Berlin’s oldest gay club SchwuZ has announced they’ve filed for insolvency and will likely be winding down their operations.
Inflation, rising rents and dating apps have been attributed as factors leading to the club’s demise, but patrons have also suggested the club had an outdated music playlist and investors had over capitalized when the club moved to new premises a few years ago.
The management for he club posted the news to Instagram on Thursday saying they were in serious financial trouble but hoped by restructuring their operations they might still survive. They encouraged the venue’s patrons to support them by coming down to the club.
SchwuZ is short for SchwulenZentrum, which means gay centre. The venue opened in 1977 and alongside being a long running home for the LGBTIQA+ community they also were key to founding the annual Christopher Street Day Parade and the magazine Siegessaeule. In 2013 the club moved to new premises.
Managing Director Katja Jager, who began in January this year, said since taking on the role she’d discovered the club was in a much worse financial position that initially portrayed when she began the role.
To combat the challenges the club has been forced to dismiss a third of its staff, and cut back on drag performances at the venue. They also replaced their coat check operations with a self managed locker system.
The club hopes to stay open until October when their insolvency hearing will begin.
SchwuZ is not the only Berlin venue facing challenges as the city’s club scene changes. Several high profile clubs have shut their doors in recent months.
Last year Busche club, an LGBTIQA+ focused venue that had been operating for over four decades closed down. While on New Year’s Eve Watergate, an upmarket venue, called last drinks after 22 years of operation. While techno venue Wilde Renate is also coming to an end in coming months.
