The Rote Flora is known throughout the European left-wing scene as a gathering place for activists and radicals. Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière criticized the Rote Flora on Tuesday, saying that such places “cannot be tolerated”. Members of the conservative Bavarian CSU party wrote in a paper released on Tuesday that “virtually extralegal spaces like the Rote Flora [in Hamburg] must systematically be shut down”. The Rote Flora (Red Flora) was first built as the Flora Concert House in the 19th century, reaching its heyday in the 1910s and 1920s. Activists from Rote Flora said on Tuesday that calls to shut down the squat are a way to distract the public from police officers’ own actions.

Source: The Local July 11, 2017 14:51 UTC