15 Secret Passages in Famous Buildings
15 Secret Passages in Famous Buildings
Transcript
00:00Uncover the hidden mysteries of architecture as I reveal 15 secret passages discovered in famous buildings.
00:06These concealed corridors and hidden rooms, often found during renovations or by sheer accident, hold incredible secrets.
00:13Let's start with number 15, Brand Castle.
00:16If you're into horror, then you've probably heard of Brand Castle, the fabled home of Vlad the Impaler.
00:22The historic record has since disproven the claim that he ever stayed there.
00:26Yet, despite the dodgy stories, what is clear is that the castle hides a secret passage.
00:31Discovered during renovations in 1920, there's a fireplace that hides a passageway from the first to the third floors,
00:38allowing for a quick exit in case of emergencies or an angry mob.
00:45Number 14, The Church of St. Polyectus.
00:48While the Church of St. Polyectus may be in ruins today, it was important to Byzantine history.
00:54It was built in the imperial capital of Constantinople about 1,500 years ago, and it was used until the 11th century.
01:01And from that point forward, it was promptly abandoned and raided for valuables.
01:05While what remains is rather bare, in the 1960s, a series of underground rooms were found beneath the church ruins.
01:12While they were sealed off to prevent decay, they were re-excavated in June of 2023,
01:18and the hope is that they'll give us more insight into the history of this church.
01:23Number 13, The Brooklyn Synagogue.
01:26While the Brooklyn Synagogue may not be all that famous, the news and memes to come out of it certainly were.
01:32In essence, sometime in 2023, a group of extremist students began to illegally expand their synagogue with an underground tunnel.
01:41In late 2023, it was discovered, thanks to an anonymous tip, and in early 2024, a cement truck came to fill it in.
01:49Chaos ensued as some of the students tried to fight off the police, leading to several arrests.
01:54It also led to a slew of Jewish tunnel memes, all of which can be enjoyed with the help of a quick Google search.
02:00Gotta know your memes.
02:02Number 12, The UK Parliament.
02:05In February of 2020, a forgotten 360-year-old passageway was found in the UK's House of Commons.
02:13While doing some renovations, a small brass keyhole was found hidden among wood paneling in Westminster Hall.
02:19This led to a passageway, leading to the original House of Commons.
02:23It was built back in 1660 for Charles II's coronation banquet.
02:27For about 150 years, it was used regularly by politicians before being blocked off.
02:33And while a brief renovation effort in 1950 led to its rediscovery, the belief was that the 1950 renovators blocked it off once again.
02:41This was clearly not the case, resulting in this incredible discovery.
02:45Number 11, Michelangelo's Secret Hideaway.
02:49Florence's Basilica di San Lorenzo is absolutely stunning, and in 1976 it was discovered to also house a secret hideout.
02:58In 1976, a concealed corridor with drawings by Michelangelo was discovered under the new sacristy.
03:04Further research determined that Michelangelo probably hid here to escape a death sentence.
03:10You see, in 1527, the citizens of Florence rebelled against the Medicis, and Michelangelo supported them.
03:17After the Medicis recaptured the city in 1530, Pope Clement VII sentenced Michelangelo to death.
03:23It's thought that Michelangelo hid from the authorities in this small chamber, making charcoal and chalk drawings to pass the time.
03:30Thankfully, after a couple of months, he was pardoned, so he could complete the work on the Sistine Chapel and the Medici family tomb.
03:37Number 10, The Mermaid Inn.
03:40When it comes to old hotels, The Mermaid Inn is among the most famous in England.
03:46In operation in some capacity ever since the 12th century, it served a number of purposes,
03:51with this including use as a hideaway for Catholic priests escaping Protestant persecution,
03:56a garrison for Canadian officers, and a clubhouse.
04:00Today, it's reverted back to its original function as an inn,
04:03and it's been visited by the likes of Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Charlie Chaplin, and centuries ago, even a Queen Elizabeth I.
04:10Yet what gives The Mermaid Inn a spot on this list is its involvement in the world of crime.
