Metelkova (full name in , "Metelkova City Autonomous Cultural Centre", referred to by the acronym AKC) is an autonomous social and cultural centre in the city centre of Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital city. Formerly, the site was the military headquarters of the Army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, then it became the Slovenian headquarters of the Yugoslav People's Army. It consists of seven buildings (military barracks) extended over a total area of 12,500 m², which have been squatted since September 1993. The squat is named after nearby Metelko Street (Slovene: Metelkova ulica), which is named after the 19th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priest, philologist, and unsuccessful language reformer Fran Metelko.
History
The contested history of Metelkova as a squat begins on June 25, 1991 with the Slovenian and Croatian declaration of independence. This date is considered one of many that mark the end of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia in that year, the Yugoslavian Army left Metelkova, which shortly became a military brownfield with its leftover barracks.
In 1991 the Network for Metelkova, composed of more than 200 alternative and youth organizations, asked the municipality of Ljubljana for permission to use those barracks for peaceful and creative purposes. As a response, Ljubljana authorities gave the Network for Metelkova formal permission to stay and use the site. Nevertheless, those promises given by the municipality were never really maintained. This example on the request for permission demonstrates the ambiguous role of the municipality of Ljubljana towards the Network for Metelkova, in which the municipality seems to allow them to stay there, but in fact it does not want them to stay.
This ambiguous role of the municipality of Ljubljana in regard to Metelkova and its Network has remained over the years. In 1993 the cultural centre became a squat when a commissioner mandated the demolition of some barracks that were promised to the Network, with the aim of illegally reconverting the area into a commercial site. At that time, Metelkova came into being as an illegal occupation (a squat) and was redefined as an autonomous social center in 1995.
Since then, the centre has been a site of tolerance of minorities, even though it is still threatened by the bad treatment it receives by the city and the Slovene state.
Another example of the ambiguity in state and municipality actions towards the Network for Metelkova and Metelkova itself are the subsidies from Ljubljana’s city administration for the construction of a little summer lodge also known as the Small School (from the Slovene: Mala Šola). Nevertheless, the lodge, planned and constructed in 2001 by volunteers, was immediately defined as abusive. In fact, the construction was followed by the request of its demolition, right after another municipal office reported it to the State Inspectorate for the Environment and Spatial Planning. After several failed attempts, the building was demolished on August 2, 2006. Although there are plans to rebuild the building, it has not been reconstructed since then.
In the 2000s, new actors became involved in the Metelkova autonomous zone, for example the LGBT community, other non-governmental organizations and even UNESCO. Although it did not help Metelkova to receive proper legal status, the area was recognized as a national cultural heritage back in 2005.
Squatting activities
In September 1991 the Network for Metelkova was born, merging the Movement for the Culture of Peace and Nonviolence and The Student Cultural Centre Association. When, in 1993, the Metelkova declared its independence from the communal possession, a group of young activists occupied the site. From 1993 onwards, the site has been occupied, in a declared illegal way, mainly by artists, activists and young students, organising a rich agenda of cultural activities. Nowadays, many artists have their own ateliers in Metelkova and some NGOs and LGBT associations have their offices there. Art exhibitions, performances, concerts and engaged activities have taken place in the buildings of Metelkova.
The development of the Metelkova “brand” as an alternative place can be seen as another reason that can explain the existence of Metelkova: in fact, the municipality of Ljubljana sees the presence of a space of this type in a rather positive way because it attracts a large number of tourists and contributes to the promotion of the Slovenian capital in the world.