Freischwimmer

Freischwimmer: Celebrate your birthday in the old boathouse on the Flutgraben

The entrance next to the gas station at Schlesisches Tor looks like nothing special. Behind it, the embankment leads down to the Flutgraben, which is about fifteen meters wide here and long marked the border between Kreuzberg and Treptow, and during the time of the Berlin Wall, between East and West. On the bank stands a wooden structure from the 1930s, which used to house a Spree fisherman’s boathouse, smokehouse, and living room. In the post-reunification era, it became the Freischwimmer.

What remains are the original wooden interior, old lamps, and a wooden platform that juts into the water. The areas are spread across a fireplace room, boathouse, terrace, and a private island garden with a boat dock and pedal boat rental. In the warmer half of the year, guests sit on the sun bridge over the water; in the colder half, by the fireplace. This very mix makes the place one of the most unusual birthday locations in Berlin.

Groups, Catering and Arrival

Celebrations are held for groups of twelve up to 400 people, depending on the area and setup. The formats are finely staggered: a seated dinner for up to 20 guests, family-style with shared platters for up to 40, buffets for 30 people and up, plus flying food. Drinks can be billed as a flat rate, by consumption, or by budget, and for a goose dinner, just six people are enough.

The venue provides a sound system with a mixing console and microphone; upon request, a DJ, live band, photo booth, caricature artist, or boat rental can be added. For decoration, there are white tablecloths and fabric napkins, candles, fairy lights, and fresh flowers from their own stock. The kitchen offers main courses averaging around 24 Euros; the grill runs daily, and brunch is available on weekends. Parking spaces around Schlesisches Tor are scarce; the U1 subway stop is a five-minute walk away.