“Egg-laying, milk-giving wool-pig”
You think this is a strange headline? The thought is by no means entirely unjustified. But the RAW site in one of Berlin’s hippest districts – Friedrichshain – is exactly that, there is something for every occasion! The former owner of the area was the Deutsche Bahn (German Rail), which also explains the meaning of the abbreviation, Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk is what RAW stands for, meaning rail repair facilities. Nowadays, it is a massive space for intercultural projects, exhibitions, and markets as well as home to many clubs and bars. The five gates to the so-called last Berlin open space are always open. As a socio-cultural center, it is one of the city’s art institutions.
One of Berlin’s top addresses for events of all kinds!
There is the Cassiopeia Club for instance, it offers live music and an open-air cinema in the backyard with sun loungers and with woolen blankets when it’s cool outside. Nearby, one finds a gastronomy in the former bathhouse for factory workers, a relaxed bar with art on the walls, where live concerts and jazz sessions take place. In the private brewery Schalander around the corner you cannot only drink beer, but you can also learn how to brew it in special workshops.
This versatile site offers a bouldering and climbing hall as well, with a large outdoor area and a climbing tower with view of a beer garden, which provides climbing courses for beginners and advanced classes. A separate shop for everything the bouldering and climbing heart desires is also part of it. In the immediate vicinity is the only indoor skate hall in Berlin with a 1200 m² street course and 400 m² bowl and mini ramp area, which is also gladly and often used as an event location or for film and photo productions.
There is a large selection of clubs and restaurants, some of which are attractive event locations as well. The Haubentaucher Club, for example, is an oasis in the rough Berlin urbanity with Mediterranean lightness at a large pool and sundeck next to a spacious event hall, a former maintenance hall of the German Rail. Here industrial charm meets typical Berlin night culture.
The Urban Spree, an art and culture house dedicated to 1,700 square meters of urban cultures with exhibitions, artist residences, do-it-yourself workshops, and concerts, should not go unmentioned either. An art store and a large beer garden are also part of the facility.
Not to forget, the Treehouse with Treegarden is worth mentioning, a small oasis in the urban jungle, the heart of which is a large and towering tree.
You agree with me – don’t you? Only a few examples already prove it: the range of the RAW site is almost endless!
