Mutter Fourage
Culture in the open
Culture in an idyllic setting: Mutter Fourage is a gallery, a cultural centre, garden centre, and café in Berlin's Wannsee district.
Chairs are set up on the bumpy cobbles, the air is filled with the smell of freshly baked cake, and flowers are in bloom everywhere. The courtyard looks like it has stood still in time, a cosy idyll where the hustle and bustle of city life is a distant memory. This is Mutter Fourage, an ensemble of "culture barn", gourmet shop, and café.
The name is a play on "Mutter Courage", the German name for Brecht's "Mother Courage," and the fact that it is located in a former feed store, which sold "Fourage" in German. The ensemble has a Mediterranean flair with an ancient culture barn with a rare diamond-shaped timber framing, a gallery, a nursery with native perennials and plants from southern Europe and a courtyard café with a natural food shop.
Culture Barn and Gallery
Over the past thirty years, the "culture barn" has grown from being a true insider's tip into a well-known institution. Mutter Fourage offers a regular programme of cultural events in this unique atmosphere: music (classical, jazz, world music), theatre, and literature. The summer concerts in the barn are the highlight of the season, as is the tango festival held here.
The barn also hosts an event on 21 November, to mark the anniversary of German author Heinrich von Kleist's and his lover Henriette Vogel's suicide pact. Particularly striking is the cantilevered Zollinger-style roof in the barn, an innovative design made from diamond-shaped components.
The gallery is especially dedicated to showing works by artists from the Wannsee region. Changing exhibitions feature photographs, paintings, and sculptures, often featuring the Wannsee or the lakes to the west in Potsdam. Another focus is to rediscover the lesser-known artists of the Berlin Secession that formed around Max Liebermann.
Café and food shop
The freshly baked cakes are made from regional products and are offered in the cosy Hofcafé along with sumptuous breakfasts. The fine food shop Feine Kost also hearkens back to corner shops of yore, offering many regional and original products that are only available here. Perfect for a small memento of a beautiful day's outing to Mutter Fourage.
Garden Centre
The Mutter Fourage garden centre also provides a wide range of plants and shrubs to turn your own home into an idyllic oasis. The terracotta containers imported from Italy give the courtyard an extraordinary Mediterranean ambience.