The first time I went to Steglitz was to visit a Primark since they only had one shop in Berlin, and the shop was in this part of the city that I had never been to before. That visit was in 2012, and it was then that my obsession with the Bierpinsel started.
That day was the first time I had seen anything as weird-looking as that building, and it was also my first contact with Architectural Brutalism. After that building, it was love at first sight.
Berlin’s Weirdest Building? The Story of the Bierpinsel
Bierpinsel is the work of Ralph Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte, an architect couple who also designed the brutalist ICC Conference Center in Berlin-Westend. The couple’s original concept was a tree shape, but I don’t think this idea is still present today.
It looks more like a crazy Lego creation than anything else. Either way, it took four years to build it, between 1972 and 1976, and, according to the legend, it got its nickname due to the amount of free beer served on the opening day.
Set next to a highway in the middle of Steglitz, a neighborhood south of Berlin, the Bierpinsel closed its doors to the public in 2002 for some construction work. In 2006, it closed its doors and never opened again. Before it shut down, it used to house restaurants, bars, pubs, and even a nightclub across its four levels.
But none of it exists today.
In 2010, there were some places to turn it into a piece of art, which is why the Bierpinsel is covered in paint from top to bottom. The Turmkunst project was supposed only to last a year, but 2011 came, and everything is still there.
Even the bear still says some sweet home even though it has been outside for more than seven years. You can even see their website today.
Bierpinsel Steglitz: Explore Berlin’s Abandoned Tower
If you are like me and don’t understand why nobody does anything with the building, you must figure out that Berlin is a weird place. According to a news piece 2010 on Tagesspiegel, Tita Laternser and their daughter Larissa are the Bierpinsel owners and want to do something with the building. But it seems that nobody knows what.
I read that there were plans to turn the outside of the building into a golden dome, but some people in the area were not happy with this idea. Right now, it just sits there, waiting for something to happen.
It’s It’s to find the Bierpinsel in Steglitz since the building is in the middle of the Joachim-Tiburtius bridge and at the U-Bahnhof Schloßstraße, where you can easily take the U9 and arrive. If you want to get inside, you should give up. Even the people behind the amazing Abandoned Berlin couldn’t get in. Maybe you can, perhaps you know somebody who has a key.
If you want to read more about the Bierpinsel, I mentioned the building in my article about the 52 places you need to see in Berlin and Brutalist Architecture in Berlin. Check it out.
Bierpinsel: Architectural Brutalism in Berlin
Schloßstraße 17, 12163
Berlin, Germany
