Helsinki-2: What's Hidden Under the Feet of Capital Residents (5 photos)

While the rest of the world is only just beginning to think about security, Helsinki has long been living on the "second floor," and quite comfortably at that. The Finns are methodically converting the depths of their capital into a gigantic shelter in case of a nuclear apocalypse: since 1939, 5,500 bunkers have been dug beneath the city, capable of sheltering nearly a million people. Rescue worker Jukka-Pekka Schröderus wryly describes the architecture of the Finnish capital, comparing it to a giant block of cheese, riddled with a multitude of labyrinth-like holes. However, in peacetime, these strategic sites are far from empty. Instead of waiting for the end of the world, locals prefer to spend their time productively: in the "holes" of this cheese, they play heavy metal, work out in gyms, and swim in pools.