This sprawling complex of red and yellow brick buildings was once the Schultheiss brewery — one of the largest breweries in the world in the late nineteenth century, producing a million hectolitres of beer a year. The buildings, designed by Franz Schwechten (the architect of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church), were completed in 1892 and cover an area of 25,000 square metres.
Brewing stopped in 1967, and after reunification the complex was converted into a cultural centre — hence the name. Today it contains cinemas, theatres, clubs, restaurants, and a permanent free exhibition called 'Alltag in der DDR' (Everyday Life in the GDR) that's one of the best places in Berlin to understand what daily life actually felt like in East Germany. Not the politics or the Stasi, but the small details: the products, the packaging, the apartment interiors, the school uniforms, the television programmes.
The brewery complex also hosts one of Berlin's best Christmas markets — Lucia Weihnachtsmarkt — with a Scandinavian theme that fills the courtyards with wooden stalls and candlelight every December.
The surrounding Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood was barely touched by wartime bombing and retains more original nineteenth-century architecture than almost anywhere in Berlin. It was a working-class district in the GDR and gentrified rapidly after 1990.
Verified Facts
The Schultheiss brewery buildings were designed by Franz Schwechten and completed in 1892
At its peak, the brewery produced approximately one million hectolitres of beer per year
The 'Alltag in der DDR' exhibition documenting everyday life in East Germany is free to enter
Prenzlauer Berg was largely undamaged by wartime bombing and retains extensive 19th-century architecture
Get walking directions
36 Schönhauser Allee, Pankow, Berlin, 10435, Germany