04:16For the first half of the 18th century, the notorious Hawkhurst gang of smugglers used the inn as a secondary base of operation.
04:23In order to smuggle goods, they made use of a series of hidden cellars, tunnels, and passageways under the premises.
04:30One path, in particular, led to the Old Bell Inn on another street.
04:34According to some local legend, this was the passage that was used to allow goods and gangsters to move in secrecy.
04:40However, according to the historical record, it's more than likely that the passages simply acted as storage for stolen or illegal goods.
04:47Beyond the secret passages, the hotel is also famous for being haunted.
04:52It's believed that at least five of the rooms have their own ghosts,
04:55with those including a lady in white that sits beside the fireplace in the James Room,
04:59and the now-removed chair in the Kingsmill Room that would often rock on its own,
05:03and the spirits of Hawkhurst smugglers that are said to roam through the premises at night.
05:07And while the current owner hasn't experienced any ghostly phenomena herself,
05:11she claims that quite a few guests have told her spooky stories about what they had seen or heard in the rooms.
05:209. The Churchill War Rooms
05:24By 1938, it was clear to those in the British Parliament that war may be on the horizon.
05:29While attempts at peace via the doctrine of appeasement had been tried,
05:33there was a very real threat that Germany would go on the offensive in Europe.
05:37This necessitated the creation of a wartime bunker to run the war from,
05:41and that bunker was the Churchill War Rooms.
05:44Opened up just days before the German invasion of Poland, it was kept as a complete secret from the general population.
05:51Once located beneath the Treasury Building, the rooms had existed as a mostly unused basement before the war,
05:57although throughout the conflict a number of upgrades were made.
06:00The most important of these upgrades was a massive layer of concrete known as the slab.
06:04Up to one and a half meters in thickness, it was meant to protect against German bombing raids,
06:09and was progressively extended.
06:11By the spring of 1941, the increased protection had enabled the cabinet war rooms to expand to three times their original size,
06:18giving the complex a fully functioning war command.
06:21However, this concrete didn't make the war rooms impermeable.
06:24After all, a direct hit with a bomb would have still destroyed it, ending the lives of those inside.
06:29Nevertheless, by some miracles, the rooms stayed intact.
06:32They were also the subject of immense security.
06:35After all, simply telling somebody about their existence would result in an automatic death sentence.
06:40In any case, it had everything that was needed to run the war,
06:43including the war room filled with maps and diagrams,
06:47a meeting room where the war cabinet could congregate,
06:49and bedrooms and offices for all of the workers.
06:52However, what's incredible is that once the war was over, the complex was all but forgotten.
06:56According to the museum, after Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945,
07:01almost everything was left exactly as it was.
07:04While limited tours were available in the following decades,
07:07it wasn't until the early 1970s that studies were done
07:10to test whether or not the creation of a public museum was feasible.
07:14While it was seen as unfeasible at first, in 1984,
07:17it was finally created and opened to the public.
07:20It can now be visited with advanced tickets,
07:22making it a great spot for history buffs on a trip to London.
07:30At $21,000 per night, the Fairmont's Penthouse Suite in downtown San Francisco
07:36is only for those with really deep pockets.
07:39However, a stay here puts you on par with countless celebrities
07:43who have displaced their temporary home,
07:45with this including the likes of King Charles,
07:47Harry Truman, Mick Jagger, Alfred Hitchcock, and John F. Kennedy.
07:51Among its many luxury features is a two-story circular library,
07:55which is complete with a narrow red spiral staircase.
07:58While beautiful, it's home to a secret.
08:01This is because behind one of the shelves on the second floor
08:04is a hidden door leading to the hotel's roof.
08:06This door is disguised so it appears to be part of the bookcases,
08:09and there are few rumors about what it might have originally been used for.
08:12The most likely reason for its existence is to allow high-profile people
08:16to use the passageway to get safely in and out
08:19without the security threat of the main entrance.
