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Køpi (also known as Köpi or Koepi) is a housing project (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
: ''Hausprojekt'') located at 137 Köpenicker Straße in
Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreu ...
,
Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
. It was squatted in 1990 and legalised in 1991 as an autonomous housing project and self-managed social centre. The yard was used as a ''wagenplatz'' for people living in vehicles. It is a left-wing project, connected to punks,
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
s and
Autonomen Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tendenci ...
. The building has become a symbol for the radical left in Berlin in the same manner as Rozbrat in Poznań or
Ungdomshuset Ungdomshuset (literally "the Youth House") was the popular name of the building formally named Folkets Hus ("House of the People") located on Jagtvej 69 in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, which functioned as an underground scene venue for music and rendez ...
in Copenhagen. It has survived several eviction attempts both through political pressure and because the developers have always run out of money.


History of building

The building was constructed in 1905 by a Jewish businessman. A symmetrical
Gründerzeit (; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...
facade stands flanked by two short wings. What can be seen from the street used to be the back of the building, since the front half was destroyed by bombing at the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and was never rebuilt. The surfaces of the building are damaged from the bombs and subsequent neglect, with most of the
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
gone. During World War II, the building was used by the Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (the general electricity company) to house French forced labourers. After the war, the building lay in
East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...
. Under the
German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
(GDR), the building was used for sports activities and there was a bowling alley in the basement. By 1990, it had become vacant and was scheduled to be demolished.


Occupation

Køpi was squatted on 23 February 1990 by
Autonomen Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tendenci ...
from
West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under m ...
. Despite the terrible state of the building, the squatters were attracted by the large rooms. The police did not attempt to evict the occupation, which marked the first time people from West Berlin had squatted in East Berlin. The squatters legalised their occupation with the district council of
Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreu ...
in 1991. From the very beginning, Køpi was a radical left space where
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
s,
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
s, queers and musicians were welcome. The building itself is covered in banners and graffiti. It became known as Køpi because the squatters chose to use the Danish ''ø'' despite the name coming from the name of the street (Köpenicker Straße). Køpi is also spelt Koepi, Köpi and even occasionally Kopi in English or Spanish texts. Køpi has become an important symbol for the radical left in Berlin, linked to projects elsewhere such as the
Ungdomshuset Ungdomshuset (literally "the Youth House") was the popular name of the building formally named Folkets Hus ("House of the People") located on Jagtvej 69 in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, which functioned as an underground scene venue for music and rendez ...
in Copenhagen and Rozbrat in Poznań.


