Ungdomshuset

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Ungdomshuset 2006

The Ungdomshuset ( Danish : the youth center) was a building in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen . Originally it was a people's home and a center of the labor movement. In 1982 the city of Copenhagen made the house available as a youth center after it was occupied . Since then it has acted as a meeting point for the underground scene and various left-wing groups, as well as a venue for concerts and festivals .

Ungdomshuset was since 1999 the subject of a controversy between the city, the users of the house and of the Protestant faith community Faderhuset (Danish: father's house), was sold to it. After the sale, the previous users stayed in the house and occupied it. In addition to political initiatives for the preservation of the house, there were Sometimes violent protests. In March 2007 the building was cleared and demolished.

Because of its history as a place of the early labor movement, the former people's home was classified as a lower level architectural monument. On a scale from 1 (highest value) to 9, it was given a 2 for historical and 4 for architectural value. However, that was not a reason for non-demolition, as there were also a number of other houses that were demolished despite ratings of 1, 2 and 3, according to the city administration.

history

Volkshaus

The Ungdomshuset building was completed on November 12, 1897 as Folkets hus (House of the People). At that time, the house served as a place of retreat for the labor movement that was beginning in Copenhagen. Folkets Hus was the fourth house of its kind in Copenhagen. Many demonstrations and rallies started from the house, for example the "Storm on the Stock Exchange" in 1918, when unemployed people led by anarchists violently attacked the Copenhagen Stock Exchange . In 1910, the Second International held the International Socialist Women's Conference in the house, on which March 8th was proclaimed International Women's Day . Among others, Lenin , Rosa Luxemburg and Clara Zetkin stayed and worked in the house .

In the 1950s, associations and unions of the labor movement were still predominantly using the house, although various other activities were taking place, including boxing matches and dance events.

Vacancy

In 1956, the labor movement built a new people's house in the Vesterbro district (since 1996 the Vega concert hall and night club) to relieve the worn building. From 1963 to 1978 it was then empty. Efforts to build an Irma supermarket failed because of the historical value of the building; Instead, the neighboring building, which is also worth preserving, fell victim to this purpose (today's Aldi store). In 1978 the house was bought by the folk dance group Tingluti, but abandoned after a few years and sold to the city of Copenhagen.

From 1982: youth center

In 1982 the house was occupied by squatters who wanted to found a self-governing youth center. After negotiating with the city of Copenhagen, they undertook to reach an agreement with the city authorities, and the right to use the house was left to an indefinite group, the "users of Ungdomshuset" . The city of Copenhagen remained the owner of the building. Assurances were given that the city would not sell the building. An administrative group, which, according to the agreement, was supposed to maintain contact with the city authorities, was selected by the collectively managed house, but disappeared again after a few years. Over the years, the house has provided a framework for many different groups and cultural activities, but the influence of autonomous revolutionary groups has increased steadily since the mid-1990s.

In 1993 the Ungdomshuset received a liquor license ; on the other hand, neighbors have been complaining for years about noise and vandalism from users of the house.

Fire in 1996 and demolition plans

In 1996 the interior of the building was badly damaged by fire. In addition, the house was infested with fungus and redness and had inadequate electricity, heating and plumbing installations. The city authorities therefore decided to demolish or sell the house. As the decision was delayed, however, the building was still used and repaired by the users themselves with limited resources, even if this did not meet the high requirements of today's building regulations.

Two left parliamentary groups in the town hall ( Socialistisk Folkeparti and Enhedslisten ) proposed a payment of 2 million kroner (€ 270,000) instead of the sale, which should be enough for new toilets and the repair of the fungus damage. The house would have had the standard of a shell. The activists themselves would take on the missing rest of the money through private donations. However, the majority in the city council said that the repair of the house would cost 11.5 million crowns plus VAT (€ 1.5 million + 25%).

Bourgeois politicians continued to emphasize, however, that the house disturbs the neighbors, is the starting point for criminal activities and a source of unrest in the district. Signatures were collected from neighbors to clear the house; however, an initiative to maintain the house was able to collect a greater number of signatures. Soon the social democratic faction in the town hall also supported the sale, and the proposal was accepted.

