Kesselhaus (Kulturbrauerei)

Kesselhaus sits within Berlin’s Kulturbrauerei complex in Prenzlauer Berg, a former Schultheiss brewery whose red-brick industrial buildings now hold cultural spaces. For a standard concert setup, the hall accommodates 745 standing guests plus eight wheelchair places; alternate plans support seated, grandstand and central-stage formats. Its strongest visual signature is the gallery overlooking the main room, giving the space a layered, theatre-like feel within a working-industrial shell.

Brewery machinery, then a cultural restart

The wider site began in 1842 as a small beer-cellar business with a sales outlet. Jobst Schultheiss took it on in 1853, and expansion turned it into a major brewery; architect Franz Heinrich Schwechten led an extensive redesign from 1887. Brewing ended in 1967, after worn equipment brought production to a close. The site gained heritage protection in 1974, yet its next life took shape after German reunification: cultural activists from East and West founded KulturBrauerei gGmbH in 1991, while a television production renovated the Kesselhaus for a weekly live programme filmed there across two years. Consense GmbH assumed operation of Kesselhaus and neighbouring Maschinenhaus in 2002, taking charge of their artistic and creative programme.

The room today

Kesselhaus books a broad calendar: concerts, festivals, readings, dance events, theatre and party series all fit its remit. Music programming ranges across pop and rock, Latin American and Francophone artists, jazz and blues, with festival activity and recurring dance nights adding further variety. Inside, expect a standing-floor concert room with a stage, gallery, entrance bar area and cloakroom; the venue also has several seated layouts. Ground-level entrances are barrier-free, and a rear-hall ramp provides a clear viewing position for wheelchair users.