Clärchens Ballhaus: Dancing into the next round
Berghain can't compete with this: A few steps away from the Hackesche Höfe in Auguststraße, an institution of Berlin nightlife has been going strong since 1913: Clärchens Ballhaus. Under female management, it has survived two world wars, socialism and its demise. For more than a century, people partied through the night here to waltzes and polkas, Charleston and swing, pop songs, disco and rock music. After careful renovation, a new era begins in 2024.
Before techno was tango
Berlin was already a party metropolis in Wilhelminian times. The imperial capital was notorious for its nightlife and moral laxity. Up to 900 ballrooms were part of the entertainment scene. The dancing and eating establishments were meeting places for people from all walks of life who wanted to escape everyday life at affordable prices.
Of course, there wasn’t any canned music yet; dance bands played live here.
‘Bühlers Ballhaus,’ which opened in 1913, was soon named after its boss by the guests: Clara Bühler, who came from a humble background, was an unusually independent and successful businesswoman for her time. She ran the show for over 50 years until she handed over to her stepdaughter in the 1960s. Clara died in 1971 in her small flat above the ballrooms. Her ballroom remained a family business for 90 years – 40 of which were spent under socialism.
The large hall on the ground floor was originally decorated in Japanese style, and in the evening a multitude of colorful lanterns transformed it into a ‘hall of miraculous lights’.
Above this is the Hall of Mirrors, which was lavishly decorated with murals and reliefs, tall mirrors and chandeliers. During the Second World War, the Wehrmacht set up a command post here; in the postwar period, it was only used as a storeroom and as a spare parts depot for the parquet flooring on the ground floor. Decades of slumber meant that the enchanting Hall of Mirrors was largely preserved in its original state.
Years after the war, Clärchen herself was still turning the abandoned Wehrmacht maps into toilet paper.
As during the First World War, the doors of the Ballhaus remained closed during the Second World War. But Clärchen reopened in July 1945. The front building had been bombed, and the ruins weren’t removed until 1965. Today, the area is used as a beer garden in the summer months.
After the Second War, the heyday of ballrooms is over. None have survived in the western part of the city. Three ballrooms in Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Wedding are now used for cultural purposes. In Mitte, ballrooms have also been preserved in Ackerstraße and Chausseestraße.
During the 40 years of socialism, the buildings in Auguststraße and its neighborhood that have survived the war fall into disrepair. The GDR concentrates its scarce resources on the construction of new prefabricated housing estates. More and more people move from the dilapidated old buildings in the center of Berlin to the outskirts of the city. But even the inhabitants of the bleak suburbs continue to value Clärchens Ballhaus as a piece of old Berlin. The venue remains popular and the building escapes the constant threat of demolition.
Berlin dances at Clärchens Ballhaus
Countless legends and anecdotes surround this traditional dance hall. The hard-drinking ‘Wasserminna’, who jumped from a height of six meters into a pool of water on a horse at the neighboring Busch circus in the 1920s, is a regular here; foreign currency transactions are conducted in the toilets; elderly dance maniacs drop dead on the dance floor. ‘Harry the Chaste’, a dancing master, waiter Günther Siegel, Günther Schmidtke manning the cloakroom and doorman Klaus Schliebs leave their mark on the ballroom for decades and become local celebrities.
Graphic designer and author Marion Kiesow has collected all these stories in years of research and tells it on over 400 pages in her book ‘Berlin tanzt in Clärchens Ballhaus’ – but also on location. Marion Kiesow offers guided tours once a month on Sunday afternoons.
Easygoing people
A woman ‘can come to her ballroom alone without being looked at the wrong way’, said patron Clärchen. This place also offered women the opportunity to flirt, have a fleeting adventure or even a fling. For example, the ‘ladies' choice’, which had been popular since the 1920s, where women asked men to dance – who were not allowed to refuse. Countless couples found each other here, for good or just for one night.
During the GDR era, employees of the State Security Service mingled with the guests and reported that the ballroom was a ‘favorite place for easygoing people of both sexes.’ The flirting between soldiers of the NVA (National People's Army) and ladies with HWG was observed with suspicion. The abbreviation stood for ‘frequently changing sexual intercourse’ and referred to women who were suspected of engaging in prostitution. Of course, contacts between East Berlin women and visitors from the NSW, the ‘nonsocialist economic area,’ were even more problematic in the eyes of the Stasi. There were more and more of them in the 1970s, because in the eastern part of the city, Westerners were able to ‘act like big shots’ even with little money. According to author Marion Kiesow, these included numerous guest workers from West Berlin. They scored points with the local ladies not only with Deutschmarks and tights, but also with their attractive appearance.
Long before the word ‘darkroom’ entered the Berlin vocabulary, rumour has it that in urgent cases, guests could retreat to a room on the empty upper floors for hours at a time – after paying a generous tip to the head waiter. Word has it that even the bushes in front of the house were used for intimate encounters.
In 1989, the year of reunification, Clärchen's stepdaughter Elfriede Wolf hands over the house to her son and daughter-in-law. The city is in a state of upheaval, with new bars and techno clubs springing up everywhere. Clärchens Ballhaus, on the other hand, continues to focus on tradition. Live music is still played until 1997, after which DJs play a colorful mix ranging from waltzes to AC/DC.
In 2003, the building is sold by Clara's heirs and the new owner gives notice to the operators. This ends the history of the ballroom as a family business after 91 years. The new tenants, two theater impresarios, start in 2005, preserving the historic charm but aiming to attract a more diverse mix of guests with pizza and disco. In 2018, cultural investor Yoram Roth acquires the theater and the previous operators have to say goodbye two years later.
After a coronavirus-related delay, the building is extensively renovated and reopens in September 2024 for its 111th anniversary.
Clärchens Ballhaus shines in new and old splendor after its renovation. The most drastic change: The hall on the ground floor is now, in the ‘Luna d'Oro’ restaurant, dedicated solely to dining. The name is in honor of the dancer Lisbeth Dorowski, who is said to have been a regular here in the past. From now on, the venue’s dance tradition will only be continued in the Hall of Mirrors. There, on the upper floor, tango, swing, salsa and disco fox workshops are held several times a week, followed by dance nights. Tickets for the monthly ballroom disco, which has been organized since the beginning of 2025, are sold out long in advance.
The aim for the modernization was to retain as much patina as possible. The exterior façade does indeed look as crumbled as ever. Many elements of the old interior have also been preserved. However, the hall of the ‘Luna d'Oro’ has been completely transformed by set designer Uli Hanisch (‘Babylon Berlin’). Japanese-style murals shimmer through on the dark patinated walls, reminiscent of the original 1920s design. The deep red velvet upholstery of the seats contrasts effectively with the dark wood tones of the furniture and parquet flooring. Subdued and targeted lighting rounds off the room design. The old tiled stove looks like a treasure. Old is no longer outdated, old is classy.
Contrary to what the restaurant’s exotic-sounding name and exquisite interior design might suggest, its kitchen is committed to the down-to-earth tradition of the Ballhaus. The menu offers deep-fried Spreewald gherkins as a starter, and the ‘tartare hedgehogs’ are also very popular. The main courses are ‘Königsberger Klopse’ (meatballs in caper sauce) and Berlin-style veal liver, and jello with vanilla sauce for dessert.
Following its renovation, Clärchens Ballhaus remains a place to eat, party and dance. At the same time, it is a living testimony to Berlin's history in the historic center of the city – just like the Hackesche Höfe which are a six-minute walk away.
