A five-story building. Damaged by bombs. That’s K\u00f8pi.
K\u00f8pi. It’s more than just a building in Berlin’s Mitte district. It’s a symbol. A symbol of resistance. A testament to the enduring spirit of a community. Built in 1905 by a Jewish businessman. Its Gründerzeit facade stands proudly. Damaged yet defiant. Half the building was destroyed during World War II. It was never rebuilt. This is K\u00f8pi.
During the war the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft used K\u00f8pi. They housed French forced laborers there. After the war K\u00f8pi sat in East Berlin. The GDR used it for sports and a bowling alley. By 1990 it stood vacant. Scheduled for demolition. Then came February 23 1990.
Autonomen from West Berlin squatted K\u00f8pi. The police didn’t intervene. It was the first West Berlin squat in East Berlin. They legalized their occupation in 1991. K\u00f8pi became a haven. A space for anarchists socialists queers and musicians. Banners and graffiti cover its walls. The squatters chose the Danish \u00f8. Despite its origins in the street name K\u00f6penicker Strasse. K\u00f8pi also goes by Koepi K\u00f6pi or even Kopi.
Ownership changed hands. The government sold K\u00f8pi in 1995. The new owner Volquard Petersen planned Sun Courtyards. He ran out of money. The Commerzbank foreclosed. Auctions failed. K\u00f8pi’s residents offered one mark. Their offer was rejected. They carried out essential repairs. They refused to fix the facade. A reminder of K\u00f8pi’s history. They engaged in political actions to stay. This deterred investors.
Another auction in 2007. Three hundred supporters faced three hundred police officers. The building sold for €835.000. Half the estimated value. The new owner Besnik Fichtner. An Albanian managing director of Plutonium 114. Eviction loomed. The residents investigated. They found a connection to Siegfried Nehls. A Berlin real estate developer. The police raided Nehls’ headquarters. They investigated financial irregularities. Fichtner signed a 30-year rental contract.
By 2016 fifty people lived in K\u00f8pi. Fifty more lived in the wagenplatz. A yard with vehicles. K\u00f8pi housed a bar a vegan cafe a concert venue. A cinema an infoshop a gym and more. Run by a weekly plenary. No mobile phones allowed.
A 2017 report labeled K\u00f8pi a retreat for left-wing criminals. K\u00f8pi responded. They cited police hostility gentrification and resulting actions. By 2021 only thirty residents remained. An eviction order came. A thousand supporters demonstrated. Six hundred emergency personnel monitored them.
K\u00f8pi’s story continues. A story of defiance. A story of community. A story of a building that’s more than bricks and mortar. It’s a living breathing symbol of radical left Berlin. This is K\u00f8pi. Remember it.