Travelling to the forest during the ongoing evictions
Currently a large number of police is clearing the forest. In this situation it might be difficult to get into the forest. Please come along anyway! Here, on the edge of the area that may have already been cordoned off, it is easiest for you to get the most current information on about whether and how you can get into the forest or how you can support the occupation of the forest. The situation changes hourly and especially now we are all pretty busy – therefore, we cannot give any tips on how to get here on this page.
There are three permanently registered gatherings near the forest.
- a makeshift Greenpeace office in containers. From Buir station, walk through the underpass under the railway, over the two bridges, past the embankment and then you should beable to see the containers if you look left diagonally over the fields. So turn left as soon as you can.
- a picket by the local movement. Get to it the same way as to the Greenpeace office, then walk past the containers, turn right into the path (behind the small woods), and continue until you reach the main road.
- a camp on the meadow belonging to BUND in Manheim.
According to the Public Meetings Act the police has to allow access to these registered gatherings at all times! Nevertheless, the police are currently checking identification papers and belongings over a wide area. The legality of these measures on the way to the gatherings is questionable and there is an ongoing lawsuit against this, but for now you have to assume that they will do it anyway. The wider area around the forest has been declared a “danger zone” . This is being used by police to justify utterly arbitrary confiscations of allegedly dangerous items (such as paintbrushes, sleeping bags, toilet paper. Yeah, really!) and prohibitions to return to the site (German: Platzverweis).
If your belongings are confiscated, you are entitled to a report of the confiscation. It’s worth insisting on this and making a nuisance of yourself, since you stand no chance of getting your property back if you do not.
If you are prohibited from returning to the site (German: Platzverweise) it is recommended that you do what the police say. A prohibition to return to the site that is not issued in writing or not clearly confined to a particular time or area is invalid. However, that is of no use to you at the moment: The police is allowed to enforce it, meaning, you could be taken into custody and you could face lawsuits due to administrative offences.
When confronted with any police action: Call the investigation panel (German: Ermittlungsausschuss (EA)) ! The latter is responsible for giving you legal advice and keeping in contact with you after arrests in order to ensure nobody gets lost. Please also call if you witness a measure you are not involved in. The police also knows the telephone number and is probably intercepting calls, so do not talk about what you or other activists have done. . It is best to briefly state the location, the measure taken by the police and the legal charge against you or the people concerned, and to answer the questions you are asked.
The acting officials are always obliged to prove their identity by name.
Telephone
Press contact (effective 24.08.2018): +49 (0) 163 1425943 or +49 (0)177 925 0551
Hambi Camp information phoneline (effective 20.09.): 0152 1359 2058
Picket (Effective 2.9.18): 0163 0188 732
Sleeping place exchange Rhineland (Effective 5.09.2018): 0177 6959129
Legal support (effective 08.06.2018): 0049 (0)177 1897053
Out of Action – Emotional (First) Aid: 0177 6957448
press_hambachforest@nullriseup.net
PGP-Schlüssel – Instruction: how do I encode my e-mails
Press
Members of the press find contacts at 0049 177 925 0551 or press_hambachforest@nullriseup.net. Please contact us in any case before you visit us and follow our Rules of conduct for journalists, bloggers, etc.
Description of directions
The forest of Hambach is situated west of Cologne and is easily accessible by public transport.
-> Description of directions with map
Open Street Map
If you’d like to find us with your GPS, please enter:
Sonderlandeplatz Morschenich,
or if that doesn’t work:
Unterstraße 68, 52399 Merzenich-Morschenich.
That is the end of the (no longer) inhabited world. Please turn right there and continue until you reach the airfield. Then turn left and drive around the hangar.
Come around
Please also read this! You can visit us anytime. Especially during the clearing season, police and site security service might be present – please do not feel threatened by their presence. In North Rhine-Westphalia there is a law concerning entry into the forest (German: Waldbegehungsgesetz), which means it’s not illegal to be in the forest or in the tree houses. If you would like to receive more information on the current situation, call us: 0178 163 7325. Find out where & how to get to us here.
Barricades on the forests paths.
Barricades have been erected to secure the forest. This is how we prevent heavy machines from entering the forest, while pedestrians and visiters on bicycles can still enter it. They also serve as a means to show visitors that people are carrying out active resistance against the destruction of the forest. There are different construction types on barricades on the paths in the forest of Hambach. From time to time they are occupied. The barricades in themselves are original and sometimes elaborately designed.
Contact form
Donations/Banking details/List of materials needed
Donations via remittance
Please note: The account is a summary account for several groups. For a correct assignment please enter the subject “Hambacher Forst”. Thanks!
Account: Spenden und Aktionen Subject: Hambacher Forst IBAN: DE29 5139 0000 0092 8818 06 BIC: VBMHDE5FXXX
List of commodity contributions
Click the following link to find a summary of materials required.