Alternative Kreuzberg History

Kottbusser Tor, affectionately known to locals as Kotti, is defined by its two-level structure: an elevated platform of steel and glass that hovers above the square, and an underground station below. This transit hub serves as a meeting…

The SO36 club on Oranienstraße is identifiable by its long-standing presence as a center for alternative culture in a building with a history as eclectic as the neighborhood itself. Its name derives from the historical postal code for this…

Rio-Reiser-Platz is a square in the Kreuzberg district defined by the intersection of Oranienstraße and Mariannenstraße. For over one hundred and seventy years, this space was known as Heinrichplatz, named after a Prussian prince. In…

The Kunstquartier Bethanien is an expansive, horseshoe-shaped brick structure marked by two slim, thirty-five-meter towers that rise above the surrounding park at Mariannenplatz. Commissioned by King Frederick William the Fourth and…

Coretex Records occupies a former squat on Oranienstrasse. You can identify the shop by the heavy influx of hardcore and punk fans, and the shelves packed with thousands of vinyl records, tapes, and branded streetwear. Established in…

The Regenbogenfabrik, or Rainbow Factory, sits within the courtyard at Lausitzer Straße twenty-two. You can identify this space by its collection of brick buildings, which once functioned as a sawmill and later a chemical factory from…

Görlitzer Park is defined by the remnants of the railway station that once occupied this fourteen-hectare site. While the original terminal building—a Renaissance Revival structure finished in eighteen sixty-seven—was demolished by…