<div>In the underground of Brno's Židenice, there is a factory built by the Germans at the end of the war.</div>

Brno – A group of amateur researchers has discovered an unfinished underground factory in the Židenice district of Brno. Nazis began constructing it near the cemetery at the end of World War II. They planned several similar underground constructions in Brno, partly considering the industrial character of the city. Aleš Svoboda, an expert on Brno's underground, informed ČTK about this today. The enthusiasts had been aware of the underground complex for several years, and the corridors were accurately mapped late last year thanks to 3D laser scanning methods. Czech Radio reported the discovery.

The Nazis started building the underground factory in 1944. Researchers learned about it from archives and documents and, after many years of effort, managed to prove its existence. The city district, in partnership with the magistrate, then paid for the precise mapping of the corridors. "Last autumn and winter, we used the most modern 3D scan because surveyors cannot reach that deep underground. Subsequently, we marked the locations of the entrances to the underground," said Petr Kunc, the mayor of Židenice (Voice for Židenice). The city hall secured the entrances with regard to safety, so access is currently not possible.

According to Kunc, it is now certain that there are about 500 meters of corridors underground. "The originally planned complex was supposed to be up to four times larger, but we do not know what of that was completed," he added. Part of the corridors extends into areas where a portal for the large city ring tunnel is planned in a few years. Therefore, the city hall has collaborated with a company working on the exploratory tunnel to direct one of the boreholes to the location of a possible corridor. If the underground corridors were in conflict with the tunnel or auxiliary structures around it, they would have to be removed, Czech Radio reported.

In the area, extensive landscaping and the construction of a park are planned after the tunnel's completion. "We are currently negotiating with architects about the future appearance and will try to agree with them to include the underground complex as part of it. We would like to make part of it accessible earlier, but for now, it's a technical challenge to solve safe access," Kunc added.

Svoboda, the expert, also considers the situation complex. "The spaces are quite deep," he noted. However, he described the discovery as very interesting, although it may not be unique. "There is documentation that indicates the Germans wanted to build many underground spaces used as factories. But we do not know what they managed to accomplish," he said.

He also recalled the discovery of the cellars of the German House beneath the surface of Moravské náměstí, which experts found during the exploration for the planned reconstruction. "We also had a drawing that indicated there were supposed to be shelters on the eastern side. However, the probe did not confirm that. This is the approach taken, and it is possible that more such structures will be found. Brno is unique in this regard because there was a large industry here, and the need for these constructions was much greater," Svoboda added.