08:21In fact, the hotel also has a secret entrance on the floor below the suite,
08:25with this usually being used to let in a celebrity's bodyguards.
08:29However, there are some that claim that the passage
08:31could have been used for more questionable purposes.
08:34It's been said that JFK's lover Marilyn Monroe
08:37used the corridor to sneak out when Kennedy's wife, Jackie,
08:40was coming up the stairs, allowing her to escape an awkward confrontation.
08:44Yet, no matter what you believe, you'll be disappointed to know
08:47that the hotel staff will neither confirm nor deny any of these two theories,
08:51leaving you to make your own conclusions.
08:53It's also worth noting that this penthouse suite
08:56has plenty of other incredible features.
08:58Taking up the entire eighth floor of the historic portion of the Fairmont Hotel,
09:02it's right out of the 1920s.
09:05Complete with a black-and-white tiled floor,
09:07purple wall, ornate wooden table, and gold-framed mirror,
09:11it's a beautiful place to spend the night.
09:13It's also very historically significant.
09:15After all, beyond simply housing celebrities,
09:17it's also been the home to important events,
09:20the most significant of which was the drafting
09:22of the 1945 Charter of the United Nations.
09:25It's likely because of all this history
09:27that the Fairmont San Francisco was added
09:29to the National Register of Historic Places in April of 2002,
09:32thus ensuring that its historic charm is never lost.
09:36Moving on to number seven, the Biltmore Estate.
09:39The Vanderbilt family was easily one of the richest in human history.
09:44They became fabulously wealthy after building a transportation empire
09:48in the steamship and railroad industries.
09:50And from the mid-1800s until the early 1900s,
09:53they were a dominant force in America's markets.
09:55And while the family has now lost or squandered much of its wealth,
10:00what remains are some of the great homes they created.
10:04One of those is the Biltmore Estate,
10:06a 180,000-square-foot mansion.
10:09It consists of 250 rooms,
10:11with these including 35 bedrooms,
10:1343 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.
10:16Yet, despite having more than enough space to hide in,
10:19homeowner George Washington Vanderbilt II still decided
10:22that some secret passages had to be placed there.
10:26One of these hidden spaces is in the breakfast room.
10:29Considered to be its informal dining room,
10:31there's a camouflage door hidden in the wall behind the table.
10:35This door leads to the butler's pantry,
10:37which servants would slip in and out of while carrying meals.
10:40And for a little added camouflage,
10:42it's located behind two Renoir paintings that hang on the wall.
10:46Another hidden space exists in the estate's massive library.
10:49A balcony wraps around the second story of the library,
10:52and on it are two doors that lead to a hidden hall
10:55that goes up to the guest bedroom.
10:57The library also hides a tiny room known as the den.
11:00Obscured by a carving of St. Peter the Martyr,
11:03it's accessed using a hard-to-spot door
11:05that leads to a mysterious room
11:07that may have been used as a quiet place to read and write.
11:10Now, if those weren't cool enough,
11:12even more secret rooms exist.
11:14These include a trap door in the floor of the winter garden
11:17to house tropical plants in the wintertime,
11:19a concealed closet in George Vanderbilt's master bedroom
11:22that blends in with the rest of the wall,
11:24and a secret door in the billiard room
11:27that leads to the smoking room,
11:29which is where the men would go to enjoy brandy and cigars.
11:32Now, unlike most of the Vanderbilts'
11:34other Gilded Age properties,
11:36this home is still owned by George Vanderbilt's descendants.
11:39However, ever since March of 1930,
11:41at least parts of the home have been open to the public,
11:44who can now view the mansion alongside the estate's
11:46dairy farm and winery for a price.
11:49It's this tourism that keeps the finances in the black,
11:52allowing the Vanderbilts to hold onto the mansion
11:54and for all of us to enjoy this incredible home.
11:56Best of all, some tours even include
11:58access to the home's hidden spaces,
12:00allowing you to fully enjoy what Biltmore has to offer.
