Lepakko or Lepakkoluola was a
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
Ruoholahti
Ruoholahti (; sv, label=Swedish, Gräsviken; both meaning "Grass Bay") is a quarter in Helsinki, part of the Länsisatama neighbourhood and Kampinmalmi district. It is located in the southwestern part of the central city area of Helsinki, clo ...
,
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland, functioning from 1979 to 1999.
History
![Kodittomia liekkihotellilla 1973](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Kodittomia_liekkihotellilla_1973.jpeg)
The building was a paint company warehouse located at Porkkalankatu 1 in the
Ruoholahti
Ruoholahti (; sv, label=Swedish, Gräsviken; both meaning "Grass Bay") is a quarter in Helsinki, part of the Länsisatama neighbourhood and Kampinmalmi district. It is located in the southwestern part of the central city area of Helsinki, clo ...
district of
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, which had been built in 1940.
It then became derelict and the
City Council of Helsinki
The City Council of Helsinki (, ) is the main decision-making organ in the local politics of Helsinki, Finland. The City Council deals with issues such as city planning, schools, health care, and public transport.
The 85-seat Council's members a ...
opened a hostel for alcoholics on 5 December 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.
Occupation
Lepakko (
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
for bat) was
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 ...
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.
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.
It was the first public squat in Finland and its lifetime was extended by negotiating with the city council.
It was then leased for a small fee by the Elmu association.
The centre became a thriving
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 ...
during the 1980s and 1990s.
Legacy
Lepakko was evicted and demolished in 1999.
It had been a foundational venue for Finnish punk music and hosted
Radio City, a commercial radio station.
See also
*
Sosiaalikeskus Satama
Sosiaalikeskus Satama (''Harbor Social Center'') was a social center in Helsinki, Finland, opened in April 2009 and evicted August 2011.
Location
Satama was located north of the Kalasatama metro station. The building stood on the Kyläsaarenka ...
References
Further reading
review on a book about the building in the online edition of Helsingin Sanomat30 minute report from Yle*
{{Authority control
Culture in Helsinki
Buildings and structures in Helsinki
History of Helsinki
Buildings and structures demolished in 1999
Demolished buildings and structures in Finland
Squats
Former squats
Ruoholahti