SchwuZ: Oldest and largest queer club in Germany to close

SchwuZ, opened in Berlin in 1977 and considered Germany’s oldest and largest queer club, has announced that it will close after filing for insolvency and failing to find an investor.

Iconic Berlin gay club to close on November 1

In an announcement on Instagram, the staff of SchwuZ have announced that the well-known Berlin queer club will soon shut its doors. 

“Writing these words is incredibly difficult for us,” the post read. “After months of hoping, campaigning and intense negotiations in a complex process with potential investors, we have to conclude that there is no person or group of people that is willing or financially able to continue to operate SchwuZ in its current state.”

SchwuZ has been in financial hot water for a while, laying off 30 of its 100 employees, shortening opening hours and finally filing for bankruptcy in August this year. The club asked regulars and locals to help them fundraise 300.000 euros, but only managed to raise 52.000 euros.

Managers cite inflation, increasingly expensive rents and the rise of online dating apps as the main factors that have dragged partygoers from the dancefloor. "Before, the regulars came here each weekend, maybe twice. Now, they will come maybe once a month," SchwuZ director Katja Jäger told AFP in September.

It was around 40 members of the socialist student movement who formed the Homosexual Action Westberlin (HAW) group in 1971 and planted the first seeds for SchwuZ. In 1974, the HAW split into the “political faction” and the “fun faction”, with the latter group opening the Schwulen Zentrum (Gay Centre) or “SchwuZ” in 1977. 

The club hopped around different locations in Schöneberg and Kreuzberg, before eventually settling at a 1.600-square-metre event space in Neukölln. The last party will be held on November 1, 2025.

SchwuZ just the latest victim of Berlin Clubsterben

While nightclubs and bars draw millions of tourists to Berlin year-round, the city's scene is on life support. SchwuZ is just the latest spot to bite the dust; Watergate, Griessmühle and Remise are among the other venues to have fallen victim to “Clubsterben” (“club death”) in recent years.

Several factors are behind the phenomenon. Alongside inflation, dating apps and rising rents, as Jäger cited in the case of SchwuZ, the city’s cultural funding budget has recently been cut by 12 percent, or 130 million euros.

While a 40 billion euro budget remains, attracting international artists and performers to the city from around the world, many locals fear Berlin will lose its status as one of the most important cultural capitals.