12:07Nestled into a mountain on the Slovenian side
12:09of the Italian and Slovenian border,
12:11it was first built in 1272
12:13as a virtually impenetrable fortress.
12:15It was built for the noble Lugd family,
12:17and while the castle's first 100 years
12:19were rather uneventful,
12:21this Gothic-style fortress was put to the test
12:24in the early 1400s.
12:26You see, it was during this period
12:28that a certain Erasmus Lugd inherited the castle.
12:30A known robber baron,
12:32he got himself into a tricky situation
12:34when he killed Marshal Pappenheim
12:36after he offended the honor of Erasmus' deceased friend.
12:39If Marshal Pappenheim was just another robber baron,
12:42this probably would have been well and fine.
12:44However, this was quite in fact a problem,
12:46because Marshal Pappenheim was the commander
12:48of the Holy Roman Empire's Imperial Army.
12:51Expecting retribution,
12:53Erasmus made the crazy decision
12:55to start a war with the Holy Roman Emperor,
12:57Frederick III.
12:59After Erasmus reached the family fortress of Predjama,
13:01he got to work, quickly allying himself
13:03with King Matthias Corvinus of Croatia
13:05and attacking the nearby
13:07Habsburg estates and towns.
13:09In response, the emperor ordered
13:11the governor of Trieste, Andrei Ravbar,
13:13to either capture or kill Erasmus.
13:15So, as you might imagine,
13:17the Imperial Army was far larger than Erasmus' forces.
13:19However, what they didn't know
13:21was that Erasmus had a secret tunnel
13:23between his castle and the nearby Postojna cave.
13:25It's believed that for an entire
13:27year and a day, he snuck out of the castle
13:29and replenished food and drink
13:31through the tunnel from a nearby town,
13:33allowing him and his men to stay alive.
13:35However, it's said that after this time had passed,
13:37a servant sold him out.
13:39The story goes that Erasmus used an outhouse
13:41on a high floor of the outside
13:43face of the castle. The servant raised
13:45a flag, and with one single shot
13:47from a cannon, Erasmus was blasted
13:50off the toilet to his demise.
13:52If the legends to be believed, Erasmus' ghost
13:54continues to haunt the castle to this day.
13:56Well, now all the details
13:58of this story are not substantiated.
14:00What is clear is that the passageway
14:02does exist out of the castle.
14:04This passage is a vertical natural shaft
14:06that was enlarged under his orders,
14:08allowing him to enter and exit at a point
14:10about 25 meters away from the cliff.
14:12What's also clear is that over the years,
14:14the castle was renovated into a more
14:16Renaissance style, while the nearby
14:18caves became home to a colony of bats.
14:20Therefore, whether you're a history
14:22buff or an architecture enthusiast,
14:24a trip to Predjama is well worth it.
14:26If you'd like to visit, it's easily
14:28accessible from either the Italian port city
14:30of Trieste or Slovenian port city
14:32of Koper, making it an excellent
14:34spot for a day trip.
14:36Number 5. The Vasari Corridor
14:38The Vasari Corridor
14:40is an interesting pathway
14:42because it connects several famous
14:44buildings in rather inconspicuous
14:47ways. Elevated above street
14:49level, it connects Florence's Palazzo Vecchio
14:51with the Palazzo Pitti,
14:53moving through the famed Uffizi Gallery
14:55and over houses in the Oltremo
14:57district as it does so. All in all,
14:59it comes in at about one kilometer in length
15:01and has been witness to its fair
15:03share of historic events.
15:05It was first built in 1565
15:07on order of Duke Cosimo de' Medici.
15:09At this time, the two palaces made
15:11up both his residence and the seat of the government
15:13and his hope was to be able to move between
15:15them safely. While he could
15:17have just simply gone out in public,
15:19he thought this wasn't a safe option
15:21after all the Medicis had destroyed the Republic
15:23of Florence and created a hereditary
15:25state just a few decades before
15:27and as a result, Cosimo feared
15:29for his life whenever he stepped outside.
