Ballhaus Berlin

Dancing has taken place at Chausseestraße 102 in Mitte since 1905, and Ballhaus Berlin is the last dance hall remaining there. The spiral staircase, disco ball, and old table telephones, which were once used to call neighboring tables, have been preserved. Here, especially if you're heartbroken, the main thing that helps is that you don't need to know how to dance or even come with company.

Ballhaus Berlin: A Dance Hall That Has Survived Everything

During the Gründerzeit era, Chausseestraße in Mitte was the Feuerland district, a place of machine factories and working-class pubs. In the midst of it all, an inn with a coffee garden opened in 1905 under the name Zum Alten Baden, which later became Schwankes Festsäle. The building survived two world wars, a revolution, and the division of the city. In 1949, it reopened as Behrens Casino, and in 1975, it became public property, was elaborately restored, and christened Ballhaus Berlin. Under the Gottschlich couple, it experienced its heyday with couples dancing, ladies’ choice, and an annual turnover of one million East German Marks. Since 2014, the current team has continued to run the establishment. The beer garden in front of it is the last remaining vacant lot on the street, as the buildings at this location were destroyed in the last days of the war.

Anyone feeling like everything is falling apart after a breakup will find a useful perspective in this place. This house still stands, and it has been dancing for one hundred and twenty years.

Table Telephones, Disco Ball, and a Non-Stop Program

Inside, much has remained that a visitor from 1936 would immediately recognize. A balcony runs around the hall, a spiral staircase connects the levels, along with stucco, old lamps, a bar, and the disco ball. The most famous detail is the table telephones, which were once used to call the table opposite instead of walking over. For someone just learning to flirt again, this is a pleasantly indirect exercise. The hall accommodates up to 199 guests across approximately 500 square meters, has its own stage, and is barrier-free accessible. The establishment also includes a beer parlor, a coffee lounge, the beer garden, and a hostel.

The program constantly changes and covers almost every mood. There are swing nights, a jazz party for ten euros in advance, dance nights with music from the sixties and seventies starting from seventeen euros, plus burlesque, queer cabaret, Latin parties, and classical concerts. You don’t need to be able to be able to dance or come with company to get through an evening here.