed traces of its Stalinist past.
Jakub Dybalski, spokesman for the city’s road administration which is overseeing the project, said it provided apparatchiks with a place to rest up between speeches.
He said: ‘In front of the palace is located a tribune, where communist officials could watch military parades, make some speeches during public assemblies, etc.
‘There are some rooms under this tribune, where they could spend some time before or after.
‘They were used as lounge rooms during communist times, then at the beginning of 1990s there was a shop, later there was a nightclub.
‘But probably since the 1990s it has been closed and abandoned.’
Water has flooded some areas of the underground hangout (Picture: ZDM via Pen News)
Communist chiefs had a fairly large labyrinth beneath the ground in Warsaw (Picture: ZDM via Pen News)
Above ground, the speeches and parades could drag on for up to six hours, according to The First News – a Polish media outlet.
So it’s perhaps no surprise that communist bigwigs demanded a place to escape.
Mr Dybalski said: ‘Nobody used them since 20 years or more, so nobody could know what their condition was.
‘Their condition is very low now, as you can see. The walls are devastated, the ceiling has to be supported, and there is water in some of the rooms.’
Some marble fittings have described the dereliction (Picture: ZDM via Pen News)
The palace, which was initially named for Stalin, was built over a neighbourhood once crowded with tenement houses, many of them damaged in World War Two.
Under the new renovation plans, Plac Defilad – which literally translates as Parade Square – will embrace its lost pre-war history.
Construction has already uncovered the remains of what was once Golden Street, with its basalt pavements and tram rails still intact.
The newly-uncovered hangout will be lost, however.
The rooms will not be kept once renovations are complete (Picture: ZDM via Pen News)
The Parade Square in front of the The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, where the communist elite would make speeches in front of thousands of people (Picture: ZDM via Pen News)
Mr Dybalski said: ‘The idea is to transform this chaotic, empty space covered by concrete into a crowded public area, with more than 100 trees, pool of water, lawns and benches.
‘We will use different types of surface to mark where were streets and buildings before the Second World War. It requires us to elevate the square floor even one to two metres up.
‘So this tribune will be torn down and then reconstructed. These rooms have now no purpose, so they’ll simply be buried.’
At the time of its completion in 1955, the skyscraper was the world’s eighth tallest building, and tallest clock tower.
Today it hosts an eight-screen cinema, four theatres, two museums, a huge auditorium, a swimming centre, a university and much more.
However, it remains a controversial reminder of Soviet occupation, and some have called for its demolition.
In June, the world’s deepest hotel opened in the UK, with beds 1,375 feet below the earth’s surface.
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The eerie maze of underground rooms has been uncovered for the first time in decades.
