Czechoslovak border fortifications during the Cold War

From 1946 to 1964, Czechoslovakia built fortifications along the south and south-western frontier, on the common border with the capitalist countries of West Germany and Austria.

Unlike the Czechoslovakian section of the Iron Curtain, whose main function was to prevent citizens of the Eastern Bloc escaping to the West, the purpose of these border fortifications was defence against possible German revanchist aggression and later also against possible attack by NATO forces.

At the outset, the defence system was based on the installations of the pre-war permanent fortifications, repaired and re-equipped in the years 1946–1953.

After 1950, due to the increased tension between the Eastern and Western Blocs, a more sophisticated system of pillboxes and shelters was built.

In recent years some of the bunkers were purchased or leased by reenactment groups or private persons, reconstructed and opened as the museums of Czechoslovak military.