The heart of Denmark's secret defenses has been recreated at the Cold War Museum Stevnsfort, elevating history with parallels to contemporary geopolitical developments.
Bare breasts on the wall, the original 1960s plotter table, grease pens and teleprinters.
The historical details are in place in Stevns Fort's original command center, from where conscripts monitor 25,000 annual ship passages in the Sound.
The so-called O-room has been recreated after years of being empty, and it's a dream come true for museum curator Anders Knudsen.
- With the restoration of the original underground o-room, Cold War Museum Stevnsfort has a unique opportunity to tell the story of the technological and organizational development of water surveillance during the Cold War. But just as importantly, we can delve even deeper into the story of Denmark as "guardian of the Baltic Sea". A role that has been disturbingly actualized through the events of recent years in the Baltic Sea area, says Anders Knudsen, Curator of the Cold War Museum Stevnsfort.
Mediation draws new threads from past to present
With the new exhibition space, the Cold War Museum can both go deeper into Stevnsfortet as a workplace and draw more links to today's security policy in its communication.
- The Stevns Fort is very much a testament to the fact that we cannot take peace for granted. Just as we are reminded by today's geopolitical developments. Therefore, with the new exhibition spaces, we have also updated the guided tour of the underground so that our skilled guides draw more parallels to today's security policy considerations, says Kasper Renström Østervig, director of Østsjællands Museum, which runs the Cold War Museum Stevnsfort.
Stevns Fort's original command center was inaugurated on June 4. The recreation of the room has been made possible with support from Region Zealand's pool for Cultural Lighthouses.