Amid new-builds, vegan doughnuts and natural wine bars in Mitte, one venue is keeping Berlin’s independent music scene alive: Schokoladen. Perched on Ackerstraße, the venue is a middle finger to the area’s oversaturated commercialisation.
Originally built in 1881, the building – with its weathered façade decorated with flags and colourful bunting – has survived wars, shifting governments, the fall of the Wall, modern gentrification and more. It’s also one of the last places in Mitte where you can catch live music and get a beer for under €4. Over the years, little has changed at this Berlin institution – and that’s what makes it so special.
The venue is a middle finger to the area’s oversaturated commercialisation.
All of this is possible thanks to the owner’s fight against eviction, which they won back in 2012. Like many grassroots venues in Berlin, Schokoladen found its footing in the 90s, when a group of artists moved in and made it their own. From then on, the venue was run by a collective known as Schoko-Laden eV, named after the building’s former life as a chocolate factory.
Their goal was to make the space open for non-commercial artistic collectives – a vision that holds true still to this very day. After several eviction notices and a drawn-out battle with the building’s owner, Schokoladen held its ground. With help from the Swiss non-profit Edith Maryon Foundation, the Berlin city government agreed to a land swap – effectively saving the site from being sold off – that safeguarded the venue’s future. Schokoladen had secured its independence for good.
Schokoladen is more than just a punk venue; it also hosts theatre performances, reading groups, a library and a range of community events. The venue also supports social work, leads cultural projects and offers counselling and space to migrant organisations. It’s a haven for the alternative where artistic and creative types can thrive. For new and up-and-coming bands, playing Schokoladen has become a rite of passage.
The collective behind the Mitte venue actively supports musicians from a wide range of backgrounds, giving them a stage to be heard. Back in 2018, emerging band Fontaines D.C. played one of their first Berlin shows here. They’re not the only band of note to step onto the modest stage: Future Islands, Die Ärzte and Downtown Boys have also performed in the venue’s intimate salon. Last year, even local punk heroes Beatsteaks swapped the bright lights of festival stages and arenas for an intimate show on Ackerstraße.
Schokoladen doesn’t just book bands – it looks after them too. Musicians are more than fairly compensated for performing there (speaking from personal experience, of course). They offer free accommodation to touring performers who can’t afford it: a vital support for struggling artists. The bar isn’t stingy on free drinks either. For the punter, Schokoladen keeps ticket and bar prices low to avoid excluding anyone, staying true to its cultural mission.
Every summer, the venue opens its doors for the annual ‘Hoffest’, a free community event celebrating the passion of the renegades who made it what it is today. It’s a reminder not just of how Berlin once was, but how it still could be.
Long after Tacheles was butchered up and turned into flats, Schokoladen still reigns – long may it continue. Here’s to another 35 years of sweet resistance.
- Schokoladen, Ackerstr. 169, Mitte, details.
