Visiting the famous world renowned landmarks is a dream dreamt by many people across the world. As interesting as these landmarks are for their importance in history or their architecture, they hold some secrets that have been hidden to this date carefully. And it is these wisely hidden secrets hidden that make these monuments ten times more interesting for us. So, before you set your gears and start planning your trips to these places, let’s take a step back and learn about the hidden passages. It’s time for us to disclose the secrets of these hidden tunnels that have been beautifully hidden for the past several decades.
THE SECRET PASSAGE OF THE POPES
Head of the Catholic Church, His Holiness was once the head of a country and bestowed with a number of responsibilities. Although a small country, the Vatican was governed by the pope and there were people who tried to capture the country several times in the past. Constant threat to the life of the pope and his followers made it important for the castle to have secret tunnels as an outlet during danger. The Passetto di Borgo is a series of secret tunnels spread throughout the Vatican City to the Castel Sant’Angelo.
The secret tunnels started being made in 850 A.D and finished in 1492. Surprisingly, the tunnels were used just 2 years after they were made to help escape Alexander VI from the French. The tunnels were used again for the second time to help Clement VII escape from the troops of Holy Roman Emperors.
TUNNELS UNDER WASHINGTON D.C CAPITOL BUILDING
The famous Capitol Hill building of Washington D.C has several smaller buildings inside it, that house a number of offices in it. However, due to the terrible cold weather in the city, the politicians decided to build underground tunnels connecting the various important buildings of the city to avoid the weather circumstances.
Amidst these underground tunnels, there is also a secret quarter mile long tunnel whose location is not known. However, a lot of people claim to have discovered this secret tunnel via Google Earth. And do you know what these tunnels are used for? Carrying trash from the city!
THE PREDJAMA CASTLE AND ITS TUNNEL
The Predjama castle is not only beautiful but also mysterious. A huge home, built for the royals to live in luxury, the castle was built over a period of 400 years and can never be penetrated.
The castle is also home to several secrets, such as the treasure chest of the 16th century which stayed hidden until 1991. Another important secret about the castle is its secret tunnel that connects the castle to a number of intrinsic caves, helping the inmates of the castle hide in the caves without anyone knowing. The tunnel was once used by Erazem Lueger, believed to be the robin hood of Slovenia. Lueger occupied Predjama when the country was at war Austria. The troops tried to overtake the castle, but as it was built on a cliff, they could not reach him. So, they tried to make Lueger starve to death, but with the help of the secret tunnel, Lueger would get himself all the food he needed to survive.
SECRET PASSAGE OF THE MONT SAINTE-ODILE
Situated on the top of a mountain in France, Mont Sainte-Odile is a beautifully monastery built sometime in the 600s. The castle had a secret tunnel that was not known to anyone until 2000 when some of the most precious books of ancient times began disappearing from the castle. These included the illuminated manuscripts and some other books written before the invention of printing press. The monks living in the castle changed the locks, but still things kept on disappearing. So, they changed the locks again and guards were placed inside the castle. After almost 2 years, a forgotten passage, connecting the castle’s library with a hotel was found and a local teacher used this tunnel to take books which were abandoned and covered in dust and pigeon poop. The man had managed to sneak away almost 1000 books and neatly stocked them in his small apartment.