Schwartzsche Villa

Cultural diversity is the agenda at Schwartzsche Villa and the programme is correspondingly broad with exhibitions of contemporary art, concerts with classic music, and children's theatre, all on offer in this stately building in Steglitz.

The villa is listed and houses a café on its south-west corner which offers snacks and a large beer garden: the perfect spot to enjoy some sun, relax, and get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

From summer residence to cultural centre: the story of the Schwartzsche Villa

Carl Schwartz built the villa in 1895 as a summer residence for his family. The house was modified in 1915 to allow various members of the family to stay there year-round. At the end of World War II the last inhabitant of the house died and it was abandoned. It initially served as an orphanage and was later used as a warehouse. The city of West Berlin bought the property in 1961, but it was only twenty years later that it was turned into a cultural centre by Kulturinitiative Lankwitz.

It took another eleven years before the cornerstone was laid for the conversion, but finally the Schwartzsche Villa opened as a cultural centre in 1992, run by the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district government. 

How is the Schwartzsche Villa used today?

The Schwartzsche Villa brings together many institutions and uses into a single facility:

• a studio in the attic
• a gallery and studio theatre upstairs
• a large and small salon with a grand piano on the ground floor
• the fireplace room, also on the ground floor, which serves as a meeting room
• an etching workshop, a photo lab, and a rehearsal stage in the basement

Regular special exhibitions complete the offer.

The studio theatre at Schwartzsche Villa

The cultural office of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district operates the villa's small studio theatre. Concerts, primarily classical, readings, and theatre for children and adults take place here.

Opening hours