Squatting Berlin

If you travel to Berlin with the intention of exploring the “underground” culture of the city, visiting squats should be among your plans. It is quite difficult to mention all activities that may happen in the squats since they are in an ever-changing flow of people and events, but they can be roughly divided into the following categories:

WORKSHOPS

Security and privacy protection courses, yoga classes and others. All activities in squats are free or donation based. Some of the work-shops are held weekly (for instance, “Hearts’ Fear” hosts Infosec Workshop every Monday at 19:00). You can just check their websites or hear it around and you only need to show up at the time and date of the workshop. They may not be regular, so if you would like, just check it after the event.

Sometimes, you may face problems with finding the squats, since the entrances are rather kept hidden from people. The only advice could be: speak and ask people around, cafes, markets etc. as the entry to the squat might even be through the nearest bar/pub. As an example, to get into “Kastanienkeller” (one of the legitimated squats), you have to enter Cafe Mogenrot first and ask the staff about the event.

MUSIC

Punk, experimental, hip-hop, electro, reggae or even karaoke of the 80s. Usually, concerts are donationbased or with a suggested price. Some squats are focused on holding music events, and among them are “Schokoladen” and “Kastanienkeller”, that exquisite international alternative concerts for every taste. If you look for more experimental music, then take “Köpi” into consideration.

SCreenings

Visit “Duchsfenster Kino”, where you have to go through the window to get the cinema. Moreover, if you are a fan of Star Trek movies, this place is perfect for you, since they have Monday nights dedicated to this series. Furthermore every Monday and Wednesday squat named “Sama32” has a Film Club. Sometimes there are even chances to take part in screening of the movie which is occasionally held at “Köpi”.

FOOD

Shared meals are organized in most of the squats. These “food events” are usually glutenfree and vegan. “Liebigstraße 34” hosts an event which is the combination of a shared meal and watching movies.

TALKS

One side of the diverse life of squats is talks. It could be a discussion about environmental pollution, politics, confiscation of flats, or even skills of flirting. Besides talks, some writers make a presentation of released books. Also, “Zielona Góra” every Thursday and Wednesday has a vegan Vokü, as well as “Supamolly” – you can come here every Sunday and join a process of cooking and sharing meals.

One of the most useful information resources is radar.squat.net, where all activities can be divided by location, group, type, topic, price, and/or date.

Stephanie Falcione & Guy Kowen & Keesjan Davids

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