15:31Now, to be clear, the passage itself
15:33was an open secret at best.
15:35After all, an entire meat market
15:37had to be moved to build it and it
15:39very clearly stuck out amongst the
15:41buildings in the area. However, because
15:43it was enclosed, it made his movements
15:45a complete secret, thus affording him
15:47the protection he was looking for.
15:49Now, while this corridor managed to keep
15:51Cosimo safe during his lifetime, it itself
15:53became the target of renovation and
15:55destruction hundreds of years later.
15:57The first major change to the structure
15:59came in 1939 when its small
16:01windows were replaced by large windows
16:03in order to give Adolf Hitler
16:05a panoramic view of the river during his visits
16:07there. However, it was on May
16:0927th of 1993
16:11that a very significant event happened.
16:13On that fateful day, the Sicilian
16:15Mafia set off a car bomb.
16:17This not only led to the deaths of several
16:19people, but also damaged the corridor
16:21and about a quarter of the paintings inside
16:23of it. These included some of the most
16:25priceless pieces, including the famous piece
16:27Adoration of the Shepherds by
16:29Jeroen van Harthorst. Now, while it was
16:31impossible to bring back the lost lives,
16:33the Vasari Corridor and its paintings were
16:35largely destroyed. And while it was
16:37closed off for security reasons in
16:392016, it was fully renovated
16:41in 2021 over an 11-month
16:43period. During this time, the corridor
16:45was fitted with a heating and air conditioning
16:47system, disabled access points,
16:49elevators, LED lighting, and new security
16:51exits. Much of the artwork inside
16:53was also changed. Instead of the earlier
16:55portraits, the corridor now houses
16:57around 30 ancient sculptures and
16:59several 16th century frescoes.
17:01After all this work was complete,
17:03the Vasari Corridor was reopened in
17:052022, on the anniversary of the Mafia
17:07attack. If you'd like to visit,
17:09passage through the Vasari Corridor can now
17:11be purchased as an add-on to the regular
17:13ticket price to the Uffizi.
17:15Number 4. The White House
17:17Officially, the
17:19White House doesn't have any secret rooms.
17:21In an article written by the
17:23White House Historical Association, the
17:25claim is made that the White House is
17:27open and uncomplicated in plan
17:29and layout. While modeled
17:31after a house in Dublin, which has an
17:33intricate interior, Washington
17:35wanted his White House to be far more
17:37simple. This was apparently
17:39achieved, and while certain additions were made
17:41over time, none could really be seen
17:43as secret, after all they were
17:45all allegedly public information.
17:47However, there are some
17:49passageways through the White House that
17:51are shrouded in mystery.
17:53According to the White House Historical Association,
17:55there are two passages that they believe
17:57could be seen as somewhat secret.
17:59One was built immediately after
18:01Pearl Harbor. More specifically, the
18:03defense had wanted President Franklin
18:05Delano Roosevelt to move outside the White
18:07House due to it being a fire trap.
18:09However, rather than leave, he agreed
18:11to add a bomb shelter. This
18:13wasn't announced publicly, and when
18:15complete, it was only inspected by FDR
18:17once. Until the 2000s, it
18:19was tradition for incoming presidents to inspect
18:21it on the first day, and over time, it
18:23lost its secret status.
18:25The White House Historical Association also
18:27cites a conduit built to carry
18:29water from the concealed gutters on the roof
18:31away from the house as secret.
18:33However, it was not somewhere where
18:35one would want to spend any time in, and
18:37has since become public information.
18:39The White House to the Treasury Building
18:41Tunnel has a bit more history than
18:43the other two. Built at the same time
18:45as the bunker, it connects the two buildings
18:47in case of an attack on the White House.
18:49While there were attempts to keep it a secret,
18:51its existence was ultimately revealed to the public
18:53during a floor debate by Republican
18:55Congressman Claire Hoffman. In the
18:57years since, the tunnel was used by male
18:59White House aides to sneak in their girlfriends
19:01and mistresses, by presidents hoping
19:03to skip past protesters, and
19:05allegedly by President Bush during 9-11
19:07and President Trump during the January
19:096th events. But perhaps
19:11the most secretive passage, with the
19:13last clear documentation, is the
19:15Tunnel Project ZP.
