History of the Podewil

A Baroque palace through the ages

Our building at Klosterstraße 68 is located on one of the oldest streets in Berlin and has undergone a number of transformations over the past three centuries. Originally built in the early 18th century, it has been used exclusively as a site of culture since the 1950s.

Since 1954

Badly damaged in WWII, the palace was rebuilt by 1954 and converted into a “Klubhaus”. On 7 March 1954, the governing mayor of East Berlin, Friedrich Ebert, officially handed over the “Zentrale Klubhaus der Jugend” (central youth clubhouse) to the youth organisation known as the Freie Deutsche Jugend (Free German Youth, FDJ). The site became known as the “home of young talent” with events such as the “Festival of Political Songs”. It was also known as an important home for jazz music in the GDR.