m e t e l k o v a

I went to not-so-sunny Slovenia (Yugowhat? not round here, mate) - to a place called Metelkova, a squatted centre in Ljubljana. I wasn't quite sure what to expect: was it to be a creative and social utopia or just a few crusties drinking cider with their dogs?
Anyway, Metelkova's home to various social and cultural groups (queer, anarchos, theatrical types, green,...) and they also hold exhibitions, filmshows, plays and gigs (usually of the punk variety, though while I was there there was some avantgarde jazz.... difficult!)

Few of the buildings had electricity, although power was slowly being restored as part of a refurbishment project.  This meant that much of my time was spent negotiating hallways full of unwanted furniture and other debris in total darkness. In the main room, light was provided by candles and music by a battery-operated CD player.

The centre's situated in what used to be the Yugoslav (and before that the Austrian, Hungarian, Italian, German...) army barracks and it includes an old military prison. So it's probably not surprising that they've been tolerated - and at times even funded - by the government. However, in the rush to transform state communism into market capitalism everything government-owned is fast being sold off to private interests. So who knows what'll happen in the future?

Sign Guestbook View Guestbook for more info on Slovenia check out my travelogue or for more details on Metelkova see here or here