Welcome to the Kulturbrauerei—a truly unique place in Berlin. Today, it hosts concerts, cinema screenings, theater performances, exhibitions, and many other events. Yet in the past, this site was dedicated primarily to one thing: beer.
The story begins in 1842. At that time, a man named August Heinrich Prell opened a small brewery on Schönhauser Allee. Some time later, Jobst Schultheiss took over the business—a name that many Berliners still associate with beer to this day. The small brewery grew into a major enterprise that soon became renowned throughout Berlin.
In the years that followed, the brewery continued to expand. Starting in 1871, the architect Franz Schwechten constructed new buildings—crafted from red brick, featuring turrets, arches, and spacious courtyards. Even today, they look almost like a small castle. At the time, this design was both modern and impressive.
Around the year 1900, the Schultheiss Brewery ranked among the largest beer producers in the world. Many people worked here, and the brewery was an integral part of the city. However, during the Second World War, this site, too, was marked by grim events: forced laborers were compelled to toil here under grueling conditions. After the war, beer production gradually came to an end. It ceased completely in 1967.
Subsequently, many of the buildings stood empty or were repurposed—serving, for instance, as a furniture market or a youth club. Fortunately, in 1974, the entire complex was designated a protected historical monument. This meant that it could not be demolished.
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990, the old brewery slowly began its transformation into a cultural center. Artists, architects, and local residents championed the cause of preserving the site—while simultaneously breathing new life into it. In the years that followed, the buildings underwent meticulous renovation.
Today, the Kulturbrauerei is a place for everyone. There is an eight-screen cinema, a theater,
clubs, restaurants, small shops—and the “Everyday Life in the GDR” museum. There, you can
see how people used to live in East Germany. Admission is even
free of charge.
During the Christmas season, the Lucia Christmas Market takes place here—featuring open fires,
Swedish Glögg, and a truly unique atmosphere.
What was once a place for beer is today a place for encounter, creativity, and remembrance.
The Kulturbrauerei demonstrates how old buildings can be given new life—provided
people have ideas and work together to make something of them.
Image 1:
By Kaspar Metz – Own work, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=620666
Kulturbrauerei
from the audio walk Berlin Like You’ve Never Heard It Before – True Stories & Secrets
254:05 min Audio
8
Listen to the audio tour now - ideally in full screen view.
Or use the app for listening to the audio walk on site:
Other stops on this audio tour:
A Brief Excursion into Berlin's History (7:59 min) • St. Nicholas' Church / St. Nicholas' Quarter (2:49 min) • Newspaper District (4:28 min) • Checkpoint Charlie (1:55 min) • Former Gestapo Headquarters (2:57 min) • Former Tempelhof Airport (3:46 min) • 7 Wannsee Conference (4:45 min) • Walther Rathenau Memorial (2:34 min) • Olympic Stadium / 1936 Olympic Games (5:36 min) • Commune 1 (2:27 min) • Benno Ohnesorg / Student Movement (2:16 min) • Rolf Eden (1:54 min) • Café Kranzler (2:08 min) • Kurfürstendamm (3:03 min) • Zoo Palace (3:47 min) • Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (2:22 min) • Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg (3:28 min) • Schöneberg Town Hall (2:33 min) • Former Sportpalast / Sportpalast Speech (5:12 min) • Bendlerblock/Stauffenberg assassination attempt (4:47 min) • Kroll Opera House / Enabling Act (3:09 min) • Reichstag Building (4:14 min) • Reichstag Fire (4:28 min) • Brandenburg Gate (2:52 min) • People's Court (3:08 min) • Potsdamer Place (2:58 min) • Former "Führerbunker" (5:06 min) • "Tresor" (Safe) (1:43 min) • Popular Uprising in the GDR (2:11 min) • Reich Chancellery / Hitler's Seizure of Power (5:11 min) • "Die weiße Maus" (The White Mouse) (2:57 min) • Friedrichstraße Station / "Tränenpalast" (Palace of Tears) (3:46 min) • Humboldt University (1:56 min) • Berlin Palace (5:04 min) • Red City Hall (2:30 min) • Alexanderplatz (2:30 min) • Otto Weidt's Workshop for the Blind / Anne Frank Center (2:05 min) • Hackesche Höfe (5:21 min) • Rosenthaler Platz (2:58 min) • St. Sophia's Church (3:03 min) • Sophie-Gips Courtyards (2:08 min) • Koppenplatz (3:16 min) • Clärchen's Dance Hall (3:54 min) • New Synagogue (2:19 min) • Berliner Ensemble (3:55 min) • Friedrichstadt-Palast (4:02 min) • Dorotheenstadt Cemetery (2:25 min) • Bloody May (2:18 min) • Humboldthain Flak Tower (5:17 min) • Chris Gueffroy and the Victims of the Wall (1:28 min) • Tunnel 57 / Egon Schultz (2:40 min) • AMIGA (1:37 min) • Bernauer Street (4:07 min) • Former Bornholmer Straße Border Crossing (3:26 min) • Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn Sports Park (3:43 min) • Mauerpark (4:07 min) • Arkonaplatz (3:03 min) • Zion Church (3:44 min) • Prenzlauer Berg Fire Station (3:18 min) • Hirschhof (2:41 min) • Freya Klier (2:28 min) • Prater (2:28 min) • Oderberger Straße Municipal Baths (3:36 min) • Oderberger Street 2 (1:58 min) • Currywurst (2:16 min) • Konnopke's Snack Bar (2:43 min) • Gethsemane Church (2:09 min) • Museum in the Kulturbrauerei (1:06 min) • Frannz-Club (2:31 min) • Husemann Street (1:58 min) • Jews' Passage (3:32 min) • Prenzlauer Berg Water Tower (2:37 min) • Rosa Luxemburg Square (4:34 min) • Mont Klamott (1:43 min) • Samaritan Church (2:23 min) • Former Stasi Headquarters / Stasi Museum (2:48 min) • Berlin-Karlshorst Museum / Unconditional Surrender (2:54 min) • East Side Gallery (2:59 min) • House Squatting in the 1980s (2:34 min)
