20 Most Heavily Guarded Locations On Earth

Everybody wants to feel secure and protected. Some people even spend loads of cash just to invest in an establishment that guarantees such.

From computers, gold, and highly classified documents, these establishments were built for the sole purpose of either protecting what was stored there, or protecting us from it.

Is your curiosity piqued?

Here are the 20 of the most impenetrable locations here on Earth:

#1. Federal Reserve Bank of New York

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York stores approximately 25% of the world’s gold. Highly trained marksmen guard the building, and a comprehensive multilayered security system protects the vault. This includes time clocks and massive, steel, cylinder doors reinforced by concrete frames. There are also security cameras inside and outside the vault.

#2. Bold Lane Car Park or Parksafe Derby

This parking garage, which is located in the Cathedral Quarter area of Derbyshire, England, is considered the safest car park in the world. People can’t enter the premises without their state-of-the-art “smart card” ticket, which indicates the exact location of their car. The vehicles parked here are protected by motion detectors and other sets of alarm. The place will lockdown if an unauthorized person tries to meddle with your vehicle.

#3. Haven Co.

Prince Michael of Sealand, otherwise known as Michael Bates bought a dormant British company and renamed in Haven Co. Limited. It was a data-protection company that accepted all types of content except malicious hacking and spamming. Aside from the founders, authorized personnel, investors, and the British royal family, no one else was permitted to enter the premises. After all, Haven Co. is not exactly accessible; it is located in the middle of the North Sea. Unfortunately, without explanation, the company ceased operations in 2008.

#4. Cheyenne Mountain Complex

The Cheyenne Mountain was excavated during the Cold War in the late 50’s to house a command and control center that cannot be easily destroyed by Soviet bombers. The granite reinforced bunker became fully operational on the 6th of February 1967 and became the command center for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the U.S. Space Command missions. Allegedly, it can withstand a 30-megaton nuclear blast. NORAD moved its operations to Petersen Air Force base in Colorado Springs in 2006.

#5. The Greenbrier

The Greenbrier is a luxury resort in West Virginia. It is a 6,500-acre land that offers 721 hotel rooms and a 40,000-sq ft spa where famous people and presidents can come and relax. But underneath the massive land is a 25-ton nuclear blast door and a bunker where at least 1,000 government officials can stay in case of nuclear war. It is said that the bunker is also filled with supplies.

#6. Tumen River

The Tumen River flows through Russia, North Korea, and into China. North Korean soldiers keep a close watch as people can cross from their country to China, and vice versa within a mile. Basically, one can get access to these three countries through the Tumen River(if they can make it out alive).

#7. Teikoku Bank, Hiroshima

Millions of innocent people were killed during the Hiroshima bombing. Almost everything was wiped out except the vault at Teikoku Bank. Although the exterior part of the vault was heavily damaged, the interior wasn’t. Mosler, the company who made the vault, boasted about the quality of its products, and used this as a marketing strategy for the next ten years.

#8. Doomsday Seed Vault

The Svalbard International Seed Vault contains an assortment of seeds that are stored to ensure that the human race will have sufficient food source if global disaster strikes. Svalbard is a remote island in the Arctic Circle and the vault itself is inside a copper mine. The seeds are protected by motion detectors, airlocks, blast proof doors, and a meter of thick steel reinforced concrete.

#9. Air Force One

Air force one is considered by many as the most secure moving location in the planet. This is the plane used by the President of the United States for his travels. It is a modified Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that has air-to-air defense and most advanced flight avoidance. There’s plenty of security for the President and his entourage.

#10. The 1960’s Bar

The 1960’s Bar is a replica of a pub that was popular amongst British Government officials. It is situated 100 ft below Britain’s secret subterranean Burlington bunker in Wiltshire. This was initially constructed during the Cold War to house Britain’s officials in the event of a nuclear attack.

#11. Bahnhof and Wikileaks in Stockholm

Bahnhof, a Swedish internet provider, safeguards the servers for WikiLeaks in this old nuclear bunker. This place is buried 100 feet below the streets of Stockholm, and the servers are kept behind a 1.5 ft steel door and ran by backup generators that can last for weeks. It is believed that Julian Assange’s computers are hidden in this bunker too.

#12. Saddam Hussein’s Bunker in Baghdad

Before this Iraqi leader was deposed, he used this 2,150-square yard bunker as his refuge. The massive structure, which can reportedly withstand a nuclear attack, is situated 100 beneath the ground. It has 3-ton Swiss-made doors, 5 ft. thick walls, 6. ft thick steel reinforced concrete ceilings and a couple of escape tunnels. The bunker survived seven American attacks, but Iraqi soldiers looted it during the last days of the Persian Gulf War.

#13. Bank of England Gold Vault

This is the largest gold vault in the UK, but it only comes second to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The doors of the vault are bombproof. It is also protected by a sophisticated voice recognition system and multiple 3-ft-long keys.

#14. The Mormon Church’s Secret Vaults

The Mormon Church’s secret vaults contain genealogical and historical records. Apart from being heavily guarded, the vaults are protected by temperature control and motion detectors. The picture above was from a newspaper article that featured its construction in 1962.

#15. Korean Demilitarized Zone

Knowing how isolated North Korea is from the rest of the world, it’s not surprising that the strip of land that divides this communist country from South Korea is heavily guarded by soldiers. The 160-mile long and 2.5-mile wide Korean Demilitarized Zone became a nature preserve since people rarely dared to cross this border.

#16. ADX Florence Prison or “Alcatraz of the Rockies”

The Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX) is a penitentiary located in Colorado. ADX holds the most dangerous criminals in the United States. The razor wire fences here are 12 feet high and the prison walls are tall. Attack dogs also guard the facility. In addition, ADX has 1,400 remote-controlled steel doors, pressure pads, cameras, and motion detectors. A former warden calls this prison “a cleaner version of hell.” Among the most notorious criminal detained here are Zacarias Moussaoui, the mastermind of the 9/11 attack; Richard Reid, otherwise known as the “Shoe Bomber”; and Terry Nichols, the Oklahoma City Bombing conspirator.

#17. Iron Mountain

The Iron Mountain protects the most priceless treasures in human history like photo negatives and historic master recordings. There, 22 stories underground and safely locked in one of its 1.7 million sq ft worth of vaults, are Einstein’s original photo of him sticking out his tongue and Thomas Edison’s patent for the light bulb among many others. Although the owners of the vault are confidential, it is believed that the Smithsonian institution and the Warner Brothers have vaults there. Room 48, a data center that backs up some of America’s biggest companies also lies in the Iron Mountain.

#18. Fort Knox

Fort Knox is a fortified vault that safeguards thousands of tons of gold and historical documents including the Declaration of Independence and the Magna Carte. It is, of course, heavily guarded and protected by a 22-ton blast door.

#19. Area 51

Area 51 or Air Force Flight Test Center, Detachment 3, or AFFTC Det. 3, is a top secret air force base located in New Mexico. It became infamous due to the rumored alien spaceship that crashed in this site. Of course, unauthorized personnel are strictly prohibited inside this top-secret location, and planes are not allowed to fly over the area.

20. Vatican Secret Archives

The Vatican probably keeps the most valuable information regarding Christianity. Critics said that the contents in the archive are only accessible to certain qualified individuals despite the church’s attempt to make it open to the public. They also said that those who are allowed to enter the premises have very limited access. Some items cannot be accessed at all especially without advanced approval. Thus, skeptics think that the Vatican hides several controversial documents such as gospels that contradict the bible, the earliest known collection of porography, and some missing books in the bible that can confirm the beliefs of the Mormons.