19:17In a 1996 issue of the U.S.
19:19News & World Report, it was alleged
19:21that at some point in the late 1980s,
19:23a 46-meter tunnel was
19:25dug into the White House connecting the
19:27Oval Office to a location in the East Wing.
19:29Allegedly accessed through a door
19:31adjacent to the President's restroom,
19:33it was meant to provide a route for the
19:35President to be quickly and privately
19:37moved to the Presidential Emergency Operations
19:39Center in the event of an emergency.
19:41And while reports suggest that
19:43Ronald Reagan used the tunnel at some point
19:45while being President, its existence
19:47isn't entirely clear. So,
19:49I'll leave it up for you to decide. Do you think there's more rooms
19:51and passages in there, or is the White House
19:53truly free of such secrets?
19:55Let me know in the comments down below.
19:57Number 3.
19:59Cotton Court. England
20:01is full of princely estates,
20:03and Cotton Court is one of the country's
20:05finest. It's located in central
20:07England. It was constructed in 1409
20:09by the Thockmorton family, and it's
20:11a beautiful example of a Tudor country
20:13house. Now, while its beauty
20:15attracts many people in the area, what
20:17many don't realize is that it's got a secretive
20:19religious history. You see, until
20:21the early 1500s, England was a
20:23devout Catholic country. However,
20:25the reign of King Henry VIII challenged
20:27that Catholic supremacy.
20:29See, Henry had a tendency of marrying wives
20:31on a very short-term basis, only
20:33to try to divorce them or have them executed
20:35once he grew tired of them.
20:37For a mix of both doctrinal and political
20:39reasons, the Pope refused to annul
20:41Charles' marriage to Catherine of
20:43Aragon, and this led to Henry slowly
20:45building the framework to create his
20:47own church. By the late 1500s,
20:49Henry VIII had died, but his
20:51plans were in full swing. The
20:53Act of Supremacy of 1534
20:55declared the English crown to be
20:57the only supreme head on earth of the church
20:59in England, and this meant that the Catholic
21:01deference to the Pope was akin to
21:03treason. In 1570, things
21:05got really too ahead when Pope Pius V
21:07excommunicated Queen Elizabeth from
21:09the Catholic Church. From this point forward,
21:11the crown took the firm stance that it was
21:13impossible to be loyal to both the Queen
21:15and the Catholic Church at the same
21:17time, and this led to a campaign of
21:19Anglicization where all English
21:21Catholics were more or less forced to
21:23join the Church of England, with the King or
21:25Queen being at the Church's head.
21:27Now, this is relevant to Cottencourt's story
21:29because the Thockmortons were an important
21:31Catholic holdout. As practicing
21:33Catholics, they were seemingly active
21:35in attempts to overthrow the English
21:37monarchy so that Catholicism
21:39could be instated once more.
21:41As part of their devotion to the Catholic faith,
21:43they created a secret priest hole
21:45in their manor. Now, a priest
21:47hole was an area where priests could
21:49hide. The Catholic mass could be
21:51practiced or Catholic symbols could be hidden.
21:53In case of the Cottencourt,
21:55their priest hole could be accessed by above
21:57through a trap door in the turret.
21:59Located just beyond the door to the left of
22:01a room in the gatehouse, it was built
22:03into the original structure of the home in a
22:05rather clever way. The top
22:07of it was constructed so that any potential
22:09searchers would believe they had found
22:11an empty priest hole. However,
22:13further into the building, the priest could
22:15hide in a second hidden space.
