Come to the Gisi Stays demo on December 20, 2025, 14:00 at the main station in Winterthur, Switzerland.
As some of you might have heard already, the Stefanini foundation for art, culture and history (SKKG) wants to evict Gisi (General-Guisan-Str. 31, Winterthur), the probably oldest squat in Switzerland, in February 2026.
All negotiation attempts to keep the house ours, alive and lived in uncommercially and self-organized have failed at the unwillingness of the foundation.
Especially SKKG, that preaches art, culture and history, wants to destroy exactly this.
Because in the past 28 years, numerous artists have given Gisi artistic diversity by organizing different workshops, concerts and events.
Over the decades many people have always lived at Gisi, permanently and temporarily. Gisi means affordable housing for many, that don’t have anything.
We created a culture with a critical activism and viewpoint on oppressive mechanisms, profit logic and societal constraints.
We’re not only writing 28 years of history but also aligning us in all leftist, emancipatory fights of the past and future
So clearly SKKG has a different agenda. They want to generate even more profit with their 2200 apartments in Switzerland. And now they want to spend 5 million francs to turn Gisi into a chic, profitable yuppie-temple.
And the city is happy about it. Because the city’s housing politics are strictly designed to benefit the interests of the rich. No matter where in Winterthur, the poor have to make room for luxury apartments and yuppie spaces.
But obviously we won’t accept their threat of destroying Gisi just like that. Let’s make it clear to SKKG and the city, that we will defend Gisi. Because destroying Gisi is an attack on all of us. Us, who have to continuously spend a bigger amount of our salary on rent. Us, who can’t find affordable housing anymore.
The destruction of squatted spaces doesn’t concern just the residents, but the entire city. Once the squats are gone, rents will be rising in the neighbourhood and displacement will hit people all around.
Our fight doesn’t end with Gisi or the other endangered houses and trailer parks. It goes beyond every single house. We fight against capitalist gentrification and the enrichment of a few that profit from people that already have less and can’t afford the continuously rising rent anymore.
Against gentrification and displacement – we will not be moved!
Mobilisation to the “Gisi stays”-Demo 20.12.2025 Main Station Winterthur
Against the destruction of Gisi and to defend affordable housing everywhere we call everyone to join us at the big, diverse “Gisi stays”-Demo on the 20th of December at 2PM. Bring your friends, neighbors, co-workers. Because only a tiny minority profits from the housing crisis. We are more!
Let’s show resistance against displacement and eviction in all it’s facets and forms, just as diverse as all the people that have lived at, visited and made Gisi alive in the past 28 years.
Gisi
General Guisan strasse 31
8400 Winterthur, Switzerland
https://radar.squat.net/en/winterthur/gisi-subkultura-ggs31
http://ggs31.arachnia.ch/
Some squats in Switzerland: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/CH/squated/squat
Groups (social center, collective, squat) in Switzerland: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/CH
Events in Switzerland: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/CH
