UPDATE FROM THE FOREST:
Recently the occupied Hambacher Forest celebrated its 14th birthday. The occasion was met with flaming barricades and a few rounds of a game which the people here call “chaos ball”.
The birthday took place in the middle of the Hambi (Re)Building Days, and there were more of us here during the 10-day event than in quite some time. Structures were deconstructed, others were renovated, and one container was filled with old trash. We extend a warm thank you to everyone who contributed to this great effort in one way or another. Maybe it will be the beginning of a new phase for the place.
During times of ever-spiraling energy crises and geopolitical conflicts, the German economy faces renewed pressures for inputs of local fossil fuels. We hear the government talking (yet again) about extending the coal-exit. The only sensible response is to stack our barricades high, and insulate our treehouses thick enough for many more winters to come. Sitting on top of huge reserves of brown coal, the Hambi will never be safe for as long as capitalism continues.
Amidst the ups and downs of this place, the occupied forest never compromised with the state. It remains the largest autonomous space which the broader anti-capitalist/radical ecological movement in the German territory has to play with. Thousands of us have fought over the years to defend and maintain the Hambi. Let’s continue to enjoy this precious opportunity to come together, live close to the trees, and keep up the fight for years to come.
In this spirit, we invite you to the Hambi (Re)Building Days #2, June 18-24, 2026.
Long live the Hambi!
Some forest critters.
