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pink pillow Berlin Collection 2023
© visitBerlin, Foto: Fotoagentur Wolf, freiheitswerke

Begine

Women's Culture Project

This cultural centre is a space exclusively for women. Begine was established in 1986 in a squatted building that the women living there had refurbished, to provide a place for meeting others and for self-help. Ever since then, it has been both a meeting point and a cultural centre.

It’s a place for reading women's and lesbian magazines as well as a pool of information on lesbian events in the city. And it’s also a café to hang out in, chat, get involved and meet new friends.

Even if the area around Potsdamer Straße at Bülowstraße is no longer a trendy hotspot, the Begine is comfortably situated between trendy Kreuzberg and the historic gay and lesbian neighbourhood around Winterfeldplatz. The regular parties at the Begine Café appeal to a more alternative, feminist crowd. In addition to week-night card games, the centre offers exciting readings, concerts, workshops and discussions.

The cultural programme at Begine also includes musical events, talks, readings and discussions, art exhibitions and concerts, women-only parties and regular meet-ups, karaoke and dance evenings, film screenings and cabaret, games evenings and educational and information events.

History of Begine

It's a historic location. Die Begine (The Beguine) is found at Potsdamer Straße 139 and is the last major autonomous women's project that was able to develop without being threatened by the rent increases in the past 25 years. This autonomous Berlin women’s cultural centre serves as an alternative venue for lesbian and feminist women.