(Photo: Stefan Müller
for Berggruen Holdings GmbH)
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The history of Künstlerhaus Bethanien is closely linked to the historical Bethanien, an architecturally unique ensemble of buildings on Mariannenplatz in the Berlin borough of Kreuzberg. However, since 2010 Künstlerhaus Bethanien has had a new location in Kottbusser Strasse, at the border between the two Berlin boroughs of Kreuzberg and Neukölln.
Künstlerhaus Bethanien on Mariannenplatz
"An institution erected some years ago and run by deaconesses, Bethanien is situated far away from the noise of the city, but unfortunately in a bare and treeless setting. One drives past a new Catholic church currently being built before admiring the marvellous grounds of this much talked-of hospital, which is known to enjoy protection in higher places." It was the Prussian king himself who supported Bethanien as one of his favoured projects, providing it with a budget so generous that Karl Ferdinand Gutzkow visited the model project with unconcealed reluctance in 1854, because its atmosphere seemed "cold and exclusive" to him. After its construction the unique building was used as a deaconesses' home and a hospital. It is part of the building's curious intellectual history that Theodor Fontane became the apothecary at Bethanien in the middle of the year of revolution, 1848. The medical tradition of the building ended in 1970, when the hospital had to be closed down.
There were plans to pull down the structure in 1974, when - not without reason - Rio Reiser sang that "Mariannenplatz was blue": the opposition of the occupiers was illuminated by the flashing blue lights of authority and so sharpened public awareness of the building. This paved the way for people interested in the protection of architectural monuments to present new concepts of use for Bethanien - Michael Haerdter, the founding director of Künstlerhaus Bethanien GmbH, was among them.
Under his direction, contemporary art took over a jewel of architectural history, and Künstlerhaus Bethanien became a production and exhibition centre acclaimed and respected both locally and internationally. To date, it has been possible for more than 950 artists from all over the world to use the Künstlerhaus in the context of fellowship programmes. Alongside the actual Künstlerhaus Bethanien with its office, studio and exhibition spaces, other projects such as the printing workshop of the BBK and Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien Platz also found a place in the building on Mariannenplatz.
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| Be that as it may,
Friedrich Wilhelm IV, to whom Friedrich Engels ascribed a "cheerful character
free of doubt" along with inflated state costs and "a perfectly formed system
of Romanticism," commissioned a kind of architectonic state vision to be
designed for Bethanien. |
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The fusion he was seeking - between monarchy, religion, and society - was to be visualized in an architecture
enamored of the medieval era.
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Bethanien of Gutzkow's Time
Engraving
from 1855
(Reproduction: Archive) |
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(Photo: Stefan Müller
for Berggruen Holdings GmbH) | |
Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Kottbusser Strasse
After the occupation of the south wing of Bethanien by left-wing radicals in 2005, and following 35 years of hard work and fascinating events on Mariannenplatz in Kreuzberg, the time came for the Künstlerhaus to seek a new domicile. New accommodation and fresh perspectives became of paramount importance. Under the direction of Christoph Tannert, who has been CEO of Künstlerhaus Bethanien GmbH since 2000, and with financial support from the foundation Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin, Künstlerhaus Bethanien moved - although still within Berlin Kreuzberg - in June 2010. The new location has an attractive situation on Kottbusser Strasse, in a lively neighbourhood between Kreuzberg und Neukölln. Comprising around 10,000 square metres, the building complex was acquired and modernised by Nicolas Berggruen Holdings GmbH in 2008. Besides Künstlerhaus Bethanien, here one can find many creative industry offices and also small retail.
Our artists and their guests are greeted in the new location by bigger events areas, more studios than ever before, an improved workshop situation, and the related expansion of the International Studio Programme.
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(Photo: Georg Schroeder for Künstlerhaus Bethanien GmbH)
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