HIDDEN PLACES - ORCO Germany

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All sorts of people meet in the new open air
restaurant in the Ballhaus courtyard. Here sit 21st
century patrons surrounded by crumbling house facades and graffiti eating Neopolitan
stone over pizzas, a microcosm of the Mitte district.
If a trademark has emerged from Berlin‘s massive rate of building in the last few
years, it is the masterly combination of old and new. We only have to think of the Re-
ichstag dome or the old Kaisersaal in the modern Sony Centre. The two experienced
event organisers, Christian Schulz (35) and David Regehr (37), also had this maxim in
mind when they took over the most famous and oldest Ballhaus in the city eighteen
months ago.
Many people feared that converting the legendary “Clärchens Ballhaus” into a
soulless, trendy night spot would end almost 100 years of tradition, but the two
young men have succeeded in creating an appealing synthesis between the as-
sets of the past and modern ideas. Above all there turns out to be a charming
contrast in the new open air restaurant outside the traditional house. The patrons
sit in their 21st century clothes, in the candlelight, surrounded by the crumbling
house facades, graffiti, old garages and the oleander bushes in full bloom, eating
Wenn aus Berlins emsiger Bauintensität der letzten Jahre
ein Markenzeichen abzuleiten ist, dann ist es die gekonnte
Verknüpfung von Alt und Neu. Denken wir nur an die Reichs-
tagskuppel oder den alten Kaisersaal im modernen Sony
Center. Dieses Motto hatten auch die beiden erfahrenen
Event-Veranstalter Christian Schulz (35) und David Regehr
(37) im Kopf, als sie vor eineinhalb Jahren das bekannteste
und älteste Ballhaus der Hauptstadt übernahmen.
Viele befürchteten die Verwandlung des legendären „Clär-
chens Ballhaus” in ein charakterloses Szenelokal und somit
das Ende einer fast 100-jährigen Tradition, aber den beiden
jungen Männern ist eine ansprechende Synthese zwischen
gestrigem Anspruch und modernen Vorstellungen gelun-
gen. Vor allem im neuen Freiluftrestaurant vor dem Traditi-
Neapolitan stone oven pizzas served by waiters dressed
in 20‘s style clothes.
In the Ballhaus itself the good old times can be felt even
more strongly: Original tables, chairs and bars from 1913
make it very easy for you to imagine the great parties of
the wild 20‘s. But even this has been given a bit more piza-
zz. Currently the 20‘s events only happen at the weekend.
On the other days many different, young customers whirl
around the floor to the rhythms of swing, jive or the tango.
As an alternative to the increasing number of new minimal-
istic bars, cafes and dance bars, perhaps old-fashioned flair
is, today, chic enough for the new Mitte district.