The graffiti-slathered empty hulk on Oranienburger Strasse is all that’s left of the Kunsthaus Tacheles, which for over 20 years was one of Berlin’s most beloved alternative art and cultural spaces.
Shortly after the fall of the Wall, in early 1990, an artist collective occupied the crumbling war-time ruin of a 1909 shopping arcade, creating a utopian parallel world and luring locals and tourists to its anti-mainstream venues, bizarre sculptures and trashy-cool beer garden. Although the anarchic vibe eventually faded, the building remained the lodestar of alternative culture in heavily gentrified Mitte until falling victim to Berlin's burgeoning real estate craze in 2012. The last of the artists were evicted in September, leaving behind a forlorn and neglected landmark. Many found refuge in the eastern suburb of Marzahn, where they’ve turned the stables of a former stockyard and police barracks into studios and living spaces. The complex, which is called Alte Börse Marzahn, also encompasses a concert hall, a movie theatre and even a brewery that produces – what else? – a beer called 'Marzahner'.
