The members of the South Baden chapter of Alumni Freiburg e.V. had the chance to see some of the little-known underground spaces at the university – like the director’s former fallout shelter and the “James Bond tunnel” – on an unusual guided tour by Dr. Jürgen Steck. There are good reasons why this world is not usually open to the public.

The extensive, environmentally friendly waste processing and disposal facilities on the University of Freiburg’s natural sciences campus enjoy an excellent international reputation on account of their efficiency and unique character and attract the interest of universities and companies worldwide. The university has taken on the role of a trailblazer in managing its own hazardous waste since the 90s, including everything from special waste that can be easily reused to radioactive material, and has managed to save several million euros in the past years under the leadership of Dr. Steck. In addition to recycling, the facilities have been expanded to optimize and improve the processes for supplying scientists on the natural sciences campus with resources for their experiments, including everything from water supply to extreme refrigeration. The developments of the past decades have created a vast underground realm directly under the feet of numerous students.

The group of around 20 alumni now had the opportunity to examine the extensive network of rooms deep under the ground in Dr. Steck’s tour. He proved to be telling the truth when he announced at the beginning that they would be visiting Freiburg’s longest, coldest, wettest, most well-hidden, and most dangerous sites: In a historical account interspersed with numerous anecdotes in which Dr. Speck described aspects of the university’s recent past and explained the classical procedures for recycling and disposing of special resources, the guests received detailed information on the university’s collection of highly poisonous toxins as well as its neutralization plant, which provides water for the entire natural sciences campus.

The two-hour excursion included a trip to a former fallout shelter as well as the corridor of the process water ring, known at the university as the “James Bond Tunnel” due to its futuristic character and its great length. The route of the tour was almost entirely underground and extended from the Center for Medical Biometry and Medical Informatics to the Physics High Rise. It gave all of the participants a feeling for the great dimensions of the university and its technical needs, which will continue to grow in the future – both above and below ground.