Explore one the queer side of Berlin
Berlin has been a magnet to LGBTQ+ icons, members and allies for decades. It is one of the queerest cities in Europe and to this day has a large LGBTQ+ community. There are several ways to explore the city’s queer side. For instance with a Queer Berlin Tour, where you can discover the LGBTQIA+ history of the queer capital of Europe.
The tour will take you all over Berlin, from Mitte to Schöneberg and Kreuzberg, and takes up to 4 hours. Is the full tour a little too much for you? Then you there are two places you should definitely visit on your own. First of all the Schwules Museum, the first museum dedicated to gay history in the world. It has been as successful as it was controversial when the museum first opened its doors in 1984.
Once only an exhibition of the former Berlin Museum, the Schwules Museum has grown into a sought-after institution of both national and international stature. The museum is home to contemporary and historical records of the lives and times of queer and trans people in Germany. A second stop to make is the Memorial to the persecuted homosexuals under National Socialism.
Set on the edge of Tiergarten park, opposite the Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe, the memorial commemorates the homosexual victims of National Socialism, who were one of the major groups persecuted and killed under the Nazi regime. The memorial consists of a stark stone cube, which is a clear reference to the Holocaust memorial across the road. What sets the memorial apart is the looped video of two men hugging and kissing endlessly.
Walk, cruise, march and demonstrate
Throughout Berlin Pride there are multiple events which move across the city which you can either join or watch. On 20 July, CSD comes to the Spree river for the CSD on the Spree - Berlin Canal Pride. This two hour boat party and demonstration in one consists of around 15 boats cruising down the Spree river and this year will be the biggest ever and ends at the harbour party.
One day later, the Dyke* March Berlin marches through Kreuzberg, starting and ending at Festsaal Kreuzberg. This demonstration, which has been part of Berlin Pride for 10 years, celebrates the presence of lesbians within the LGBTQI+ community and gives them more visibility. On 22 July, the big Christopher Street Day – Berlin Pride Demonstration will make its way through the city, starting at Leipziger Straβe, via the Bundesrat and Nollendorfplatz to the Victory Column and on to the Brandenburg Gate.
The motto of this year’s Christopher Street Day Berlin Pride is “Be their voice – and ours! For more solidarity and empahty”. The demonstration is always popular, with usually around one million people taking part. Once the demonstration reaches the Brandenburg Gate there will be a colourful programme filled with lots of music to enjoy for the grand finale of the 2023 Berlin CSD.
