There are these places in Berlin that defy description, that are so firmly anchored in the city that they have become part of its self-image. Berghain has definitely been one of them for 20 years. It’s problably the best-known anchor of Berlin’s much-discussed and legendary club culture, perhaps drawing more guests to the capital than the Brandenburg Gate and the East Side Gallery.And it is indeed no coincidence that in Berlin, this city permeated with subcultures and urbanity, there is a place like Berghain, where time seems to have stopped as soon as you cross the threshold. But it is also a place where something changes: with every visit, in every hour, in every moment.
The club has not only become a mecca for Berlin techno fans, but also a cultural center that represents the spirit of this city.Berlin is where the techno revolution found a new home after the fall of the Wall, and Berghain has been at its center ever since. Two decades of Berghain are not only the history of music, but also the history of a specific techno aesthetic that runs through everything: from architecture to fashion.
Berlin’s club culture, and in particular the special space that Berghain occupies, is much more than just technoid rhythms and human bodies lost in endless ecstasy. It’s a philosophy, a lifestyle. It’s not just about celebrating, but about a feeling of existence that only exists here, only in this city, in this special moment.
When I think of Berghain, the Wriezen train station, the Brutalist house, and lining up in the metal “snake” just outside the door that leaves the outside world behind, it is indeed like a ritual, like immersing yourself in another Dimension.