THE HISTORY OF UNGDOMSHUSET
Ungdomshuset (literally "the Youth
House") was the name of the building formally known as Folkets Hus
("House of the People") located on Jagtvej 69 in Nørrebro,
Copenhagen.
Ungdomshuset
was build by the local workers movement to function as a base in
the struggle of social justice. Here they had meetings and parties
during the fight. In the 1950's many labour unions build their own
houses and the house was more or less empty until the 80's. In the
80's, the squatter's movement grew, and it was in this very house
that the Initiative for a Youth's House met and formed their
demands to the Town Council. Within two years of massive house
squatting the Town Council gave up and gave Ungdomshuset to the
movement.
Ungdomshuset, was a four storey political and
cultural centre. It was the base of the radical D.I.Y. scene in Copenhagen, a venue for music
and rendezvous point for varying autonomous and leftist groups from 1982 until 2007 when
- after prolonged conflict - it was torn down. Due to the ongoing
conflict between the municipal government of Copenhagen and the
activists occupying the premises, the building was subject to an
intense media attention and public debate since the mid-1990s.
The house had activities going on almost every
single day, from Monday meetings and political debates to shows and
cinema in the weekends. Furthermore, the house had different kinds
of workshops and practise rooms for local bands.
Ungdomshuset was an alternative to a world causing
conflicts between people. We knew that we were not able to make a
perfect society within this world, as its laws and restrictions are
pressuring us and because we ourselves are also manipulated by its
ways. The primary difference between the surrounding society and us
is that we constantly fight the structures that causes problems
betweens people
- and you are still free to join
us!
