Next to the steel and glass office buildings on Gänsemarkt square in Hamburg city center, a loud party is underway. A man in his 40s in a sky-blue shorts and thick glasses is playing a guitar and drums. Dozens of people whose outfits resemble hippie rags more than executive suits are dancing, chatting, swigging beer from bottles and smoking cigarettes that smell stronger than simple tobacco.

“This is a place where you can party for free, make art, have conversations with people and yes, it is a nice part of Hamburg,” says Marius.

“I like it a lot, I think it is really cool, it is a very special place in Hamburg, with a lot of improv arts and concerts, that’s cool and we enjoy it,” added Manuela, a regular here and a friend of Gängeviertel’s residents.

A bathtub full of vodka 

Through the huge window of one of the local galleries you can see a lady in red elegantly filling guests’ glasses with alcohol from a bathtub full of vodka. This art installation could be a metaphor for Gängeviertel, which began in 2009 with an illegal basement bar. A secret spot serving cheap booze, it soon became popular among local artists.

There is more than a touch of irony in this installation: the artists are poking fun at gallery-goers, who sometimes are more interested in the free alcohol at art openings than in the art exhibition itself

But their newfound home was already slated for demolition. The old buildings had been bought by a Dutch businessman, who planned to replace them with yet another block of offices. The artists – mostly from the leftist subculture – took up the fight against gentrification.

“At first we weren’t even thinking occupation, but just ‘hey! These buildings are so great, we have to do something’, because they were about to be torn down. Then, step by step, the idea of occupation evolved” says Matthias, head of the Gängeviertel group of lawyers who began negotiating with the city authorities six years and continue to do so.

“City of Talents”

This isn’t the first time the city has had to deal with squatters. In the past, such attempts have always ended in forced evacuation within 24 hours. But this time was different. Instead of sending the police into Gängeviertel, the authorities approached the squatters with an unusual offer. The city of Hamburg – known at that time just as a trading hub – was in a search for a new image. Inspired by American urban studies guru Richard Florida, local deputies had come up with a new strategy called ‘City of Talents’, based on the idea of cooperation with the local creative communities.

A band performing at the celebration of the 6th anniversary of Gängeviertel

The squatters accepted the offer and over the past six years have transformed their neighborhood into a vibrant community. “Komm’ in die Gänge” has become its slogan — a clever play on words that means “Come to the Gänge district” as well as “Get moving.”

Affordable “nest”

With the help of the authorities, the squatters refurbished the ruined buildings and turned them into a cozy nest. That is how one of the residents — an art school graduate named Solweig — describes the place where she lives and works at a ridiculously low price. Residents pay less than 5 euros per square meter per month — three times cheaper than the average downtown rent. Not surprisingly, Solweig’s exhibition, which opened on the community anniversary of community is dedicated to Gängeviertel.

“This community is my life! It’s the place I live in and I love it so much! I love all the people and they have been so supportive, hell, I couldn’t have done this on my own” says Solweig.

Talking and drinking are the best (and most popular) way to get to know the Gängeviertel community

During the week-long celebration, over a thousand people flocked to the quirky backyards of Gängeviertel. The core of the community is much smaller — only around 70 activists. But it is growing steadily.

You can apply for a room — and a place in the community’s life — at a weekly assembly that is held every Wednesday. However, to be accepted you have to come up with a cultural or social project that will add value to the community. So if you have an idea, hurry up — Komm’ in die Gänge!

The participating journalists pose for a group photograph on the first day of the course

“On the first day, we learned about publishing with WordPress. That is the basis, and I hope that later on we will learn how to do more complicated things that will really improve our skills in digital journalism”, said Mariia Rzaeva, Producer Special Projects at Bumaga, a newspaper in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Mariia admits that she is not so much interested in online writing, but would rather focus more on the structure of interactive narratives and discover new tools for multimedia storytelling.
Her compatriot, software developer turned IT journalist Igor Zubov, added that he had never worked with platforms like WordPress before, so he found the lesson very useful.
“I’m very impressed with the participants’ skills and knowledge and by what they already know and how curious they are”, said Interlink Director Werner Eggert. “I’m very pleased with the intelligent questions they ask.”
As Eggert pointed out on the day the participants arrived, the difference in their backgrounds gives them an opportunity to learn from each other, but also requires that they adjust to each other’s different pace of learning. On the first day, however, everybody seemed to absorb the new information so quickly that the trainers could teach more content, speeding up everyone’s progress.
To keep up the pace for the rest of the course, Werner Eggert asked all participants to adhere to three core principles: punctuality, passion and patience.
So prepare your minds for a deeper digital immersion!