Spartacus Berlin Gay Guide (English Edition) E-Book

Briand Bedford

• Herausgeber: Bruno Gmünder Verlag
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Seitenzahl: 146

Beschreibung

Since 1981 our gay guide "Berlin von hinten" has enjoyed immense popularity in the gay scene. Since the beginning our guide has more and more international readers. Berlin is becoming more international and attracts young people from around the world. To adapt to this trend, we have come up with a new title. The new name is the Spartacus Berlin Gay Guide. In this guide we list the reasons why a visit to Berlin is so important. Sex, events, culture, sights, shopping - this abundance in Germany is only possible in the capital city. There is also a list of address from businesses and locations that are worth a visit. There are also local maps which help the reader find his way round this metropolis. Useful information for overnight accommodation, tourist information, the public S + U network maps, gay press, physicians etc is found at the back of this guide.

Leseprobe

Inhalt

Preface

The gay capital city – capital of the gays

The (gay) history of Berlin

Reasons to come to Berlin: Sex, Fetisch, Party and Nightlife

Trade Fairs and Events

Art, Culture, Sight-Seeing

Stage, Opera, Shows

Shopping

Beauty, Sport and Wellness

Hotspots in Berlin

Schöneberg: Map

Schöneberg: Complex laws and cheap beer

Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg: Map

Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg: Cute boys and sharp tongues

Friedrichshain: Map

Friedrichshain: Vice, lurex and zest

Kreuzberg 61: A canteen with view, a bar with Barbies

Kreuzberg 36: Integration with pop, techno and belly dancing

Neukölln: Last but not least

General infos

Hotels in Berlin

Out and about in the city

Public transport map

Imprint

Preface

Since 1981 our gay guide “Berlin von hinten” has enjoyed immense popularity in the gay scene. Since the beginning our guide has more and more international readers. Berlin is becoming more international and attracts young people from around the world. To adapt to this trend, we have come up with a new title. The new name is the Spartacus Berlin Gay Guide.

Your guide is divided into 4 parts. Part 1 provides you with an overview of the meaning of Berlin as a gay metropolis and portrays the gay aspects in the story of Berlin.

In part 2 you will find reasons why you should make a visit to Berlin. In this part you will also find a list of address from businesses and locations that are worth a visit. In part 3, which forms the focal point of our Spartacus Berlin Gay Guide, there are also further useful address lists. Local maps help the reader find his way round this metropolis.

Useful information and the popular vouchers can be found in the 4th part.

All that remains is to wish you fun in using our guide and discovering the Berliner gay scene.

The editorial team of the Spartacus Berlin Gay Guide

The (gay) history of Berlin: how it came about, how it is today and its three coming outs

It has probably less to do with the Berlin air and more to do with the local tolerance, which characterised this city since the resettlement policy of the Grand Elector after the thirty-year war. After the fall of the Berliner Wall the feeling of new freedom added to this along with the vast free spaces, especially in the eastern part of the city. It is however difficult to say whether there is more happening in the gay scene nowadays than during the frequently mentioned, so-called golden twenties.

Five Most Famous Quotations Regarding Berlin

Five of numerous quotations regarding this fantastic city.

“Everyone should be free to do as they please.“ Friedrich II, king of Prussia, 1740

“People of the world – take a look at this city!“ Ernst Reuter, Lord Mayor, 1948

“Ick bin ein Berliner!“ (I am a Berliner!) John F. Kennedy, US President, 1963

„Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!“ Ronald Reagan, US President, 1987

“I am gay – and that is a good thing!“ Klaus Wowereit, Candidate for the position of Mayor of Berlin, 2001

Berlin’s current mayor Klaus Wowereit, well known among the majority of Berliners for his open attitude as integration figure, is an example that these days gay men play a very different role in the community – at least this is the case in Berlin. They use this image and promote the suspense of the city. Wowereit, affectionately known as Wowi, is a party fan and has written the greetings text for the Folsom Street fare and had to hear criticism from his political opposition parties for doing so. This is true tolerance in every day life of this city.

Let’s go back a few years. Berlin as gay metropolis had its first coming-out at the end of the 19th century. In 1897 Magnus Hirschfeld set up the so-called scientific-humanitarian committee (WhK) and fought against discrimination of homosexuals. In 1919 he opened the Institute of Sexual Sciences. It became the centre for all research regarding sexual reform. In addition it was an information centre and sanctuary for people with sexual problems. It was also a source of information to interested laymen and further education for medical students.

In Berlin one not only took part in academic, theoretical discussions, but also in wild parties. At the beginning of the 20th century there were around 40 gay scene locations. The heart of this scene was located around the Nollendorf-platz. In the middle of the action André Gide, Francis Bacon or Christopher Isherwood, who lived for a while at Nollendorf Street 17, marked today with a commemorative plaque to the creator of “Cabaret”.

The party life came to an abrupt end when the Nazis came to power. They murdered over ten thousand gay men in the concentration camps. The Institute for Sexual Sciences was plundered, the library and all documents from Hirschfeld were burnt, along with other publications which were not considered to represent the German spirit. The WhK was closed.

Nach dem Ende des 1000-jährigen Reiches feierte man im Mief der Fünfziger privat und traute sich erst langsam wieder aus den Schränken.