Sale of the house

In 1999 the building was put up for sale. The activists in the house hung up a banner with the text "For sale including 500 autonomous, stone-throwing violent psychopaths from Hell", which was meant ironically and should deter potential buyers. The company Human A / S bought the building in December 2000. Human A / S was a newly founded, unknown stock corporation, represented by the business lawyer Inger Loft. The conservative, right-wing Christian Faderhuset was also among the bidders, but was rejected by the city authorities as a dubious buyer. The purchase agreement included a clause according to which the house could only be resold within a year with the consent of the city council. However, as early as 2001, all shares in the supporting company Human A / S were sold to Faderhuset, which meant the de facto change of ownership of the house. The company Human A / S, for its part, was founded by the Faderhuset religious community for the acquisition of the youth house and is still engaged in the acquisition and sale of real estate today. The loss-making company account of Human A / S is used for money laundering for Faderhuset. The religious community is also active in other branches of the economy, including the cleaning industry, in which it has gained a dubious reputation for example through gag agreements.

2001–2006: dismissal and legal proceedings

The new owner has now given notice to the users of the house, which, according to the 1997 revised agreement with the city of Copenhagen, was possible with a three-month notice period. After the deadline on December 31, 2001 at 12 noon, 50 members of the Faderhuset got into the house with the help of a locksmith. Ungdomshuset activists prevented members of the Faderhuset from entering the house. The situation escalated; According to the Faderhuset , 35 of its members had to be treated in an emergency room .

In August 2002, Faderhuset summoned the house's users to court to confirm their property rights. For their part, the house's activists claimed that even after the house changed hands, the right of use under the original agreement with the City of Copenhagen would continue. On January 7, 2004, the Copenhagen City Court ruled that all agreements on the use of the house had ended. On August 28, 2006, the district court confirmed the judgment as a second instance. On October 30, 2006, an appeal to the Supreme Court was denied (treatment there only takes place under principled circumstances, if no precedent has yet been set ).

The completion of the eviction was scheduled for December 14, 2006. However, on November 30, 2006, the Copenhagen police told the Executionary Court that they could not guarantee security if an eviction occurred on that date. The implementation has been postponed indefinitely.

Debate on the continuation of the house

Various efforts were made to buy the building from Faderhuset in order to enable the house to continue to exist . Behind it stood z. B. the Jagtvej 69 Foundation and the Parents Association for Ungdomshuset . These organizations state - even after the last development - that the politicians are to blame for the riots.

Copenhagen's Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard and the police director have asked Faderhuset to reconsider the sale of the house.

However, Faderhuset has declined all offers, as she does not want her property rights to be influenced by threats and violence (see below). On December 12, 2006, an offer by an initiative to buy back the house for around 2 million euros was rejected by Faderhuset.

After the riots on December 16, 2006, politicians and the media largely distanced themselves from the continued existence of the house.

Autumn / Winter 2006: demonstrations and riots

On October 22, 2006, 50 to 60 activists tried to break into a service at Faderhuset , but were denied them. However, two young men who had dressed inconspicuously managed to get inside the church. Her request to present her view of things to the congregation was rejected.

On November 26th, 2006, 75 to 100 activists broke into a children's church service at Faderhuset and threw u. a. with color.

On December 14, 2006, the date originally scheduled for the evacuation, a star march for the preservation of Ungdomshuset with several thousand participants also took place. In addition, the pirate station Piratradio 69 was set up, which broadcast continuously until the evacuation.

An unannounced demonstration for Ungdomshuset, in which activists from several European countries took part, led to serious riots in the Nørrebro district on December 16, 2006, with road closures, fires and smashed bank and shop windows. Four protesters and two police officers were injured. 273 demonstrators were arrested, including around 30 Germans.

Demolition of the building on March 5, 2007

On March 1st 2007 the Ungdomshuset was evacuated by the Politiets Aktionsstyrke (AKS), the anti-terrorist unit of the Danish police . During the evacuation, two helicopters and a forklift truck with an ISO container attached were used. The eviction resulted in undeclared demonstrations, the building and defense of barricades and violent attacks on police officers. The Danish police managed to defuse the riots. There were several dozen injured. Denmark suspended the Schengen Agreement and preventive border controls were carried out. In the evening, a peaceful demonstration against the eviction took place, in which 1,000 to 2,000 people took part. In many other cities, too, especially in Germany, there were spontaneous demonstrations of solidarity. The largest demonstration took place in Hamburg with around 800 participants. In further street battles with the police the following night, around 200 people were arrested in Copenhagen.

The riots of the previous day continued on March 2nd. A group of activists occupied the party headquarters of the Danish Social Democrats to draw attention to the party's political responsibility.

After prolonged street battles during the night, the police tightened their course on March 3 and penetrated various social projects in Copenhagen during the morning, at least one of which took place without judicial authorization. The decision as to whether the searches were legal is still pending. Those present were preventively arrested. Another peaceful star march took place in the afternoon, attended by around 2,000 people.

