A hidden bedroom was just discovered on the Berlin subway. Photos of the “secret apartment” were sent to German media outlets earlier this week. The pictures show a bed, chair, yucca plant, artwork, and wall hung deep inside an unused subway tunnel.
The photos of the secret bedroom in the subway are a bit deceiving at first glance. A quick look indicates to the viewers that they are looking at a typical bedroom. Upon closer inspection, an old dirty metal subway handrail becomes visible and vintage graffiti peers from a wall.
A Secret Bedroom Was Discovered in a Berlin Subway Tunnel https://t.co/9Oj4nVWTl3 // mysterious! @JustAddGrace ?
— Meg Kuhagen (@megluku) February 12, 2016
The secret bedroom was located in an old part of the U9 Berlin subway line. The hidden apartment was hidden so deeply in the unused tunnel that workers only discovered it during a fire inspection. Many have described the subway bedroom as both “creepy” and “magical,” MSN reported.
It is not known who created the hidden bedroom or who sent the photos of the unique find to the German media. Berliner Zeitung shared the now viral photos with the world. Some believe the photographer may have been a Berlin subway employee who anonymously shared the images, which transportation officials might not have wanted viewed by the public. Although the photos of the hidden apartment are intriguing to look at and ponder about, the fact that someone was living inside the subway station could point to a serious security risk in this age of terrorism.
Posts on social media by Berlin residents and Germans from around the country have speculated that poor students might have created the secret apartment. Others have surmised that local artists might have been staging some type of performance piece. Graffiti “tagging” is a commonplace occurrence in Berlin, leading several social media posters to believe that taggers, who know their way around the subway tunnels, created the secret apartment as a lark while vandalizing the walls, rails, and subway cars.
The city transportation company, the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, is not thrilled by the discovery of the hidden apartment. Transit company spokeswoman Petra Reetz noted that it is dangerous to cross the subway lines where the secret bedroom was found.
“The power was turned on all around it. It is clear trespassing and if we know who is behind it, we will report it,” she said.
Secret bedroom in Berlin subway, swankier than a cardboard box https://t.co/do8ZDWTQM1 pic.twitter.com/0EWXrGqnHJ
— gilly youner (@gillyarcht) February 11, 2016
Once the novelty of the unusual discovery wore off as the photos made the rounds on social media, attention turned to matters of security. It would take some time and effort to pack a bed, table, chair, lamp, flower pot, and television down into the subway. One would think that such activities would have attracted at least a little bit of attention by subway staffers, riders, and law enforcement officers assigned to the Berlin subway.
A secret bedroom was just discovered in the Berlin subway https://t.co/7pvQ6iivYB pic.twitter.com/hiNea4lhWq
— CityLab (@CityLab) February 11, 2016
There is likely an ongoing investigation into the secret bedroom found in the abandoned Berlin subway tunnel. Details about a review of the incident by transit authorities has not yet been made public. DNA testing and fingerprints could be conducted to help determine who touched the items found in the hidden apartment, but if the inexpensive items were found along the street or in a thrift store, a multitude of folks could have touched the items secreted away in the old tunnel shaft. If the person or persons who created the hidden bedroom have not had their fingerprints or DNA placed in the government system, such testing could still prove inconclusive.
What do you think about the secret bedroom in the Berlin subway?
[Image via Shutterstock ]