Founded in 1991 in the army’s former butchery, Moabit’s Kulturfabrik smells more like a Kreuzberg squat than an abattoir.
Spread over three floors, this non-profit space houses the FilmRauschPalast, Moabit’s only Kino, as well as a theatre, the Slaughterhouse club and a cosy café/bar that holds art exhibitions, kicker tournaments and Tatort Sundays, all manned by charming pony-tailed volunteer staff who still fetch wood and coal for the heaters.
While Lehrter Straße’s heyday may have passed, the Kulturfabrik carries on the spirit, providing community services like bike repairs and homework help for young Moabiters.
A backyard Freiluftkino runs in the summer, showing mainstream and experimental fare – though for real art-house fodder, cinephiles should head to the 45-seat FilmRauschPalast’s bimonthly events (€7) to watch exquisite 16mm or 35mm prints complete with curator Sebastian Minke’s introductions, a glass of absinthe and a mid-film interval as the projectionist changes reels.