Bahnhof And Wikileaks In Stockholm
Once a nuclear bunker, this facility now houses the WikiLeaks servers. It’s safe to say the U.S. State Department won’t be pulling any plugs here in the near future — the facility is buried 100 feet beneath the streets of Stockholm and the servers are stowed away behind a 1.5-foot-thick steel door.
Vatican Secret Archives
The most pious of heavily guarded areas on this list (though no less impenetrable) is the Vatican Secret Archives, which contains church documents dating back to the 8th century. Accessible through the Vatican Library, only qualified scholars and church officials have access to the archives.
Fort Knox
This Kentucky-based fort is a military post that houses thousands of tons of gold, but getting to it without a security clearance is virtually impossible. Behind the scores of heavily armed guards, barbed-wire fences and security cameras lies a 22-ton blast door.
The Mormon Church’s Secret Vault
Excavated 600 feet into a mountain in Utah, this naturally fortified vault stores the genealogical and family history for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sorry, no gold or treasure here.
Perhaps some interesting secrets though.
Tumen River
As a natural border between North Korea and Russia, this river is not ripe for a casual afternoon of fishing and picnicking. Defectors might be interested in it though. A mile-long walk from the river will take one through North Korea, China and Russia.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Speaking of nuclear war, if things get really grave here on earth, humans can find solace in the fact that some (slightly pessimistic) scientists planned ahead and built the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Located on the remote Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, this vault contains almost a million seed samples of more than 4,000 plant species.
Though fortified with blast-proof doors, motion sensors and airlocks, this vault’s primary security asset is its location on a frozen rock island in the Arctic Circle.
The Greenbrier
Once designated as the official doomsday bunker for congress members in the event of nuclear war, the emergency bunker under this Virginia resort was never used and was decommissioned in 1992. Now it’s used by the private sector for data storage.
The takeaway? Even in nuclear war, those in power live like kings.
Iron Mountain
Home to 1.7 million square feet of vault space located some 200 feet below ground, Iron Mountain protects some invaluable artifacts and documents: the charred remains of Flight 93, the original photo of Einstein sticking out his tongue and Edison’s light bulb patent, to name a few.
Iron Mountain houses both government and private valuables, though it’s impossible to say who owns what’s inside the mountain — the identities of almost all vault owners are classified to the public.
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