photo: Analog Berliner
When I moved to Berlin in 2000 I chose to live in Friedrichshain. This was 15 years ago now, and as you can imagine, the district looked quite different back then. There was no Berghain, no crazy party mile at Simon-Dach-Straße, no Veganz at the Warschauer Bridge. There was already an alternative hub at the so-called R.A.W. temple, but it was nothing like the pulsating RAW area with all the clubs, bars, galleries, etc that it is now. In fact, it was a little bit tranquil back then – more of a normal East Berlin residential area, but with a few bars here and there.
I stumbled over this video that I want to show you today, which was recorded back in 1991, only a few years after the wall came down. It shows the district like you would never recognize it if you only know it now. It’s a bit shaky and totally random – it follows the route down Warschauer Straße on the tram line that is now the M13, and then through the kiez that it still passes through today. But everything looks completely different. Enjoy the little time travel into a stripped-down version of Berlin Friedrichshain as it used to be.
Music by Pilskills, video edited by 1000 frames in front of a club, footage by Manfred Ziegenhagen