Friday 13 May 2022 04:32 PM Helsinki's 'hidden city' with 500 bunkers where whole population can shelter ... trends now
New images show the incredible scale and intricacy of Finland's thorough network of nuclear bunkers.
More than 500 underground shelters carved into the bedrock of capital Helsinki can hold 900,000 people - a third more than the city's entire population.
And as Finland's bid to join NATO prompts Kremlin tough talk including vows to take 'retaliatory steps' against Helsinki, officials are preparing for all eventualities.
Anna Lehtiranta, head of communications at Helsinki's city rescue department, said Finns are unfazed by Putin's threats.
A softball court is built in one of Helsinki's hundreds of underground emergency bunkers
A go karting track is inside one of Helsinki's fully kitted out bunkers, which also have cafes
She told MailOnline: 'As a neutral country, we have always felt we need to protect ourselves - and we do.
'The underground shelters built in the bedrock of Finland come from our experience in the Winter War and during the Second World War. We all have relatives who suffered through those traumas.'
Finland's subterranean habitats include cafes, softball courts, go karting tracks, car parks and thousands of bunk beds.
First built during the 1960s, successive governments have excavated more than 9 million cubic metres of bedrock below Finland.
Stairs take Finns and visitors to the country 25m below ground to the safe underground havens
That's enough space to store 50,000 double-decker buses.
The shelters' entry doors carefully located above ground are so thick a nuclear blast wouldn't leave a dent, officials claim.
The historically neutral Nordic
