7 Cities That Are Built Underground

Throughout history and even today, humans have built entire cities beneath the ground level. These underground cities served various purposes such as shelter from invasions, extreme weather, or nuclear fallout, as well as maximizing urban space. Read along to know more about  seven remarkable underground cities around the world, showcasing their history, purpose, and unique features.

7 Cities Entirely Built Underground Cities

1. Derinkuyu, Cappadocia, Turkey

Source: Odyssey Traveller

Derinkuyu is possibly the best-known ancient underground city. Situated in Cappadocia, this huge complex of tunnels and chambers extends 60 meters underground and was capable of sheltering as many as 20,000 individuals. 

Constructed sometime during the 8th century BCE, it comprised living space, kitchens, oil and wine presses, stables, chapels, and air shafts. The complex served as a safe haven from invasion and wars for centuries.

2. Nushabad, Iran

Source: Travel to Iran

Nushabad is an underground city close to Kashan in Iran, going a number of levels below the ground surface. It was built to shield people in instances of attack and extreme weather conditions. 

The underground city has thin corridors, warehouses, reservoirs for water, and emergency exit tunnels. It's a historical model of Persian creativity in underground city planning.

3. Naours, France

Source: Atlas Obscura

Naours is located in northern France and goes back to the Middle Ages, converted from a big chalk quarry. It has approximately 300 rooms and 28 chambers that had the potential to accommodate up to 3,000 individuals during times of war. 

Naours was utilized as a shelter during the Thirty Years' War and even during World War II. Naours featured living spaces, wells, chapels, and ventilation pipes.

4. Orvieto, Italy

Source: Lonely Planet

Partially constructed underground, Orvieto's underground network features around 1,200 tunnels and rooms excavated below a volcanic rock hill. Initially developed by the Etruscans, it was employed for the storage of food and wine, and subsequently as a bomb shelter when World War II occurred. Today, tourists are able to tour a section of these vast underground areas.

5. Dixia Cheng (Underground City), Beijing, China

Source: Atlas Obscura

Constructed in the 1960s as a nuclear fallout bunker, Beijing's Dixia Cheng has an estimated 85 square kilometers of underground space. 

It would have housed a million or more for months with facilities including hospitals, schools, restaurants, granaries, and recreational areas. Although never employed for its purpose, it is a relic of Cold War civil defense planning.

6. SubTropolis, Kansas City, USA

Source: Bloomberg

SubTropolis is the world's largest man-made underground business complex. It was excavated from a limestone mine outside Kansas City, Missouri. It covers more than 5 million square feet and contains warehouses, offices, manufacturing plants, and data centers. The underground site offers natural climate control and security.

7. Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Source: Washingtonian

Situated just outside of Washington, D.C., Crystal City is a contemporary underground city system that links office towers, hotels, apartments, stores, and restaurants with an interconnecting tunnel network of underground concourses. 

Tunnels interconnect millions of square feet of commercial and residential space, protecting residents and employees year-round from the weather.

From ancient refuges to state-of-the-art commercial hubs, the underground continues to be a vital space for habitation and activity.