Along with the strict door policy it is forbidden to take any photographs inside Adapted front cover of Tobias Rapp’s book, Lost and Sound: Berlin, Techno and The Easyjet Set,, (accessed 26 February 2013) devices can be deposited for safekeeping to eliminate the risk of getting caught on the dance floor and being evicted. 2’,, (accessed 23 February 2013)Įntering Berghain is cathartic, especially for the first-timer, which is then channelled into an outpour of energy and emotion with partying stints that can last up to 48 hours. One high-profile incident at Berghain in 2009 involved the minimal techno DJ and producer, Richie Hawtin, who cut short his DJ set and left early as security threw his private guests out for improper conduct. And even when one is granted entry, one can still be ejected for falling out of line with the unwritten etiquette inside, never mind the explicitly stated rules. The resultant anxiety that everyone in the queue only serves to heighten the anticipation of what lies inside. Real Scenes: Berlin,, published 06 September 2011, (accessed 18 February 2013).As Tobias Rapp aptly states, “Whether you’re a queen or a farmer, it really can happen to anyone.” Rapp, 2010, p. Essentially, anyone who does not appear to be compatible with the ethos of the Berlin subcultural scene cannot be allowed to contaminate the party. While these denials seem unfair and discriminatory, many Berlin club owners highly disapprove of groups of mainstream tourists and those too intoxicated to enter their nightclubs. The doormen seem to favour people residing in Berlin and those who have the demeanour of a Berliner, but as a definition it is too difficult and ambiguous to pin down.

Although many have written tips online Dundon, Alice, ‘These 11 Secret Things Will Help You Get into Berghain’, Culture Trip, published 9 November 2017, (accessed )(no talking in the queue, no groups more than three, no acting drunk or high off drugs, for example), even partygoers who have been successful multiple times have also reported failures to get in. The Berghain fraternity would never explain why they reject individuals at the first hurdle. When the intimidating East Berlin-born doorman, Sven Marquardt Kulish, 2011, (accessed 15 February 2013).decides on the fate of the hundreds that stand in line on any given night at Berghain, an unsettling and nerve-inducing feeling washes over as one edges closer to the front. Many of the stories about Berghain end at the front door. The ‘Heizkraftwerk’ (heat and power station) as originally built.S ource: īerghain’s zero-tolerance door policy, which has contributed to the club’s reputation and its intense appeal, means that many of those who queue up for hours leave empty-handed. As with many other infrastructural buildings under Vattenfall’s ownership, 30,000 square meters Tzortzis, Andreas, “In Berlin, art among the ruins”, The New York Times,, published Tuesday, (accessed 15 February 2013).of empty floor space provided a tantalizing prospect for what would be its new inhabitant-Berghain. The building was erected in a socialist neo-classicist style as a combined heat and power station (‘Heizkraftwerk’) between 19 de./wiki/BerghainRented from the Swedish power company Vattenfall, the inevitable obsolescence of these power stations meant that the building was abandoned. In this light, the nomenclature immediately refers to the divisions in the city.

The name ‘Berghain’ is derived from the last syllables of the names of the two districts it straddles–Kreuz(BERG) and Friedrichs(HAIN).

Berghain bouncer sven