61 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
61 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
**Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus** or **EKH** is a [social
|
|
center](Social_Center "wikilink") and [former
|
|
squat](List_of_Squats "wikilink") (between [1990 and
|
|
2008](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Western_Europe "wikilink"))
|
|
in Vienna, [Austria](Republic_of_Austria "wikilink").
|
|
|
|
## History
|
|
|
|
The building had been constructed in 1931 as a school for the children
|
|
of Czech and Slovak immigrants to Vienna, becoming property of the
|
|
Communist Party of Austria in 1945. It was eventually unused and
|
|
neglected, and became occupied by squatters in 1990 who named it after
|
|
the communist and [anti-fascist](Anti-Fascism "wikilink") martyr Ernst
|
|
Kirchweger, who was murdered during a protest of a Nazi public speaker
|
|
in 1965.
|
|
|
|
In 2004, the [Communist Party of
|
|
Austria](Communist_Party_of_Austria "wikilink") attempted to sell the
|
|
building to a real estate company who's managing director who had been
|
|
accused of links to local far-right and neo-nazis groups in the area,
|
|
such as the Neue Rechte. This sparked massive protests by the squatters
|
|
and their supporters which prevented the sale of the building,
|
|
eventually allowing them to become paying tenants in 2008.
|
|
|
|
In 2013, 30 [Neo-Nazis](Neo-Nazism "wikilink") from the 'Immortal
|
|
Vienna' stormed the house and beat a local communist, leading to a fight
|
|
in the house. In 2016, far-right [Turkish
|
|
Nationalists](Turkish_Nationalism "wikilink") stormed the house to
|
|
disrupt the celebration of a Serbian society, believing it was a
|
|
[Kurdish](Kurds "wikilink") event, lighting fires and tearing up posters
|
|
before being kicked out.\[1\]
|
|
|
|
## Functions
|
|
|
|
The squat mainly serves as a space of shelter for refugees and
|
|
anti-fascists, reading groups, discussion spaces and occasional parties,
|
|
but other functions include:
|
|
|
|
- Library holding leftist and anarchist literature
|
|
- Bicycle workshop
|
|
- Computer lab
|
|
- Advice for illegal immigrants
|
|
- Concert room
|
|
- Emergency shelter for refugees
|
|
- Meeting spaces for [anti-fascists](Anti-Fascism "wikilink"), refugee
|
|
activists, [feminists](Feminism "wikilink"), environmentalists and
|
|
[anarcho-syndicalists](Anarcho-Syndicalism "wikilink")
|
|
- Printing workshop
|
|
- Free legal advice for illegal immigrants and ethnic minorities
|
|
|
|
## Contact
|
|
|
|
The website of the squat can be found [here](https://med-user.net/~ekh/)
|
|
(In German)
|
|
|
|
## References
|
|
|
|
<references />
|
|
|
|
1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") (In German)
|
|
<https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus> |