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Lepakko: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 60°9′53″N 24°54′52″E / 60.16472°N 24.91444°E / 60.16472; 24.91444
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== Occupation ==
== Occupation ==


Lepakko (or Lepakkoluola) was [[squatted]] in 1979 and used as a music venue, also providing practice rooms for bands, theatre rehearsal space and a dance school. In addition, a motorcycle gang had a workshop.<ref name="Yle-Sorjanen" /> It took its name from the logo of the paint company which still was stencilled on the walls; it had been a butterfly, but the young people saw it more as a bat.<ref name="Yle-Sorjanen2"/><ref name="Yle-Lindfors2" /> It was the first public squat in Finland and its lifetime was extended by negotiating with the city council.<ref name="CUM">{{cite book |last1=Hessler |first1=Martina |last2=Zimmermann |first2=Clemens |title=Creative Urban Milieus: Historical Perspectives on Culture, Economy, and the City |date=2008 |publisher=Campus Verlag |isbn=978-3-593-38547-1 |page=303 |url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=MInQkvnq2H8C&oi=fnd&pg=PA303 |language=en}}</ref> It was then leased for a small fee by the Elmu association.<ref name="Yle-Lindfors" /> The centre became a thriving [[self-managed social centre]] during the 1980s and 1990s.<ref name="SIC">{{cite journal |last1=Berglund |first1=Eeva |last2=Peipinen |first2=Vesa |title=Spaces of Insurgent Citizenship: Activism and acceptability in Helsinki |journal=Yhdyskuntasuunnittelun seura |date=21 January 2018 |url=http://www.yss.fi/journal/spaces-of-insurgent-citizenship-activism-and-acceptability-in-helsinki-part-1/ |language=fi}}</ref>
Lepakko ([[Finnish language|Finnish]] for bat) was [[squatted]] in 1979 and used as a music venue, also providing practice rooms for bands, theatre rehearsal space and a dance school. In addition, a motorcycle gang had a workshop.<ref name="Yle-Sorjanen" /> It took its name from the logo of the paint company which still was stencilled on the walls; it had been a butterfly, but the young people saw it more as a bat.<ref name="Yle-Sorjanen2"/><ref name="Yle-Lindfors2" /> It was the first public squat in Finland and its lifetime was extended by negotiating with the city council.<ref name="CUM">{{cite book |last1=Hessler |first1=Martina |last2=Zimmermann |first2=Clemens |title=Creative Urban Milieus: Historical Perspectives on Culture, Economy, and the City |date=2008 |publisher=Campus Verlag |isbn=978-3-593-38547-1 |page=303 |url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=MInQkvnq2H8C&oi=fnd&pg=PA303 |language=en}}</ref> It was then leased for a small fee by the Elmu association.<ref name="Yle-Lindfors" /> The centre became a thriving [[self-managed social centre]] during the 1980s and 1990s.<ref name="SIC">{{cite journal |last1=Berglund |first1=Eeva |last2=Peipinen |first2=Vesa |title=Spaces of Insurgent Citizenship: Activism and acceptability in Helsinki |journal=Yhdyskuntasuunnittelun seura |date=21 January 2018 |url=http://www.yss.fi/journal/spaces-of-insurgent-citizenship-activism-and-acceptability-in-helsinki-part-1/ |language=fi}}</ref>


== Legacy ==
== Legacy ==


Lepakko was evicted and demolished in 1999.<ref name="Yle-Lindfors" /> It had been a foundational venue for Finnish punk music and hosted [[Radio City (Finnish radio station)|Radio City]], a commercial radio station.<ref name="CUM" />
Lepakko was evicted and demolished in 1999.<ref name="Yle-Lindfors" /> It had been a foundational venue for Finnish punk music and hosted [[Radio City (Finnish radio station)|Radio City]], a commercial radio station.<ref name="CUM" />


mostly used for [[rock and roll|rock]] concerts. Many [[Finnish rock]] artists came into popular knowledge through Lepakko. Lepakko also had a [[sauna]] and on special "steam club" nights one could enjoy sauna and music. The main organiser of the activity was ''ELMU ry'', the Live Music Association of Helsinki.


The name Lepakko is [[Finnish language|Finnish]] for [[bat]] - the shape of the logo of the paint factory that previously owned the building had resembled a bat.

In 1979, a group of young people and the ELMU invaded the building and negotiated with the city officials to make it a place for youth and culture. The house was at first named ''Lepakkoluola'' (Finnish for bat cave), the name was later in most occasions shortened to Lepakko.

Lepakko was demolished to make way for a new office building in 1999, despite complaints that it should be preserved as an institution and a monument of independent Finnish youth and rock culture. The City of Helsinki hired out [[Nosturi]] to ELMU as a substitute.

Currently the site is occupied by a building originally built for [[Nokia]], but actually occupied by [[Ilmarinen]], an insurance company. A statue depicting a bat, in a glass enclosure, is in the yard.


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 17:52, 29 November 2021

Young people in front of the squatted Lepakko in August 1979.

Lepakko or Lepakkoluola was a self-managed social centre in Ruoholahti, Helsinki, Finland, functioning from 1979 to 1999.

History

The building was an paint company warehouse located at Porkkalankatu 1 in the Ruoholahti district of Helsinki, which had been built in 1940.[1][2] It then became derelict and the City Council of Helsinki opened a hostel for alcoholics on December 5 1967, in response to public outcry when several homeless alcoholics had frozen to death in the cold of winter. It hosted up to one thousand people and was called Liekkihotelli, or the Flame Hotel.[2][3][4]

Occupation

Lepakko (Finnish for bat) was squatted in 1979 and used as a music venue, also providing practice rooms for bands, theatre rehearsal space and a dance school. In addition, a motorcycle gang had a workshop.[3] It took its name from the logo of the paint company which still was stencilled on the walls; it had been a butterfly, but the young people saw it more as a bat.[4][2] It was the first public squat in Finland and its lifetime was extended by negotiating with the city council.[5] It was then leased for a small fee by the Elmu association.[1] The centre became a thriving self-managed social centre during the 1980s and 1990s.[6]

Legacy

Lepakko was evicted and demolished in 1999.[1] It had been a foundational venue for Finnish punk music and hosted Radio City, a commercial radio station.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Lindfors, Jukka (8 September 2006). "Elmu valtasi Lepakkoluolan kulttuurille". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Lindfors, Jukka (29 April 2008). "Lepakko Liekkihotellina". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b Sorjanen, Axa (7 October 2014). "Lepakon monet kasvot". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b Sorjanen, Axa (29 April 2014). "Lepakon alku ja loppu". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b Hessler, Martina; Zimmermann, Clemens (2008). Creative Urban Milieus: Historical Perspectives on Culture, Economy, and the City. Campus Verlag. p. 303. ISBN 978-3-593-38547-1.
  6. ^ Berglund, Eeva; Peipinen, Vesa (21 January 2018). "Spaces of Insurgent Citizenship: Activism and acceptability in Helsinki". Yhdyskuntasuunnittelun seura (in Finnish).

Further reading

60°9′53″N 24°54′52″E / 60.16472°N 24.91444°E / 60.16472; 24.91444