Golden Pudel building to be auctioned in April, club could close

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  • A long-running dispute between owners Rocko Schamoni and Wolf Richter has finally come to a head.
  • Golden Pudel building to be auctioned in April, club could close image
  • Hamburg club Golden Pudel will be auctioned off in April, Hamburger Morgenpost reports. Located in the city's St. Pauli district, the venue has been subject to an ongoing legal battle between the building's owners, Rocko Schamoni and Wolf Richter. The auction has been a long time coming: as we reported in 2014 and 2015, Schamoni and Richter have faced off in court numerous times over a café Richter runs upstairs—as co-owner of the space, he'd allegedly stopped paying into a not-for-profit fund he and Schamoni had established to cover costs incurred upon purchasing the building. Richter has now stepped out of the contract, initiating the forced auction (a clause in the contract stated that an auction must go ahead if one party leaves). The space has been listed on German real estate website ImmobilienScout24 for a minimum price of €250,000, but valued at €510,000. However, the building's sale doesn't necessarily mean Golden Pudel will cease operations—the club's lease is valid for another 12 years. The Freaks Are Alright, a campaign set-up to protect the club against the impending auction, is continuing in its quest to raise awareness about the club's plight. Read our 2013 feature on Golden Pudel here, and watch a video (in German) from last year below.
RA