There's one way of moving a property off the books, even if the last tenantcommitted one of the world's worst acts of terrorism, writes Derek Scally
For rent: three-bedroom apartment; kitchen, bathroom. €500 all inclusive. Previous tenants: the September 11th terrorists.
Hamburg's real estate market is one of the tightest in Germany but for the last year, one unassuming apartment in the Hamburg suburbs has stood empty. Despite the housing shortage, it seems that few want to live in the rooms that once were home to the men behind the deaths of almost 3,000 people.
Now, the desperate landlord has turned to a group of Berlin artists who promise to "artistically exorcise" the apartment's ghosts.
The most remarkable thing about the apartment block at Marienstrasse 34, in the suburb of Harburg, is how unremarkable it is. Inside in the hall a sign reads: "Out of respect for the other tenants we ask you to be quiet in the halls and in the apartment".
Everyone knows which apartment "the" apartment is. It is the apartment where Mohammed Atta, a 33-year-old Egyptian man, and a handful of other men masterminded the attacks on New York and Washington last year.
Months after he left the apartment, Atta piloted the first plane into the north tower of the World Trade Centre. Days later, the apartment was over-run with police and camera crews.
German federal authorities and the FBI combed the rooms for clues while camera teams outside beamed pictures of the building around the world.
Local residents, shocked that the men behind the attacks lived among them, now have a chance to see inside Germany's most notorious apartment.
"I am curious to see what sort of art you can make out of this tragedy," said one young woman from a neighbouring apartment as she toured the rooms.
The exhibition, called "Marienstrasse 34 space clearing", is a series of installations, exhibitions and performance pieces loosely based around the theme of apartments and tenants. In one room, artist Katrin Glanz has painted human silhouettes on the walls. In the kitchen, visitors can watch a documentary film about the Harburg district where the apartment is located. In another room, actress Verena Turba performs a monologue, describing another apartment entirely.
"We are convinced that we can create an effect of 'space clearing'," said Stephan Hoffstadt, the Berlin artist behind the project. "We want people to come here and say: 'Hey, it's just an empty, banal, meaningless apartment, with a kitchen and bathroom.'"
He had the idea for the exhibition in May after he read an article about how the apartment had stood empty for months. Nobody wanted to move in, despite the low rent and renovations. Like a haunted house, prospective tenants were turned off by having to live with the legacy of the previous tenants and hassle from journalists who ring their doorbells day and night.
"The media has been waiting for a long time for someone to move in and do a story," said Thomas Albrecht, the landlord. With no tenants interested, he was happy to hand over the keys to the artists.
"Every three days, people call up the real estate agent and ask 'Is someone in?' After our project, this story won't be as interesting anymore. We will have taken a piece of this sensation away," said Hoffstadt.
He has had to defend himself from accusations of sensationalism and profiteering. Rather than let television cameras and photographers into the exhibition, Hoffstadt offers to sell them pictures. He also rejects claims he opened the exhibit to coincide with the first trial of an alleged September 11th terrorist in Hamburg and the renewed interest in the apartment.
"This exhibition has nothing to do with September 11th," he said. "The apartment was a kind of magnifying glass for all the fearful fantasies of many people. We wanted to make the apartment a place of discussion."
Some of the neighbours wish the discussion would end and that someone would move in. Sebastian Strunck, a 21-year-old electronics student, moved into the apartment one floor above a month ago.
"I don't understand why people don't move in there," he said, "I would move there, It's not like I think Mohammad Atta's ghost haunts it or anything."