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Milada, the last squat in Prague: stronghold of alternative culture

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Default profile picture Jonny S

CultureSociety

In the Holesovice quarter, two towers, part of a university hall of residence, stand amidst the suburbs. An old home sits proudly at the foot of these towers. With its anarchist flags hanging from the balconies, and revolutionary tags on the walls, the last squat in Prague seemingly ‘spits in the face’ of the rest of the world

In 1948, the owners fled their home before the arrival of soviet troops. For nearly fifty years the house belonged to the state but remained empty

Following the split of Czechoslovakia in 1989, the house was left off a register of inheritance property in Prague. Today it is still not on the legal map

The first squatters took over the place at the beginning of the nineties. Since then the faces there have often changed. The premises have even been abandoned at one stage


Currently, the fifteen permanent ‘tenants’ have under their care a real cultural centre with concerts, exhibitions, debates and film screenings

Their way of life as well as their political convictions, come from a rejection of our society and have opened the way for a space where they can share and express their alternative ideas

The government has for a long time sought to do away with this place of underground culture


M*, a resident, explains how Europe appears to be a fascist nation. It does not physically suppress its citizens but deprives them of their conscience and freedom of expression

Despite their attacks, legally, the state cannot do anything

All the more, the voices of an entire community will continue to fight for the squat

Translated from Le squat Milada, bastion d’une autre culture pragoise