22:17Well, since Catholic priests faced
22:19torture and execution if they were captured by
22:21the royal authorities, these holes were of the
22:23utmost importance. They were
22:25also created around England. In fact,
22:27it's believed that the one at Cottencourt was
22:29created by Nicholas Owen, a famous
22:31English Catholic spy, artificer,
22:33and escape artist. He's believed to have
22:35built more than 20 priest holes in the country
22:37houses of Catholic families around England
22:39before being caught.
22:41Well, if you like to visit Cottencourt, you're in luck
22:43since it's been in the ownership of the National Trust
22:45since 1946, it's fully
22:47open to the public. This in turn means
22:49you can visit the secret priest hole to get
22:51a glimpse into England's fascinating
22:53yet often tragic anti-Catholic
22:55history. Let the jokes about
22:57priest holes commence.
22:59Number 2. The Palace
23:01of Versailles. According
23:03to many, the Palace of Versailles
23:05is the most grand and elegant
23:07royal property on the planet.
23:09While it was in the hands of the French royal
23:11family for quite some time, it
23:13became as grand as it is today
23:15under King Louis XVI.
23:17Also known as the Sun King,
23:19he expanded the chateau into a
23:21palace in several phases between
23:231661 and 1715.
23:25From 1682 until the French
23:27Revolution, it served as both the official
23:29royal residence and the seat of the government.
23:31However, a march on the palace by the
23:33women of Paris' markets led to this status
23:35coming to an abrupt end in October
23:37of 1789. After the French
23:39Revolution, Napoleon took up residence
23:41during the summer, and once he was deposed,
23:43it was eventually repaired and in time
23:45turned into a French art and history
23:47museum. So as you might imagine,
23:49such an important palace has its
23:51secrets, not the least of which were its
23:53secret passages. Intended to both give
23:55royals a bit of privacy and even a bit of
23:57protection in case things went south,
23:59there are several examples of these now publicly
24:01revealed places inside the castle.
24:03One of the most famous is located
24:05in the palace's grand apartments.
24:07Known as the Secret Passage or
24:09Secret Staircase, it's hidden behind a
24:11door disguised as a bookcase.
24:13This door leads to a narrow staircase
24:15that leads down to a hidden exit in
24:17the palace's gardens, and is so
24:19thin only a handful of people can
24:21enter it at any one time. According
24:23to the historic record, it was used exclusively
24:25by Louis XI, who would pass
24:27through it with his mistresses in order to slip
24:29past the palace's courtiers and guards
24:31unnoticed. A second interesting
24:33room is known as the Secret Droits.
24:35It's located in the palace's northern wing
24:37near the king's private apartments,
24:39and was built in the mid-1700s to
24:41serve as both a private office and a
24:43meeting room to host discreet discussions
24:45between the king and his most trusted
24:47advisors. Also hidden behind
24:49a door disguised as a bookcase, it was even
24:51better disguised than the Secret Staircase.
24:53After all, not only is it soundproof,
24:55but it's only accessible using a secret
24:57mechanism that was known only to the
24:59king and a handful of trusted people.
25:01Best of all, it was also pretty luxurious.
25:03It had its own fireplace, meeting table,
25:05and comfortable chairs in there.
25:07However, perhaps the craziest secret addition
25:09is the bespoke, hidden
25:11mini-palace located within
25:13the larger palace. It's known
25:15as the Petit Trianon. It was gifted
25:17to Marie Antoinette by Louis XVI
25:19in 1774. Its
25:21purpose was to serve as her personal private
25:23retreat, and reportedly, the queen
25:25used it to escape the pressure of courtly
25:27life and enjoy some downtime with her
25:29close friends. It is a beautiful
25:31example of neoclassical architecture,
25:33as it's both luxurious and surrounded
25:35by stunning views of the palace gardens
25:37and parks. Unsurprisingly,
25:39in order to reach it, Marie Antoinette used
25:41her own secret passageway. However,
25:43what's crazy is that while the palace has been
25:45discovered, the exact location of the
25:47passageway is still a mystery, and
25:49some believe that it may simply not exist.
25:51If you want to see all these secretive
25:53additions for yourself, you'll gotta pay for a
25:55specially guided tour in advance.
