Centro 73 (pronounced ) was a

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

and

cultural centre A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Asia * Cen ...

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

and the first squat created in

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

. The early twentieth century villa at 73 Alexei Mateevici street was a monumental building which the owner intended to demolish. It was occupied in August 2010 and evicted in December the same year.

History

The villa at 73 Alexei Mateevici street in Chişinău, the capital of

, was constructed in the early twentieth century and was rated as a local monument by the

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unite ...

. After World War II, it was lived in by a Romanian general. In 2005, the president of the Academy bought the building, intending to live there, and after two years sold it to an Italian businessman. The villa then stood empty for several years.

Social centre

Inspired by squatting movements in other European countries, artists and students occupied the villa in August 2010. It was in a bad condition and with the help of volunteers it was cleaned up. It opened to the public on 25 September 2010 as Centro 73, the first

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

self-managed social centre Self-managed social centers, also known as autonomous social centers, are self-organized community centers in which anti-authoritarians put on voluntary activities. These autonomous spaces, often in multi-purpose venues affiliated with anarchi ...

in Moldova. The centre was used as a place for alternative culture and events such as concerts and exhibitions were organized. On 20 November 2010, Centro 73 did a solidarity action for freedom of

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. The Italian owner intended to demolish the building despite its monumental status, which concerned the occupiers since in the previous two years, forty buildings out of a total of 977 monuments had been demolished. On 1 November 2010, a protest was organised by Centro 73 against demolitions under the slogan "Salvaţi Chişinăul istoric" ("Save historic Chişinău"). This was featured in local media such as

Publika TV Publika TV is a Moldovan broadcast news television station. It was launched on 7 April 2010, their founders being the Romanian businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vîntu and the Moldovan businessman Vladimir Plahotniuc.Jurnal TV Jurnal TV represents a general TV channel from the Republic of Moldova, launched in 2009 on Internet and in 2010 in ether, which transmits in Romanian and partially in Russian. Initially it was created to be the first news television of Republic ...

. The building was evicted in December 2010 and the squatters claimed a victory since the owner had pledged to renovate instead of destroying it. Afterwards, the same group of people briefly occupied the former Turkish embassy, also on Alexei Mateevici street. They then set up Art Labyrinth in collaboration with the city authorities. The legally established

based in an old museum provided space for concerts, meetings and art exhibitions.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Former squats Social centres DIY culture Chișinău Buildings and structures in Chișinău 2010 establishments in Moldova Monuments and memorials in Chișinău 2010s disestablishments in Moldova