Ownership

The building was owned by the GDR and then by the state which succeeded it. In 1995, the government sold the building to Volquard Petersen, who wished to develop the site into the Sun Courtyards (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
: ''Sonnenhöf''). He then ran out of money and the project was shelved. Petersen fell into debt with the
Commerzbank Commerzbank AG () is a major German bank operating as a universal bank, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. In the 2019 financial year, the bank was the second largest in Germany by the total value of its balance sheet. Founded in 1870 in Hambu ...
and the building was
foreclosed Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mortg ...
. In 1999, the district of Mitte carried out a forced auction. The auction was unsuccessful with none of almost 30 participants offering to buy the property, which had an estimated value of 5.4 million
marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the nove ...
. The offer of Køpi residents to buy the building for one mark was rejected, alongside their request for the terrain to be declared a 'special use site for experimental living' (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
: ''Sondernutzungsfläche für experimentelles Wohnen''). In the meantime, the residents carried out essential repairs such as plumbing and preferred not to repair the facade, since they wanted to remember the chequered history of the building. They also carried out many political actions designed to ensure their survival in the house and this made the building unattractive to investors. For example, when another auction of the building was held in 2007, outside the courtroom there were 300 supporters of Køpi and also 300 police officers. Beforehand, the police had voiced concerns about violence, warning that the political situation was already tense after a solidarity demonstration for
Ungdomshuset Ungdomshuset (literally "the Youth House") was the popular name of the building formally named Folkets Hus ("House of the People") located on Jagtvej 69 in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, which functioned as an underground scene venue for music and rendez ...
. The auction was this time successful, the building being sold for €835,000 (half the estimated market value) to an agent of the new owner called Besnik Fichtner, an Albanian managing director of the company Plutonium 114. He also bought two neighbouring properties for €900,000. The actual new owner was the company Novum Köpenicker Straße 133-138 GmbH. Other sources reported the new owner as the previously unknown company VKB GmbH & Co. KG. The Versicherungskammer Bayern in Münich and the Volkskreditbank in Linz were forced to deny they had anything to do with the company, despite having the same initials as it. Køpi was immediately threatened with eviction. After one week, the Køpi residents had uncovered a paper trail leading to Berlin-based real estate developer Siegfried Nehls. They visited Nehls' parents unannounced and his father invited them to drink tea before Nehls' brother called the police. After one month, the police raided Nehls' headquarters (named as Vitalis Beteiligungsgesellschaft für Altbauten mbH) and twenty other properties, investigating financial irregularities. By 2008, Fichtner had fallen out with Nehls and signed a 30 year rental contract with the inhabitants of Køpi. There had been no actual signed agreement between Plutonium 114 and Nehls, so Fichtner was entitled to make a contract. However, Fichtner then fell into debt and Commerzbank again called for a forced auction of Køpi in 2013. There were also several auctions related to the ''wagenplatz'', which was not covered by the new rental agreement.


Activities

There were 50 people living in the house in 2016 and 50 in the ''wagenplatz'', a yard next to the house where people lived in vehicles and wagons. In addition to being a housing project, the building hosted a variety of activities, including a bar, vegan café, concert venue, cinema,
infoshop Infoshops are places in which people can access anarchist or autonomist ideas. They are often stand-alone projects, or can form part of a larger radical bookshop, archive, self-managed social centre or community centre. Typically, infoshops offer ...
, gym, printing workshop, rehearsal space and a climbing wall. The project is run by a weekly plenary which takes place on Sundays. Only inhabitants of Köpi and members of projects using the space are allowed to attend. No mobile phones are permitted. A report by the Senate Department of Internal Affairs and the police in 2017 stated that "in general, it can be determined that the object Köpi 137 serves both as a retreat for left-motivated criminals and as a starting point for crimes." In response, a Køpi spokesperson stated that "the presence of police on our site is often met with hostility, the parking of tourist buses and structural changes in the area are perceived as an expression of gentrification processes. Displeasure about these things occasionally results in criminally relevant actions." By 2021, the estimated amount of residents had fallen to 30. An eviction order was issued in September 2021, informing the remaining residents that they must vacate the property by 15 October. In response, 1.000 supporters of Køpi demonstrated on 3 October. 600 emergency personnel monitored the demonstration.


See also

*
Hafenstraße Hafenstraße is a street in St. Pauli, a quarter of Hamburg, Germany, known for its legalized squats. The squats were occupied in 1981 and became a figurehead for autonomist and anti-imperialist politics. After a prolonged battle with the city c ...
*
Kunsthaus Tacheles The Kunsthaus Tacheles (English: ''Art House Tacheles'') was an art center in Berlin, Germany, a large () building and sculpture park on Oranienburger Straße, in the sub-neighborhood of Spandauer Vorstadt in the Mitte district. Huge, colorful ...
*
Rote Flora The Rote Flora is a former theatre in the Sternschanze district of Hamburg, Germany. It has been squatted since November 1989 as a self-managed social centre. The collective said in 2001 "We are the 'UFO in the neighbourhood.' The black hole in ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *


External links


Official website

Official blog

Official twitter

Official telegram
{{Music venues in Germany, collapsed 1990 establishments in Germany Autonomism Buildings and structures in Mitte Legalized squats Squats in Germany