Thirty-five years after the fall of the wall, liberal Berlin has lost its luster – Technologist

Under the Oberbaumbrücke, an imposing neo-Gothic bridge spanning the River Spree, marks the former border between West Berlin (Kreuzberg district) and East Berlin (Friedrichshain). On one October night, people were queuing up to enter Watergate, a renowned club. Waiting in the half-light to gain entry is a Berlin nightlife ritual, an almost a rite of passage that follows its own precise codes. Once you’ve passed the bouncer’s test, phone cameras are carefully covered with opaque stickers. On the two floors of the club, with its huge glass façade overlooking the river, four DJs perform under colored neon lights. People dance, party and consume to excess, sheltered from social media. Every night, from Thursday to Sunday, the techno beats sweep away bodies and disconnect minds while erasing all notion of time. This experience, emblematic of German pop culture worldwide, is also an essential economic asset for the city.

Is this era coming to an end? Watergate, one of the most famous clubs in Berlin alongside Berghain, is set to close its doors at the end of the year after 22 years of existence. The closure is primarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which broke the momentum of Berlin’s nightlife, as well as the rent demanded by the owner of the premises, which has skyrocketed, as it has throughout the city. The Wilde Renate, another well-known venue owned by the same investor, is also due to close in 2025.

The image of millions pursuing techno music is a familiar one, but it only tells part of the story. Historically, clubs have always migrated to the city as it developed. However, the closure of Watergate marks a break with the past. The German capital, long adulated as “poor but sexy,” as its former mayor, Klaus Wowereit, put it in 2004, is in crisis. This situation reflects a broader shift in Germany, which has benefited so much from the open world following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Liberal Berlin has lost much of its luster.

Kreuzberg, ‘it’s a horror movie’

Interviewed by the journal Berliner Zeitung, in mid-September, Ulrich Wombacher, one of Watergate’s three founders, justified the club’s closure by explaining how much the Kreuzberg district, in particular, has deteriorated. “It’s not sexy anymore, it’s a horror film. (…) Kreuzberg has a real drug problem, with lots of homeless, crime, filth and other visible social ills. When clubbing and party tourism come to a halt, it’s obvious,” said the former DJ. Attendance at clubs has dropped; festivals, where top DJs perform to larger audiences, are now competing with them. “For a long time, we thought we were irreplaceable. But why shouldn’t clubs be a transitory phenomenon? Club culture is extremely fragile,” said Wombacher, who turned 50 in 2023.

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