Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus



The Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus (EKH) is a self-managed social centre in Vienna's 10th district, Favoriten. It was squatted in 1990 and legalised in 2008. The project is named after Ernst Kirchweger.

Occupation
The building was squatted on 23 June 1990, and became a self-managed social centre, which hosted migrants and refugees, an infoshop, community activities, and political groups. The squatters, who described the EKH as an "international, multi-cultural, anti-fascist centre," named the building after Ernst Kirchweger. He was a former concentration camp inmate and member of the anti-fascist resistance, who was killed in 1965 by a right-wing protester during a demonstration against Taras Borodajkewycz, a former member of the National Socialist German Workers Party.

Negotiations
In 2004, the owner of the house (the Communist Party of Austria, led by Walter Baier) sold the EKH to a real estate company, whose director was accused of being a former right-wing extremist. The residents were threatened with eviction. After a long struggle with many protests and actions, a company with close contacts to the municipality of Vienna bought the building in July 2005. The threat of eviction passed and in 2008, a rental contract was signed.

2020 disturbances
In June 2020, a feminist demonstration protesting the treatment of women in Austria and Turkey, organised by a Kurdish women’s organisation based at EKH, was attacked by the Turkish far-right group the Grey Wolves. In response, anti-fascists organised a counter-demonstration the next day and this resulted in 200-300 neo-fascists attacking the EKH building, throwing stones, bottles and firebombs. The situation then created a diplomatic war of words between Austria and Turkey, with the Turkish ambassador being invited to the Foreign Ministry.