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Death by Highway – Two of Berlin’s Clubs to be Demolished

By Brendan Power . December 10, 2014

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Clubsterben is a term used in German to describe a phenomenon not uncommon in the last decade or so, as many of Berlin’s cherished nightclubs have disappeared in the face of property developers with a financial mandate to take over their space for more lucrative projects.

Sadly this term is back in the consciousness of the Berlin clubbing world this week, but this time it’s the government who are calling the shots.
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While it may not be news to many involved in Berlin’s nightclub industry, with rumours on the subject circulating for some time, official news has  recently emerged to confirm that two of Berlin’s well established nightclubs are nearing the end of their lives.  The writing is on the wall for Salon zur Wilden Renate, as a proposed plan to build a section of highway, as seen below, was officially announced last week, and Magdelena, which has already relocated from a spot further up river, will eventually shut for the same reason.  According to the Berliner Morgenpost,  government parties CDU and SPD have urged a speedy development of section 17 of the A100, which will run from Treptow to Frankfurter Allee.

A100_Geplanter_Ausbau-640x719Despite many protests from local residents, and notably a dissenting view four years ago from SPD parliamentary leader Raed Saleh, who called the project “environmentally fatal”, the government are believed to want to move quickly to complete this phase of the highway development as soon as possible. The expected cost for this project is a whopping 1 billion euro, but for those involved with these clubs, this cost could be their livelihood, as they no doubt attempt to find a new location to call home.  Whatever happens, you can expect a future slew of end-of-an-era parties,  as the deadline comes closer.

We wish them all the best in their quest for a new home.

Photo Credit #1 & #2: Resident Advisor
Map Credit: Alexrk2, (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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2 thoughts on “Death by Highway – Two of Berlin’s Clubs to be Demolished”

  1. No panic, this is still several years away.
    You used an old Magdalena photo – it’s not been there for a while, Yaam’s there. They’re reopening next to the bridge in a building that was slated for demolition for this project, so they know it’s temporary.
    The road will make travel from F’hain to the west much, much faster, and will take lots of cars out of the streets of Kreuzberg, Treptow and Neukoelln, well worth a thought.

  2. Thanks for the update Jeff. I’m glad it’s not for a while and I’m sure the sure the road will have positive impacts, but it’s still sad to hear that one of my favourite spots has an expiry date. Having said that I guess all good things come to an end.

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