Rog Autonomous Factory (

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

: Avtonomna tovarna Rog), known as Rog, was a squatted bicycle factory in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

. It was used as a

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and

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 ...

from 2006 until 2021. The complex housed a music venue, a skate park, a medical clinic for asylum seekers, a football pitch and artist ateliers. After years of debate over its future, the centre was evicted by the city council in January 2021.

History

In 1871, Ivan Janeš bought the triangle of land in

now bordered by the Trubarjeva, Petkovškovo and Rozmanova streets and set up a

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

. Karel Pollak purchased the land in 1900 and enclosed it, building a villa. The bicycle manufacturers Rog constructed the factory in 1951 and used it until 1991, when the site became derelict. It was recognised as a monument of national heritage in 1998 and bought by the city council in 2002, but remained empty apart from occasionally being used for events.

Occupation

The factory complex was squatted in 2006 and kept the name Rog. The occupiers declared "As a non-formal network of individuals we believe that our actions are completely legitimate and well-grounded, although, at the moment, lacking official permission". The centre was run by assembly and hosted different activities, functioning as both a cultural centre for art and a

. It hosted concerts, lectures, refugee support activities and other events. The centre was used by many groups, such as Antifašistična fronta (Antifascist Front), Nevidni delavci sveta (Invisible Workers of the World) and the Anarcho-Queer-Feminist collective. There was also a medical clinic for asylum seekers. Volunteers built the largest

skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, qua ...

in the Balkans in a previously derelict hall. Another hall housed the concert venue and there were also the "Blue corner", a football pitch, a circus space, artist ateliers, galleries and a graffiti workshop.

Conflict with city council

Mayor Zoran Janković threatened to evict the squat in 2010, but the support of the local community and organizations dissuaded him. In 2010, the city of Ljubljana participated in the Central European project ''A Second Chance: From Industrial Use to Creative Impulse'', joining the cities of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

(former

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factory),

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(HALLE 14 of the former Cotton Spinning Mill),

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(the

Arsenale The Venetian Arsenal ( it, Arsenale di Venezia) is a complex of former shipyards and armories clustered together in the city of Venice in northern Italy. Owned by the state, the Arsenal was responsible for the bulk of the Venetian republic's ...

), and

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(a tram depot). The project aimed to upgrade former industrial sites into cultural hubs, and to make Rog into the Rog Centre for Contemporary Arts. In 2016, the squat celebrated its ten year anniversary with concerts, exhibitions and debates. In June, the city council unsuccessfully attempted to evict the centre, bringing a digger to start demolishing in the middle of the night. It was later sued by the centre. A demolition permit had been signed in 2011 and extended in 2014, and was due to run out with no possibility to extend it again. The Rog collective then presented its own vision of how to develop the factory complex.

Eviction

Rog was evicted in January 2021 by the city council, which claimed it was empty and abandoned at the time. The centre argued that the people ordered to leave the site following a court case had indeed left but other people were still using the space since in total there were between 100 and 200 participants, tolerated by verbal agreement with the council. The centre was given thirty days to appeal the judgement. Twelve people were arrested as they tried to stop city workers beginning the demolition of the site and eight were later charged with various offences. Afterwards a man was charged with burning down a tree at

Prešeren Square Prešeren Square ( sl, Prešernov trg) is the central square in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is part of the old town's pedestrian zone and a major meeting point where festivals (like the annual Ljubljana Dragon Carnival), concerts, spo ...

. The city of Ljubljana plans to set up a cultural centre in the foreseeable future in the former factory called the Rog Centre. An additional budget of 1.85 million euros has been funnelled towards the project, which aims to house 500 creative workers in 8000 m² of new development.

References

External links

Rog factory websiteRog – We are temporary
a documentary about the Rog factory