Berlin bookstore Kisch & Co. is saved

Berlin – Kisch & Co. remains: The contested Kreuzberg bookstore has found a new location, just seven houses down at Oranienstrasse 32. On Monday, the final contracts will be signed with the new landlord – surprisingly, Deutsche Wohnen. This was announced by KIGE Kiezgewerbe, a public welfare-oriented consulting company that looks after the bookstore, in a press release on Saturday.

The real estate company had apparently made an offer to the owner of the store, which on Tuesday had to vacate its previous location at Oranienstrasse 25 after 23 years in the neighborhood and a long, fruitless struggle. To hand over the keys to the bailiff on Tuesday at 8.15 a.m., a rally from 7 a.m. at the police station with 150 participants has been registered.

The day before, Kisch & Co. can move into the new premises in advance, where a clothing store had previously given up due to corona. The preliminary contracts have already been signed, the rental contract with Deutsche Wohnen is effective from September 1st. An enormous image gain for the group against which the “Deutsche Wohnen & Co. expropriate” initiative is currently running. The popular bookstore is seen in the left scene as a symbol in the fight against gentrification.

In April, the Berlin Regional Court upheld the eviction action brought by a Luxembourg real estate fund. The shop’s lease expired in May 2020, and since then owners and activists have fought to keep the bookstore. Up to 500 people attended earlier protests.

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