Holzmarkt: How Berlin's Party People Built a Village

Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
1 day ago
5 min read

There's a wooden gate on Holzmarktstraße that used to keep people out. It belonged to Bar 25, one of Berlin's most mythical clubs. The gate is still there, but now it welcomes everyone in. That shift — from exclusive hedonism to open community — tells you everything you need to know about Holzmarkt 25.

A Club That Refused to Die

In 2004, a group of friends parked a GDR-era VW van on a strip of wasteland by the Spree, fitted it with a sound system, and started selling drinks. The site had been empty for decades — it sat in the former death strip of the Berlin Wall, where development was complicated and ambition low. Within months, they'd assembled wooden shacks from scavenged materials, built a swimming pool, and created what would become one of Europe's most notorious clubs.

Bar 25 operated only in summer, from Friday night to Monday morning. Entry was notoriously unpredictable — well-dressed Parisians might be turned away while a disheveled local waltzed in. The club became famous for costume parties, confetti storms, and sessions that stretched 48 hours. Behind the wooden fence, time worked differently.

But the land had other suitors. The Mediaspree project — a development plan to build offices and apartments along the Spree — put pressure on the site. Despite a 2008 referendum where 87% of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg voters supported keeping the riverbanks public, Bar 25's lease was terminated. In September 2010, after a final five-day party, the music stopped.

The Business Hippies

What happened next would be remarkable anywhere. In Berlin, it felt almost inevitable.

The Bar 25 founders didn't disappear. They moved across the river and opened Kater Holzig in an old soap factory, keeping the community alive while plotting something bigger. When the original site went up for sale in 2012, they launched a campaign to buy it back — not to rebuild a club, but to create something permanent.

They found an unlikely partner: Abendrot, a Swiss pension fund dedicated to ethical investing. The fund purchased the land for over €10 million and signed a 75-year leasehold agreement with the Bar 25 crew. The structure they created — the Genossenschaft für urbane Kreativität (Cooperative for Urban Creativity) — would become a model for community-led development.

Each cooperative member invested €25,000. Shares cost €25 each, with a minimum of one share required for membership. The coop now has around 100 members, but regardless of how many shares someone holds, they get exactly one vote. It's democracy by design.

"Big dreams need space and courageous investors," reads a poster at Holzmarkt's entrance. The phrase captures the project's peculiar mix of idealism and pragmatism — what some call "business hippies," a term the founders have embraced.

What Holzmarkt Is (And Isn't)

Holzmarkt 25 opened in 2012 with tents and balloons on dusty sand. Hundreds of Berliners showed up on opening day, bringing plants to fill the empty space with new life. Today, the 12,000 square-meter site houses a bakery (Die Backpfeife), a wine shop, a café, a riverfront restaurant (Katerschmaus), a theater (Säälchen), co-working spaces, art studios, a kindergarten, and yes — a techno club. Kater Blau occupies the spot near the S-Bahn tracks, its legendary afterhours drawing crowds who dance into Monday morning with views of the Spree at sunrise.

The architecture tells its own story. Some structures migrated physically from Bar 25 to Kater Holzig and back again — the same wooden beams, relocated twice. Construction trailers stack on top of each other. A phone booth houses the Télédisko, billed as the world's smallest nightclub. Everything looks intentionally provisional, though the 75-year lease says otherwise.

The riverside area, Mörchenpark, is maintained by two gardeners from the cooperative. A reed-covered bank with a beaver exit and jetty landscape reflects the project's sustainability ambitions. You can sit on wooden platforms with your feet nearly touching the Spree, the Fernsehturm visible against the skyline.

Visiting Today

Holzmarkt is publicly accessible from early morning until late, seven days a week. The market square's bar, Spreelunke, opens midday and stays until dark — except when it's very, very wet, as the official website charmingly notes. There's no entry fee to wander the grounds. Various stalls serve food from around the world, with a €2 deposit system for reusable glasses.

On summer afternoons, the vibe is family-friendly: kids in the playground, adults nursing beers by the water, the occasional DJ providing a laid-back soundtrack. Weekend mornings bring the Funky Breakfast Market on the first Sunday of each month. The Heissa Holzmarkt winter market (mid-November to late December) transforms the space with fire bowls, mulled wine, and a children's carousel.

For nightlife, Kater Blau operates from Friday evening through Monday morning. Unlike Berghain's all-black aesthetic, Kater Blau embraces color and costume — festival-goers in glitter mix with techno purists. The door policy is comparatively relaxed, though this is Berlin, so nothing is guaranteed.

The Berlin Reality Check

Holzmarkt proves that alternative culture can survive institutionalization — but not without transformation. The founders who once threw illegal raves now manage a multi-million-euro real estate cooperative. The investors who kept the dream alive are pension fund managers in Zurich. The kindergarten shares a fence with the techno club. These contradictions aren't bugs; they're features.

What Holzmarkt offers isn't nostalgia for wild Berlin. It's evidence that Berlin's creative class learned to play the long game — acquiring land, building structures, signing 75-year leases. Whether this represents victory or compromise depends on what you came looking for. Both readings are correct.

Practical Information

Address: Holzmarktstraße 25, 10243 Berlin (Friedrichshain)

Getting there:

S-Bahn: Ostbahnhof (S3, S5, S7, S9) — 10 minutes walk
Tram: M5, M8, M10 to Holzmarktstraße/Am Ostbahnhof
Bus: 248 to Lichtenberger Straße

Opening hours:

Grounds: Open daily, early morning until late
Spreelunke bar: Midday until dark, seven days (weather permitting)
Katerschmaus restaurant: Lunch 12:00–16:00, dinner 19:00–midnight
Kater Blau: Friday evening through Monday morning

Costs:

Entry to grounds: Free
Heissa Holzmarkt (winter): €3 cultural contribution (free for children under 12)
Food and drinks: Budget-friendly; €2 deposit for reusable glasses

Best times to visit:

Summer afternoons for riverside relaxation
First Sunday of the month for the Funky Breakfast Market
Mid-November to December 21 for the winter market
Friday/Saturday night for Kater Blau (arrive after midnight)

Nearby: East Side Gallery (10 minutes walk), Oberbaumbrücke, RAW-Gelände

Website: holzmarkt.com

SEO Elements

Primary keyword: Holzmarkt Berlin

Secondary keywords: Bar 25 Berlin, Kater Blau, Berlin riverside, Friedrichshain nightlife, alternative Berlin

URL slug: holzmarkt-berlin-history-visit

Meta title: Holzmarkt Berlin: History, Visiting Guide & What to Expect (2025)

Meta description: From legendary Bar 25 club to creative village — discover Holzmarkt's remarkable story and plan your visit to Berlin's most unusual urban experiment.

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