De Grote Broek (English: The Big Trousers) is a legalised squat and self-managed social centre in central Nijmegen in the Netherlands. It was occupied in 1984 and legalised from 2002 onwards. It spans two sides of a city block and has entrances on both Van Broeckhuysenstraat and Tweede Walstraat. The project consists of two separate housing co-operatives living above a cafe on one side and Extrapool and a music venue on the other. Groups with shared political objectives are hosted at the centre.[1]
History of building
The building was first used by two newspapers, the Provinciale Geldersche and the Nijmeegsche Courant. Afterwards it was a furniture shop before becoming derelict in the 1980s.[2]
Occupation
De Grote Broek was squatted on November 4, 1984. At first it was called De Grote Karel (English: the Big Karel) after the owner's name. The name later became De Grote Broek since one side of the block is on Van Broeckhuysenstraat. One resident was Louis Sévèke.[2]
Legalisation
Following the death of the owner in 2002, the city of Nijmegen bought the building and a legalisation process began. Negotiations were made between the occupiers and a housing corporation, Standvast Wonen.[2] The squatters therefore became renters and the renovations were completed in 2009.[3]
Activities
The cafe is called De Klinker and serves vegan food.[1] It actually began in another squat in the 1970s.[4] There is also an anarchist library called De Zwarte Uil (English: The Black Owl).
The venue is called De Onderbroek (English: The Underpants). It is located in the basement and hosts a variety of events, including punk and hardcore gigs.[5] It is running since 1986.[4]
Stichting Straatmensen works with homeless people.[2]
Recent events
The Grote Broek celebrated 30 years of existence in November 2014.[6]
In 2018, an extreme right group was offended by the Grote Broek organising a 'Refugees Welcome' picnic. The group demonstrated for the closure of the centre, which they termed "a violent breeding ground for extreme leftism".[7]
In the same time period there were also scuffles outside the Grote Broek between right wing supporters of Zwarte Piet celebrations and leftwingers who see it as racism.[8]
In 2019, someone was arrested near the Grote Broek and charged with making a death threat against politician Thierry Baudet because the previous day she had been at a demonstration in Amsterdam and had sung "If you want to shoot Thierry dead say pow!" (Dutch: Als je Thierry dood wil schieten, zeg dan paf!).[9]
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