For 121 years Alt Berlin stood at the corner of Münzstraße and Neue Schönhauser. In a city that’s always had a great thirst, eckekneipe bars were a dime-a-dozen and this one, from the outside at least, looked like all the rest. However, what lay behind that heavy wooden door was far from ordinary. From sun-down to sun-up for more than a century it was a pillar of the community. A meeting point for the most exceptional people in theatre, film, literature, science, art and music. A collision of social classes, brought down to one common denominator. A place where people could truly unwind and be themselves.
In the years that followed, the city and neighbourhood underwent a lot of change but the bar, in it’s uninhibited freedom, remained the same. Inspiring and attracting everyone from neighbourhood shopkeepers to Hollywood celebrities, where they would both take off their proverbial hats, relax together and have a drink. Sadly on the first of May 2014, due to unobtainable rental increases, it was forced to close. The furniture and belongings carefully removed and packed away, the building gutted of its interior as well as its character.
However, not to be defeated by gentrification, Alt Berlin persevers. Determined to prove that the spirit of freedom in this city still exists. Not in the 100 year old wooden interior or its original location but in the hearts and determination of its people. With support from PLATOON KUNSTHALLE Berlin, less the 700 m from its original site, Alt Berlin will be reborn as a temporary installation while it searches a new permanent home. Starting with its original tresen, sign and stammtisch, the rest remodelled out of refuse and disposable materials. A recreation of the bar from the collective memory of the community, as a growing and evolving sculpture. A collaboration between all who came in the past and how they want to maintain it for the future. Guests are being asked for contributions such as photos, stories or art, to be shared upon the walls or between them. To prove that the vitality of this city and one small bar which represents it, still has a place in modern Berlin.
Alt Berlin: a social sculpture
Platoon Kunsthalle
Schönhauser Allee 9
10119 Berlin
Vernissage Thursday 31 July, 20:00
Open Daily Monday – Saturday 20:00-2:00
0,3l Schultheiß 2,50€ & 0,4l Krombacher 3€
2cl Melloch Halbundhalb & Natural Born Golfers / Urban Golf Vodka 2€
