Press Release

Berlin – From Cradle of Gay Liberation to a Queer

Capital
Berlin, May 2010 Viewed against the background of the lesbian and gay scene,
Berlin just has to be one of the most exciting cities imaginable. This is where the
history of gay emancipation started and where, during the years when the city
was partitioned, two quite different scenes evolved which, in the wake of
Reunification, were as fast-paced as Berlin itself. Today Berlin offers a many-
sided, breathtakingly complex lesbian and gay lifestyle which is reflected in all
areas of everyday life in the capital. But it is the night life that provides the most
accurate representation of the lively Berlin scene. The party lifestyle of the gay
community is the precursor as well as the essential component of that legendary
club landscape that entices people from every country under the sun to Berlin, all
simply looking to enjoy themselves.
Visitors to Berlin quickly discover that the city's attraction does not depend on the
glittering nonchalance that they might associate with other cosmopolitan cities,
but rather on its breathtaking diversity. Unlike other European metropolises,
Berlin has no undisputed center – not economically, socially, or culturally. This
situation existed as early as the period of the Weimar Republic, when Berlin was
one of the most lustrous capitals of the Roaring Twenties. After the Second World
War, it was later reinforced by the building of the wall.
In today's reunited Berlin, several centers still compete for the visitor's favor. This
particularity is also reflected in the city's gay and lesbian scene, which is
concentrated to various degrees in three different locations. Firstly, in
Schöneberg to the north, with its classic scene infrastructure; secondly, in
Kreuzberg which offers a mixture of culture and solid nightlife (the alternative
scene); and lastly, in Prenzlauer Berg (Berlin’s version of Soho) with its rather
trendy flair. One look in Siegessäule or Sergej – two free scene magazines that
include an extensive service section and are available in almost all of the
locations mentioned – shows the enormous variety of Berlin's scene. The spots
that are discussed below are therefore only the first step in viewing "the other
Berlin".
The Three Pillars of the Berlin Scene
For visitors to Berlin, Schöneberg makes a good first stop. Its classic
infrastructure ranges from gay-friendly pharmacies and fitness clubs to fetish
shops and even a gay French fry stand on the Wittenbergplatz. A hundred years
ago a scene had already become established around Winterfeldplatz. Today the
scene is not just around certain clubs and pubs – the area is also one of the most
popular gay residential areas. Women can visit the Lesbenberatung (“Advice for
Lesbians”) on Kulmerstrasse and, starting at 5:00 P.M., men can get every

Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH Christian Tänzler

Press and PR Office Media Relations / Spokesman
Am Karlsbad 11 / D-10785 Berlin Tel.: +49 / (0)30 / 26 47 48 – 912/ - 969
GERMANY Fax: +49 / (0)30 / 26 47 48 – 983
www.visitBerlin.de christian.taenzler@btm.de
Press Release
conceivable kind of information and helpful hints about the Berlin scene and its
activities in the gay info shop Mann-O-Meter on Bülowstrasse.
Every evening when the bars open their doors, Schöneberg’s lively Motzstrasse
is taken over by gays. Early relics of the Berlin scene, such as Tom's Bar, mingle
with modern bars such as Hafen which have themselves progressed to immortal
status. As far as party-going gays are concerned, the Connection Club is the best
address in the district. In the course of the extensive renovations prior to the
Gay/Lesbian City Festival 2010, the chance to adopt another new musical
orientation has come within the Connection’s grasp. Away from House and
Techno to Charts and Disco. And girls enjoy the innumerable cultural and social
events at the “Begine”.
The city districts Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg are regarded as “In“ districts par
excellence and have become a real magnet for the public (and not only for
visitors to Berlin either). And on the lesbian and gay front too, a fast-paced
movement has emerged which is still a long way from being over. Despite all the
upheavals, it is still possible to identify traces of the cosy charm left over from
GDR times in the Schoppenstube (Berlin’s oldest gay bar). And the busy
Sonntags-Club, nowadays an established social platform for a multi-faceted
clubbing scene for young and old, is still to some extent locked in the traditions
typical of Prenzelberg. But it was locations such as à la Greifbar, the Stahlrohr or
the Treibhaus Sauna that ultimately ushered in the post-Wende period.
Numerous self-help groups and projects have contributed to the diverse
complexity of the scene. The EWA Women’s Centre, for example, is important
because it also gives lesbians a place to go on the Prenzlberg. Alongside this, the
LGBT image is being shaped by trendy cafés and bars in the style of Klub der
Republik. Prenzlberg and Mitte district are the venue for a night life that doesn’t
give a fig for sexual orientation. Homo and heterosexuals party together, for
instance in Cookies, one of the city’s most stylish clubs. In addition, a good
number of the most sought-after addresses (see our Berlin Club Nights press
release) can be found here, ensuring party frolics and fun right round the clock.
On the other hand, the scene in Kreuzberg presents a conscious alternative. In
Roses or in the Bierhimmel, plus a few other shops located around the
Oranienstrasse, you can get a feel for the rough days of the squatters. The
robust charm of the Möbel Olfe (invariably jam-packed) is the successful antidote
to Centre chic. Club-goers not only have the chance to let off steam in the world-
class venues of sister district Friedrichshain, but some of the regular parties
hosted by Kreuzberg’s SO 36 are also some of the most unusual features of the
nightlife on offer in Berlin. In the meantime, one of the "decentralized gay centers"
that are typical in Berlin has sprang up at Mehringdamm 61. The Melitta
Sundström attracts a young student audience who also enjoy themselves on
weekends at parties organized by the SchwuZ located below. The “Queer-
Gebäude”, situated in the courtyard, is home to the exhibition rooms, archives,
Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH Christian Tänzler
Press and PR Office Media Relations / Spokesman
Am Karlsbad 11 / D-10785 Berlin Tel.: +49 / (0)30 / 26 47 48 – 912/ - 969
GERMANY Fax: +49 / (0)30 / 26 47 48 – 983
www.visitBerlin.de christian.taenzler@btm.de
Press Release
and warehouse belonging to the Schwules Museum (“Gay Museum”). The
museum is still the only one of its kind in the entire world. Although exhibitions,
archives, and groups interested in gay history also exist in other places, the
Schwules Museum is the only museum which since 1985 has continuously
undertaken scholarly archival work and has presented several internationally-
acclaimed exhibitions every year. Added to this, with the acquisition of a large art
collection (the Sternweiler Collection) which received state support, the status of
the museum was greatly enhanced. In addition, the work undertaken by the
Schwules Museum offers a unique insight into Berlin's rich and varied gay history.
One Hundred Years of the Gay Movement
In 1897, Magnus Hirschfeld founded the Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Komitee
(the “Scientific-Humanitarian Committee”) in Berlin, the first organization in the
world that was set up by gays that represented the interests of homosexuals.
After World War I, many new organizations, such as the "Institut für
Sexualwissenschaft" (the “Institute of Sexual Science”), also founded by
Hirschfeld, as well as publications with high circulations, promoted the concept of
homosexual emancipation. As a result, the gay movement expanded to cover
almost all of Germany. At the same time, a multifaceted gay nightlife sprang up in
the capital which greatly contributed towards Berlin's legendary reputation in the
1920's. Just one example of the liberal and glittering life of the capital would be
the "Eldorado" in Schöneberg, a transvestite spot that became both a preferred
meeting point for artists and Marlene Dietrich's favorite bar. It also attracted
another gay icon - Christopher Isherwood, who came from a repressive England
to the promisingly stylish Berlin at that time "because of the boys". Once the
Nazis came to power, Berlin's role as a trailblazer for emancipation was finished
once and for all. Homosexual organizations were systematically crushed.
Countless homosexuals were arrested and deported to concentration camps
where they were murdered by the thousands.
Gay Emancipation by the US Model
After World War II, Germany received support from gay groups from Switzerland,
the Netherlands, and the USA. As early as the 1960s, the western part of Berlin,
in particular the traditionally gay area around Motzstrasse in Schöneberg, once
again blossomed into a gay Mecca. Today, it is still one of the three pillars of the
Berlin scene.
In the early 1970s, the spark of gay liberation also caught on in Berlin. The first
gay student groups soon developed into a complex gay movement, large sections
of which have been shaped to this very day by the US model. As in the USA, the
1980s witnessed a professionalization of the movement due in particular to
political debates on how to deal with the consequences of AIDS.

Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH Christian Tänzler

Press and PR Office Media Relations / Spokesman
Am Karlsbad 11 / D-10785 Berlin Tel.: +49 / (0)30 / 26 47 48 – 912/ - 969
GERMANY Fax: +49 / (0)30 / 26 47 48 – 983
www.visitBerlin.de christian.taenzler@btm.de
Press Release
This development has had an extremely positive effect on all areas of gay-lesbian
emancipation. Every year, hundreds of thousands take to Berlin’s streets on
Christopher Street Day to demonstrate for equal rights for gays and lesbians and
to then celebrate with dozens of parties. Aside from this, the Lesbisch-Schwules
Stadtfest (the “Gay-Lesbian Street Festival”) on the Nollendorfplatz has also
increasingly taken on the task of representing the scene in all its variety to the
outside world. Today, Berlin has countless self-help groups, organizations, and
associations that cover practically all aspects of gay and lesbian life.
Berlin’s Club Nights
The LGBT party lifestyle has long since come out of the areas where it grew up,
engaging closely right from the start with the Berlin club landscape. For many
years its calling card has been that world famous phenomenon - the Love
Parade. The gays made use of the free spirit of the Techno Heads, who did not
think in terms of established patterns such as sexual orientation, spicing up the
brightly coloured move right from the very beginning with a strong preponderance
of pink – a glamorous alliance that up until today adds up to precisely the right
formula for an unforgettable party experience. First and foremost at the Berghain,
which is regarded by a number of Techno-Heads as the legitimate successor of
such legendary locations as E-Werk and Tresor. With the uncompromising
richness of its sounds, the Berghain occupies a prominent position on the
address list of an international party crowd streaming enthusiastically towards
Berlin.
The GMF is similarly a shining example of the Berlin Club landscape that radiates
charisma on an international scale. On its 15th floor, reverberating to House and
Elektro, the Clubheads repeatedly find themselves caught up in new, fantastic
nights of partying. By contrast, the Fate Club, with its Sex Dance, routinely
achieves the status of an oasis for gay partying, whereas, at the Club Culture
Houze, fetish parties are on the increase. On Tuesdays the trailblazer of new
Mitte chic, Cookies, beckons with things electronic in all shapes and sizes and, in
Friedrichshain, House Mannequin in Sanatorium 23 awaits with Heightech Soul of
the finest. On Wednesdays trendy gays in Prenzlauer Berg celebrate with their
freaky Berlin Hilton Party in the NBI; on Thursdays the high-spot is the legendary
Chantal’s House of Shame Party which, following a number of changes of venue,
is now better than ever and is staged in the Bassy Cowboy Club. A truly glittering
electro-event is held at Kino International on the first Saturday in every month,
namely the Klub International, the biggest gay party in the city. Up to 1500
Clubbers partying exuberantly on three levels, from Boy to Butch, to the sound of
Pop, Nu Rave and House or flirting in the elegant Panorama Bar which features
an original interior dating back to the 1960’s, not to mention an enormous
panoramic window overlooking Karl-Marx-Allee and the Alexanderplatz. In
addition, Kino International regularly rocks to the sound of Girls Town, one of the
best lesbian parties in town. At weekends, real party freaks enter the fray in the
Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH Christian Tänzler
Press and PR Office Media Relations / Spokesman
Am Karlsbad 11 / D-10785 Berlin Tel.: +49 / (0)30 / 26 47 48 – 912/ - 969
GERMANY Fax: +49 / (0)30 / 26 47 48 – 983
www.visitBerlin.de christian.taenzler@btm.de
Press Release
early morning at the Panoramabar/Berghain. But there are many, many other
addresses that pay homage to “electronic dance music“and which are also
waiting to be discovered: for example, the Alte Kantine in Berghain or the
"Montech" party nights at SO 36. Other parties and concepts round off Berlin’s
night life to generate an astonishing diversity. From the Queer Dance Festival at
the Ballhaus Walzerlinksgestrickt, the multifaceted Party Friday at SchwuZ, where
the programme is interspersed with lesbigay stereotypes, or the Orient-Party
Gayhane, the belly dancing event at the SO 36, to the programme of mixed music
at the Café Fatal, likewise at the SO36, culminating in the legendary “Irrenhouse”
in the Geburtstagsclub with Clubkid-Tranny Nina Queer –Berlin party thrills offer
something for everyone. Because venues and concepts may need to be changed
at short notice even for the hottest events, it is best to check the up-to-date
situation with the gay press, e.g. free of charge at the Victory Column
(Siegessäule) before immersing yourself in the heady diversity of Berlin’s club
nights ...!www.siegessaeule.de, www.visitBerlin.de, www.out-in-Berlin.de

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Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH Christian Tänzler

Press and PR Office Media Relations / Spokesman
Am Karlsbad 11 / D-10785 Berlin Tel.: +49 / (0)30 / 26 47 48 – 912/ - 969
GERMANY Fax: +49 / (0)30 / 26 47 48 – 983
www.visitBerlin.de christian.taenzler@btm.de