Berghain Berlin: What awaits you at the door and inside
· re:union Radio editorial · 3 min read
Berghain in Berlin: Klubnacht opening hours, the strict door, the photo ban and the story from Ostgut to the power plant – what to know before you go.
Berghain sits in a former heating power plant in Berlin-Friedrichshain, built between 1953 and 1954 in the style of Socialist Classicism. Since December 2004, techno has been running here on a floor that rises 18 metres high. Before you join the queue, it pays to know what actually applies at the door and inside.
At a glance
- Address: Am Wriezener Bahnhof, 10243 Berlin, nearest station S-Ostbahnhof, entry from 18.
- The main floor is designed for around 500 people, the whole club holds 1,500 guests.
- The Klubnacht starts on Saturday night and usually runs without a break until Monday morning.
- Photos and videos are banned, smartphone camera lenses are covered with stickers at the entrance.
From Ostgut to the power plant
The story starts earlier: in the Reichsbahn bunker on Friedrichstraße, used for techno parties from 1992 to 1996, Michael Teufele and Norbert Thormann hosted their first parties, the Snax Club fetish nights. In 1998 their techno club Ostgut opened in a warehouse on Mühlenstraße, and Panorama Bar followed two years later. When the halls had to make way for a multi-purpose arena, the team moved into the power plant.
The new Panorama Bar in the former control room opened on 15 October 2004, Berghain in the former machine hall on 18 December 2004. In 2010 the operators bought the listed building from Vattenfall. In 2016 the Berlin-Brandenburg fiscal court ruled that events at Berghain count as cultural events, and the Federal Fiscal Court adopted this view in 2020.
The club in numbers
| Location | Am Wriezener Bahnhof, 10243 Berlin (Friedrichshain) |
|---|---|
| Building | Former heating power plant, built 1953–1954 |
| Panorama Bar opening | 15 October 2004 |
| Berghain opening | 18 December 2004 |
| Main floor capacity | around 500 people |
| Total capacity | 1,500 guests |
| Main floor height | 18 metres |
| Main floor sound | four Funktion-One dance stacks |
| Spaces | Berghain, Panorama Bar, Säule, Halle, Kantine am Berghain |
| Minimum age | 18 years |
Techno downstairs, house upstairs
On the main floor, regular club nights mostly mean techno, while well-known house and deep house DJs also play Panorama Bar. Residents include Marcel Dettmann, Nick Höppner, Tama Sumo, Ben Klock and Virginia. Several of them released music on the in-house label Ostgut Ton, which was discontinued in 2021. If you want to know how the harder styles differ, read our piece Hard Techno vs. Schranz.
The weekend follows a fixed rhythm: the club opens on Friday at 10 pm, and until Saturday noon usually only Panorama Bar is running. The Klubnacht starts on Saturday night and uses both floors until Monday morning. In summer, the garden also opens on Sundays from noon.
The door and the rules inside
At the entrance, the bouncers select strictly and rejections are common. Neither the door staff nor the management give reasons. The best-known face of the door is Sven Marquardt, one of the few staff members who give public interviews. On Saturday night and Sunday evening long queues often form, and in summer or with popular DJs the wait can last several hours.
Inside there is a strict ban on photos and videos, and there are no mirrors and hardly any reflective surfaces. The club relies on awareness: cold drinking water is free in all restroom areas, and staff help with problems and look after you in the quiet room on the ground floor. For an overview of other venues, see New techno clubs in Berlin.
How the operators deal with hype shows in what is said to be the owners' only official statement, after DJ Magazine ranked the club number 1 in its Top 100 in 2009:
“Wir machen genauso weiter wie bisher.” (We will carry on exactly as before.)
— Berghain owners, quoted by Wikipedia
Frequently asked questions
When is Berghain open?
Regularly from Friday at 10 pm until around noon on Saturday, followed by the Klubnacht from Saturday night, which usually runs until Monday morning.
Can you take photos in Berghain?
No. Photos and videos are banned, and since 2014 at the latest smartphone cameras have been covered with stickers at the entrance.
Why do people get turned away at Berghain?
Nobody says: the door staff and club management do not communicate the reasons for rejections.
Source: Wikipedia: Berghain, Berghain: Contact, Berghain: Awareness
