The Berghain nightclub building
|
|
Former names | Ostgut ( - 2003) |
---|---|
Address | Schonhauser 112 |
Location | Friedrichshain, Berlin, Germany |
Coordinates | 52°30′40″N 13°26′35″E / 52.51111°N 13.44306°E |
Type | Nightclub |
Capacity | 1500 |
Opened | 2004 |
Berghain is a nightclub in Berlin, Germany. It is named after its location near the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain in Berlin, and is a short walk from Berlin Ostbahnhof main line railway station.Philip Sherburne described Berghain in 2007 as "quite possibly the current world capital of techno, much as E-Werk or Tresor were in their respective heydays".
Berghain is the reincarnation of the "legendary" Ostgut club (1998–2003) and emerged from a male-only fetish club night called "Snax", which was held in different locations before it found its permanent home at the Ostgut. The Ostgut became a focal point of the Berlin techno subculture after the venue was opened to the general public on regular nights, while the exclusive Snax nights continued to be held six to eight times annually.
Ostgut eventually closed on January 6, 2003, following a 30-hour farewell event, and the former railway warehouse that housed the club was subsequently demolished. Berghain then opened in 2004. The name "Berghain" is a portmanteau of the names of the two quarters that flank the south and north sides of the building in which the club is housed: Kreuzberg (formerly in West Berlin) and Friedrichshain (formerly in East Berlin); the literal meaning of the German word Berghain is "mountain grove".
The Snax event is still held twice a year on Holy Saturday and in November. As Minneapolis-born DJ and producer Dustin Zahn, who performed a DJ set at the 2013 Snax party, explained: "Once a year in honor of the old Ostgut tradition, Berghain closes its doors to the straight crowd and unleashes a no-holds-barred gay marathon where anything goes." Located in the same building is the infamous Berlin gay sex club Lab.Oratory, which draws an international crowd and exhibits the same hedonism as Berghain.