Kiefernstraße

Kiefernstraße is a street in the Flingern-Süd district of Düsseldorf that became notorious in the 1980s for squatting. In the mid-1980s there were connections to the Baader–Meinhof Gang. Nowadays, the former squatters have regular leases.LocationKiefernstraße is located at the edge of Flingern-Süd, on the border of Oberbilk. The street runs southwest to northeast from Fichtenstraße for about 180m and then bends to the east in the direction of Erkrather Straße, where Kiefernstraße terminates after another180m. The street is an island of residential housing in the middle of industrial estates and derelict industrial plant. It is also separated from other residential areas by two main roads, Erkrather Straße and Werdener Straße (B 8), and a goods railway line.HistoryKiefernstraße was inaugurated on 30 September 1902, and apartment blocks were built for the workers of the neighbouring Klöckner steelworks, the first apartments being occupied in 1905. In 1975 the buildings became municipal property, following the closure of the steelworks. It was planned to demolish the houses and create an industrial estate on the site.In 1977 the owners began to terminate existing tenancy agreements, although affordable housing was scarce in Düsseldorf. By 1981, when over 100 apartments had already been evacuated by their original tenants, social services placed refugees, mainly from Africa, in some apartments. Following that, 60 apartments were taken over by people looking for somewhere to live. The authorities negotiated with an action group representing the squatters, and finally concluded agreements legalizing the squats, but they also indicated that they would not tolerate further squats, since the apartments were needed for refugees. Further squats followed, however, and the municipal authorities reacted with charges of criminal trespass.