Winterthur: Defend all squats, defend decent housing for all! Gisi bleibt!

International Call to Action and Solidarity

Dear friends and comrades

We urgently need your help and solidarity.

The oldest squat of Winterthur/CH (and probably of Switzerland) is imminently threatened to be evicted in August. Gisi, at General-Gusian-Street 31, was squatted in January 1997 and is until now used as home for a lot of people without much money and as a social meeting point and non-profit culturals space.

Over the last years we, Häuservernetzung Winterthur, tried everything not to let this happen and to save this important house as a home and social and radical cultural space from destruction.

But the owners, SKKG – a very wealthy real estate- and art-foundation – are planning to renovate the house for five million Swiss francs to make more profit of every house they own. Letting rich people take over the last piece of inner city of Winterthur. [Read More]

Winterthur: Gisi stays! No profit with housing!

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. [Read More]