25:57However, given how cool they are, I'd say it's
25:59totally worth it.
26:01Number 1. The Vatican
26:03As both the seat of the head of the
26:05Catholic Church and a site that attracts
26:07nearly 5 million people a year,
26:09there's absolutely no doubt that the Vatican
26:11is one of the world's most famous buildings.
26:13However, what's less
26:15obvious is the fact that the Vatican
26:17is also home to a secret passage
26:19that was of immense historical importance.
26:21That passageway is known
26:23as the Pasetto di Borgio. It stretches
26:25for over 800 meters. It's a
26:27fortified wall that simply looks
26:29like it's part of the Vatican defenses.
26:31However, it actually serves as a passageway
26:33between the lightly defended Vatican
26:35and the near impenetrable force of
26:37the Castel Sant'Angelo. Now, while
26:39the base of the wall was commissioned by the Ostrogoth
26:41King Totilia during his occupation
26:43of Rome, and while Pope Leo IV
26:45further amped up his fortifications,
26:47the passage itself was commissioned later on.
26:49Now, there is debate as to exactly
26:51who created it. Some scholars
26:53say it was built around 1277
26:55during the pontificate of Niccolò
26:57III, while others say the work
26:59was begun by Pope Boniface IX
27:01in 1389, and completed by
27:03the antipope John XXIII
27:05in 1453. However,
27:07no matter who you attribute it to,
27:09what is clear is that it was enhanced
27:11and renovated over the centuries,
27:13with popes such as Niccolò V,
27:15Sixtus IV, and Alexander VI
27:17all opting to construct paths
27:19for patrols, battlements, watchtowers,
27:21fortifications, and elevations.
27:23This all turned out to be
27:25very useful, as at least on two occasions
27:27it served as an escape route.
27:29The first use of it came in 1494.
27:31In that year, Alexander VI
27:33was pope, and it was also in that
27:35year that he was embroiled in the War of
27:37Succession. More specifically,
27:39France looked to claim the throne of Naples,
27:41and in order to enforce their claim,
27:43they went to war against Naples and its allies,
27:45which had coalesced into a grand
27:47coalition known as the League of Venice.
27:49Unfortunately for Alexander,
27:51France took an early lead, and soon
27:53the armies of French King Charles VIII
27:55were making their way towards Rome.
27:57In order to escape capture, Alexander
27:59was forced to use the Pasetto di Borgo
28:01to hide in the castle Sant'Angelo.
28:03While Alexander ultimately allowed
28:05the French into Rome to avoid bloodshed,
28:07Alexander locked himself away
28:09in order to ensure his own safety.
28:11The good news for Alexander was that the French
28:13lost the war in 1495,
28:15forcing them to flee, and therefore
28:17allowing Alexander to emerge from hiding
28:19unscathed. In 1527,
28:21the passage saw use once more,
28:23this time by Pope Clement VII.
28:25In that year, the War of Cognac
28:27was being fought. Largely geopolitical
28:29in nature, it soon led the troops
28:31to the Holy Roman Empire, attacking
28:33Rome. Consisting of a combined force
28:35of over 20,000 Spanish, German,
28:37and Italian soldiers, these troops
28:39began to attack, and consequently
28:41sacked the city after being left unpaid.
28:43This forced the Pope to use the passage
28:45to flee into Castle Sant'Angelo,
28:47and it's said that only thanks to the defense
28:49provided by his Swiss guard
28:51that he was able to escape unscathed.
28:53From there, Pope Clement remained imprisoned
28:55for about half a year, until tensions
28:57finally died down. So as you might
28:59imagine, this event virtually killed off
29:01any notion of secrecy, and at least
29:03to the public's knowledge, the Passato di Borgo
29:05has not been used for its intended purpose
29:07ever since. Oh yeah, and it's
29:09also now open for public tours,
29:11for those who are curious to walk its path.
29:13Thanks for watching everybody,
29:15I'll see you next time.
29:17Thank you to our channel members.