Conne Island is a

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...

and self-managed social center and a center for the Ultra-German movement in the Connewitz district of

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, Germany. Outside, there is a large skate park.

History

The building was built in the second half of the 19th century. Initially, it was a restaurant called "Eiskeller" (ice pit). From 1937 onwards, it was used as a center for the Hitler Jugend, and after 1945 in the GDR it was called "Klubhaus Erich Zeigner" and used as a FDJ youth club. Although the name "Eiskeller" is no longer officially used, this name is still in use by the local population as a nickname. Conne Island has become a stronghold and well-known meeting point for the radical left. The center hosts hardcore and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

gigs, and also

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

and heavy metal. A performance by the

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

band Mayhem, recorded in 1990 before the venue became Conne Island, was released in 1993 under the title '' Live in Leipzig''. In the 2010s, the center became known as an Anti-German project.

Palestinian keffiyeh The Palestinian ''keffiyeh'' () is a distinctly patterned black-and-white ''keffiyeh''. White keffiyehs had been traditionally worn by Palestinian peasants and bedouins to protect from the sun, when Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire. ...

s would be confiscated and returned at the end of the night with a note. The project celebrated 20 years of existence in 2011. In 2016, there were controversies when a self-confessed "Islam hater" spoke at the center and women spoke up about being sexually harassed at club nights. During the COVID-19 pandemic, German-American record label Unity Worldwide Records compiled and released a benefit Various Artists compilation to help keep the venue open. ''Strength Thru Unity: A Conne Island Benefit Compilation'' was released on 18 October 2021 and features exclusive songs from

As Friends Rust As Friends Rust is an American melodic hardcore band based in Gainesville, Florida. The original line-up, which included vocalist Damien Moyal, guitarist Henry Olmino, bass guitarist Jeronimo Gomez, and drummer Matthew Crum, formed in Davie, F ...

, Be Well, Beatsteaks, Boysetsfire,

Cock Sparrer Cock Sparrer () is an English punk rock band formed in 1972 in the East End of London. Although they have never enjoyed commercial success, they helped pave the way for the early '80s punk scene and the Oi! subgenre. Their songs have been cover ...

, Comeback Kid, Death by Stereo,

Field Day Field day may refer to: * For the armed forces use and its derivatives, see wiktionary:field day * Field day (agriculture), a trade show * Field Day (amateur radio), an annual amateur radio exercise * Field Day (band), a Canadian pop-punk band fro ...

Heaven Shall Burn Heaven Shall Burn is a German extreme metal band from Saalfeld, formed in 1995. The band consists of vocalist Marcus Bischoff, guitarists Maik Weichert and Alexander Dietz, bassist Eric Bischoff and drummer Christian Bass. They are currently sig ...

, Pascow, Perkele, Sick of It All,

Terrorgruppe Terrorgruppe () is a German punk rock band from Berlin-Kreuzberg founded in February 1993. The band writes lyrics in German, and their music is usually categorized as fun-punk ('punk pathetique' or 'pret-punk'). Their lyrics address social and ...

, Think About Mutation, Turbostaat, Youth of Today and Zoli Téglás.

References

External links

Official website of ''Conne Island''

History

References

External links

Further reading