Neighborhood
Schöneberg (Nollendorfplatz)
in Berlin, Germany
The historic gay village around Nollendorfplatz — bars since the 1920s.
Where it is
Schöneberg lies in the west of inner Berlin; its gay neighbourhood centres on Nollendorfplatz and the adjoining Motzstraße and Fuggerstraße.
Address: Schöneberg, Berlin
What it is
Around Nollendorfplatz, gay bars, cafés, saunas and clubs line the streets, and each year the Lesbian and Gay City Festival turns the quarter into a huge street party. The neighbourhood is lively by day too, with the weekly market on Winterfeldtplatz and easy-going eateries, and is regarded as Berlin's traditional "rainbow district".
History
Schöneberg has been the historic heart of gay Berlin since the 1920s; Christopher Isherwood lived here and drew on the Weimar-era scene in his "Berlin Stories". At Nollendorfplatz U-Bahn station a pink-triangle plaque commemorates the homosexuals persecuted under National Socialism.