Fortress Museum Crestawald

Fortress Crestawald lies in Canton Graubünden in Switzerland nearby the alpine transit route via San Bernardino. It is an artillery bunker with two 10.5 cm cannons and two stationary machine guns. Crestawald was built as a mountain bastion to protect Graubünden from attackers from the south.

The bunker was built between 1939 and 1941. It was finally closed down in 1995. In 2001 Crestawald was reopened as a museum.

All equipment remained in the fortress and the museum invests a lot of effort to keep the bunker in working order. Videos and signs (both only in German) inform the visitors about the purpose and the functionality of the different sections. Crestawald is therefore a very interesting and demonstrative example for military history. It is a manifestation in concrete of the fears in Switzerland about a possible invasion from Germany during World War II. The fortress also illustrates the Swiss strategy to ensure a very high level of military security without relying on alliances.

The untarnished condition and extensive information about its purpose and functionality make the Fortress Museum Crestawald a very interesting destination. You need about two or three hours for the visit. It is possible to move freely around the different rooms and even touch most of the shown equipment. So it may be a nice trip if you are traveling for example on the North-South transit via San Bernardino.
Remember to take a jacket or pullover with you as most of the bunker lies deep in the mountain. The room temperature is about 14 °C or 57 °F.

Personally this fortress reminds me of old James Bond movies. With its extensive camouflage Crestawald is something like a hidden base. The technology used in the bunker and the martial surrounding reinforce this maybe stupid impression.