Rote Flora

The Rote Flora stands in Hamburg’s Sternschanze district, a former theatre built in 1835 on Schulterblatt. Once a venue for concerts, operettas and boxing, it later became a cinema and then a bargain store. After plans to turn it into a tourist-friendly performance space sparked local alarm, the building was squatted in November 1989. The occupiers declared it a free space for autonomous living just before the Berlin Wall fell. It has remained in their hands ever since, resisting eviction and redevelopment for over thirty years. The centre is now a self-managed hub for left-wing and anarchist activism. It houses a music venue, an infoshop, a social movement archive, a bar, a café and rehearsal rooms. The collective has refused offers of formal contracts and resisted pressure from developers and politicians. In 2013, a campaign called ‘Flora remains incompatible’ helped secure the building’s future as a cultural space. During the 2017 G20 summit, it became a focal point for debate and criticism. Inside, visitors find a busy bar and café alongside rooms for rehearsals and bicycle repairs. Posted rules forbid sexism, racism and other forms of discrimination. The building’s address now honours Achidi John, who died in 2001 after police forced him to swallow an emetic. The surrounding Schanzenviertel is gentrifying, making the Rote Flora both a symbol of resistance and a destination for alternative tourism.