March 2007: demolition

After preparatory work had already been carried out on March 3rd and 4th, the house was demolished under police protection since the morning of March 5th. The work has meanwhile been stopped again due to environmental concerns. However, the demolition continued and completed after a brief hiatus.

After the demolition

Since the demolition, numerous political campaigns have called for a new youth center. Since then there has been a demonstration every Thursday, in which several hundred people regularly take part. There were also some temporary occupations, media guerrilla and other symbolic actions and expressions of solidarity from all over the world.

Exactly six months after the house was demolished, riots broke out in Nørrebro following a demonstration on the night of September 2, 2007. Around a thousand, mostly young, demonstrators who had taken part in a protest march set cars and barricades on fire and looted several shops and restaurants. The police used tear gas and arrested 63 people. A police officer was injured, according to the authorities. Contrary to the original letters of intent of the owners, who had announced their own needs , the property was offered for sale for a sum of two million euros.

On October 6th there was a day of action aimed at occupying a new house. The plans for this day were completely transparent and public, the activists made both the target and their strategy public. This step in public was justified with the better mobilization. Another important aspect of the strategy was the avoidance of the active use of force. Based on the target object (an old waterworks on Grøndalsvænge Allé 13), the activities were grouped under the name Action G13 .

The strategy of transparent mobilization has proven to be at least partially successful. Around 3,000 to 5,000 people took part in the demonstration and the actions and around 300 activists managed to get onto the site. The police cleared the site on the same day and arrested those present. A total of 436 people were arrested in connection with the actions that day, more than ever before in a single incident. Despite a large-scale operation in which tear gas was used to prevent a demonstration train from crossing a railway line and thus even getting onto the site of the waterworks, both the police and the demonstrators later emphasized that the demonstrators largely refrain from using force; of those arrested, only 3 were charged with violence. However, the demonstrators criticized the brutal behavior of the police.

On Monday, December 22nd, 2008, the Copenhagen City Court ruled against the 15 activists who barricaded themselves in Ungdomshuset in protest against the impending eviction. The sentences were one year and three months for 11 activists, one year for three activists and nine months for one activist. The focus of the judgment was the found depot of defense material: helmets, gas masks, monitoring instruments, etc.

The new house

The new Ungdomshus in Dortheavej 61 opened its doors on July 1st, 2008. The two buildings in a suburb to the north-west of Copenhagen were previously part of an urban social center with which the house now shares the property. The total area of ​​the two buildings is 2000 m², which corresponds to the space that the activists had in Ungdomshuset.

In October 2008 the documentary "69" was released about the last six months of Ungdomshuset. Nikolaj Viborg's film won several awards.

swell

  1. ↑ Politiken.dk Ungdomshuset Skal rives ned (Ungdomshuset is to be demolished)
  2. ↑ a b c d The daily newspaper Hot Winter in Copenhagen
  3. ↑ Rune Engelbreth Larsen: Ungdomshuset versus Faderhuset , humanist.dk, dec. 2006
  4. ^ Minutes of the City Council from May 6, 1999 ( Memento from June 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Still massive support for Ungdomshuset
  6. ↑ a b Politiken.dk Unge nægtes adgang til Faderhusets gudstjeneste (adolescents are denied access to church services by their father's house )
  7. ↑ Politiken.dk Fredelig støtte på Rådhuspladsen (Peaceful Support on Town Hall Square) ( Memento from September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Politiken.dk Sørgeoptog med at least 1,000 deltagere på vej mod Nørrebro (funeral procession with at least 1000 participants on the way to Nørrebro)
  9. ^ The time of riots after the youth center was vacated
  10. ↑ Politiken.dk Socialdemokraternes hovedkontor besat (headquarters of the Social Democrats occupied)
  11. ↑ Politiken.dk Miljøkontrol stopper nedrivning af Ungdomshuset ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ Politiken.dk Nørrebro rydder op i gaderne strength
  13. ↑ Thomas Stahel: Living the Dream very far outside. (PDF) In: Jungle World No. 35. August 27, 2009, accessed on January 31, 2017 .
  14. ↑ Berlingske Jagtvej 69 flytter til Dortheavej 61
  15. ^ Movie 69

literature

Web links

 Wikinews: Street riots against eviction of a youth home in Copenhagen  - news

Coordinates: 55 ° 41 ′ 38 "  N , 12 ° 32 ′ 52.7"  E