Admiralspalast

Built on the site of the city’s only natural salt spring, Berlin’s Admiralpalast opened its doors in 1910, after expanding the original Admiralsgartenbad’s wellness offerings by adding a cafe, cinema, ice rink and luxury spa. The new Vergnügungstempel—Temple of Pleasure—was a hit with decadent Berlin night-owls, becoming a centerpiece of Friedrichstraße’s cabaret culture. Its patrons’ Weimar-era extravagances would be made legend in Christopher Isherwood’s novel Goodbye to Berlin.

The complex survived WWII’s end with minimal damage and, to the joy of war weary Berliners, opened just six months later with the Staatsoper’s production of Krenek’s “Orpheus and Eurydice.” Not every performance was as welcome, however, and in 1955 the same stage would witness the forced marriage of East Germany’s Communist and Social Democrat Parties to form the SED—which was the one of East Germany’s one party system, remaining in power until the fall of the Wall.

Reopening its doors in 2006 after a €14 million face-lift, the Admiralspalast now boasts a plushed-out main stage accommodating over 1,750 patrons—architect Gewer & Partners removed Hitler’s private box during their renovations—and a more intimate studio theater with room for 400. Add the soon-to-be-opened Admiralsklub and the luxury penthouse sauna and it just might be that the Admiralspalast’s best days are yet to come!