Conne Island

Conne Island is a music venue and self-managed social centre in the Connewitz district of Leipzig, Germany. Conne Island is a stronghold and well-known meeting point for the radical left. Outside, there is a large skate park.

Conne Island
Eiskeller
The center in 2013
Former namesEiskeller, Klubhaus Erich Zeigner
LocationLeipzig, Germany
TypeMusic venue and self-managed social centre
Construction
Built19th century
Opened1991
Website
www.conne-island.de

History

The building was built in the second half of the 19th-century. Initially, it was a restaurant called "Eiskeller" (ice pit). From 1937 onwards, it was used as a centre for the Hitler Jugend, and after 1945 in the GDR it was called "Klubhaus Erich Zeigner" and used as a FDJ youth club. Although the name "Eiskeller" is no longer officially used, this name is still in use by the local population as a nickname.[1]

Conne Island has become a stronghold and well-known meeting point for the radical left.[2] The centre hosts hardcore and punk gigs, and also hip-hop, electronic music and heavy metal. A performance by the band Mayhem, recorded in 1990 before the place became Conne Island, was published in 1993 under the name Live in Leipzig.[3]

In the 2010s, the centre became known as an Anti-German project. Palestinian keffiyehs would be confiscated and returned at the end of the night with a note.[1] The project celebrated 20 years of existence in 2011.[1] In 2016 there were controversies when a self-confessed "Islam hater" spoke at the centre and women spoke up about being sexually harassed at club nights.[4][5]

References
  1. Streich, Juliane (15 September 2011). "20 Jahre "Conne Island": Paradies mit Putzdienst". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  2. Conne Island (Hrsg.) - 20 YRS – Noch lange nicht Geschichte., Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2011 p.19
  3. "Mayhem - Live in Leipzig - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives".
  4. Niewendick, Martin (15 July 2018). "Boykottaufruf nach Auftritt: Warum ein Islamhasser zu Gast bei Linken ist". Die Welt. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  5. Kaul, Martin (12 October 2016). "Flüchtlinge im Conne Island: Verloren in Connewitz". Die Tageszeitung: Taz (in German). Retrieved 4 February 2021.

Further reading

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