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Facade of the Kunsthaus Tacheles in Berlin on 17 October 2011.
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View of the Kunsthaus Tacheles and the courtyard on 2 August 2012.
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Tourists stand in front of the Kunsthaus Tacheles on 2 August 2012.
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The Cafe Zapata in the Kunsthaus Tacheles on 26 July 2010.
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This colorful graffiti adorns a wall in the inner courtyard of the Tacheles on 26 August 1997.
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The premises of the exhibition house Fotografiska in Oranienburger Straße.
For many years, the Tacheles was the epitome of the alternative art and culture scene in Berlin. Today, little remains of the former art and cultural centre.
For many years, the Kunsthaus Tacheles (Art House Tacheles) was the epitome of the alternative art and culture scene in Berlin. The Kunsthaus no longer exists in its original form. The building on Oranienburger Straße in Berlin-Mitte was remodeled after it was sold in 2014.
The building in Oranienburger Straße was only given the name Tacheles in the 1990s by an artists' initiative. The building was part of the Friedrichstrasse arcades built at the beginning of the 20th century, which stretched from Oranienburger Straße to Friedrichstraße.
The department store chain Wertheim was also a tenant for a time. At the beginning of the Second World War, the National Socialists used the building, followed by the Free German Trade Union Federation during the GDR era. The building was only slightly damaged during the Second World War. Nevertheless, it was to be demolished after the fall of the Berlin Wall in February 1990. But shortly before the demolition, the artists' initiative Tacheles occupied the building. Instead of being demolished, it was listed as a historical monument.
Over time, the name of the artists' initiative spread to the entire building. Tacheles gradually established itself as a permanent fixture in Berlin's art and culture scene. Numerous studios, exhibition spaces, a cinema, a bar and larger rooms for concerts, readings etc. made Tacheles a diverse and innovative place and a magnet for Berliners and tourists.
After the lease between the artists' collective and the building owner was no longer renewed, long public discussions about preserving the Tacheles and using the building took place - unsuccessfully. The forced eviction took place in 2012.
A new future for the Tacheles has been decided upon in 2016. On the site of the building, which had been vacant since, preliminary work for the construction of a new urban quarter began on April 4, 2016. The area has since been redeveloped and used for offices, stores and apartments. There is also a further cultural use: the Swedish photography museum Fotografiska opened a branch in the former Tacheles in September 2023.
After the forced eviction from the building on Oranienburger Straße, the artists' collective let the Tacheles emerge anew at a different location: the Neue Börse Marzahn and Marzahner Chaussee. Here, artists from France, Italy, India and Latin America have converted stables and barracks into studios. In addition, the artists' initiative continues to exist on the internet.
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