Scenes from “Not the homosexual is perverse but rather the situation in which he lives.”

The second coming-out was marked with the emergence of Rosa von Praunheim’s film “Not the homosexual is perverse but rather the situation in which he lives.” The society’s change in moral standards was reflected by the change made by homosexuals and their public appearance. Whereas the gay scene in the GDR developed within church groups and under local authorities, the gay scene in the rest of Germany developed a pleasure-orientated self-awareness, where political rights were also respected.

Due to the isolation of West Berlin things developed here differently than in the rest of the country: more liberal, faster and with more commitment. In 1975 the Rosa Winkel publishing house was established with the aim to provide the general public with information about gay politics, the gay scene and sciences. Two years later the café “Anderes Ufer” opened its doors. A sensation at the time as it was the first establishment for gays which was not hidden in a backyard or behind darkened windows with a peephole at the door. It had big, open windows where everything was in the open. In 1978 Europe’s first gay bookshop “Prinz Eisenherz” opened. Thereafter there was an alternative to the porn shops for those wishing to purchase publications for the gay community. One year later the first Pride Parade (CDS) took place, although the first demonstration by gay men took place in the catholic city of Münster a few years prior to this. In 1981 our publishing house Bruno Gmünder Verlag was established. Two years later the first support office in Germany for AIDS patients, family and friends was created. At the same time the world’s first gay museum opened its doors, and has its place in the museum world ever since then.

The first gay bookshop in Europe

In the same year the sport association Vorspiel was created and fought against strong opposition: the Berlin Track & Field Federation refused recognition of this association as they considered the name Vorspiel (foreplay) offensive. “Sexual inclinations do not belong in an association name” was the attitude of the federation, who saw the sport and social life of the federation at risk. This dispute landed in court. The courts of Berlin ruled that the connection between foreplay and gay was a non-objective emotion which opposed the integration of all track and field associations. The association changed the name to “Vorplay – a sport association for gay men and lesbians” which was then accepted. Today the association has a membership of around 1000 men and women – Europe’s largest association of this type. Sport is not just physical exercise but plays an important role in acceptance. This was emphasised in 1996 when the mayor of the time Eberhard Diepgen became patron of the Euro Games.

New impulses were set in place with the unification of both German states. Techno music became the soundtrack in Berlin during its third coming-out. These droning sounds were played at illegal parties which took place in semi-deserted and completely rundown buildings in the eastern part of the city. Sex and music became united.

With the motto “porn for us from us”, the production company Cazzo created their first porn film “Berlin Techno Dreams”. After extensive casting in the local gay scene, it was filmed in the club Eimer in a run-down building in the district Mitte. Countless extras were engaged and almost everyone in the gay scene knew and recognised the extras. Porn became socially acceptable.

The Love Parade following grew and grew and Cazzo, with its productions with close connection to the local gay scene, in which one could discover more and more of the stars in the local gay bars and clubs, achieved a unique porn style for Berlin, something between American muscle beauties and east block cuties. Ever since then the production companies such as Wurstfilm, Spritzz or Berlinstarfilm have emerged. The porn industry made this city their home base.

CSD at Brandenburger Tor

At the same time homosexuality became socially acceptable and enjoyed special protection: After the states Brandenburg and Thuringia, Berlin was the third federal state in Germany to implement equal rights for gays. In 1995 the new constitution in Berlin came into force – where no one can be discriminated against because of their (homo-) sexual orientation and the partnership law came into effect. 2001 was a pink milestone: the first local politician came out and nevertheless (or perhaps due to this declaration) was voted mayor of Berlin. Klaus Wowereit (Social Democrat Party) was also President of the Federal Council of Berlin in the same year, reaching the forth highest public office in the republic. This position had never been attained by an openly gay man in the past!

This short trip through the gay history of Berlin is probably sufficient information for you. If more information is required regarding the gay history a visit to the excellent “Schwules Museum” (gay museum) is a must! The museum has recently moved from Kreuzberg to Tiergarten and offers even more exhibition space and a cafe. On the page 18 in this guide you can find more information about the new gay museum. The Märkische Museum is a further source of information with many historical exhibits.

In the Gay Museum Berlin’s gay history comes alive

Change of location at the gay museum

The Gay Museum moved to their new location in the Lützowstraße 73 in May 2013 comprising of three floors on 1600m². On the ground level are four exhibition rooms and a café, which can also be used for the exhibitions. On the first floor is the reference library with work stations for those doing research as well as the offices and a workshop can be found. In the basement there are air-conditioned storage areas in which the museum’s archives are housed.

Along with the spatial expansion the move has also brought about a thematic enhancement for this museum founded in 1985. The Gay Museum* has become a place for the diversity of sexual identity as well as popular concepts regarding gender. The new location was opened with three exhibitions. The previous permanent exhibition was archived and replaced with the theme transformation an interim exhibition which runs until the end of 2014. The new permanent exhibition is still in the conception stage.

In the centre of this chronologically layed-out display, transformation is the social theme - the order of sexes and the changes which have occurred since 1800. The exhibition with focus on Germany is an associative journey through the many transformations which the LGBTIQ (lesbian/gay/bisexual/Trans/Intersex/Queer) communities and their protagonists have gone through in history. The exhibits originate predominately from the Gay Museums own collection.