Distillery (Club)

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Street view in 2013

The Distillery in Leipzig is the oldest techno club in the new federal states and is one of the most famous and influential techno clubs in Germany.

Origin and history

The club was created in September 1992 on the site of an old brewery in Biedermannstrasse, in Leipzig-Connewitz, based on an idea from some friends. This is probably where the name (English term for distillery ) comes from , although the brewery never distilled anything high-proof. The old location was closed due to a lack of concessions (there were no emergency exits in particular), which is why there were various protests by organizers and guests, including parties in front of Leipzig City Hall. As a result, the operators agreed with the authorities in September 1995 on a new location in the Südvorstadt. Since then, the club has been located in a building on a former Deutsche Bahn site at Kurt-Eisner-Strasse 108a.

Since 2011 the distillery has been threatened with closure again. The previous location of the club - at the end of two dead ends, on a railway area that is no longer in use - became part of a large development plan around the Bavarian train station and the city ​​tunnel . The plan provides for the extension or expansion of Altenburger Strasse and Kurt-Eisner-Strasse, both of which end at the railway site. The distillery is now directly on a busy street. In addition, a tender for a complete development plan for the railway area was decided in 2012. In the course of this, the club should give way, as the city administration has seen difficulties in marketing the building plots.

Petitions and demonstrations followed, in which the ex-mayor and ex-federal transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee also took part. Both the Greens and DIE LINKE have campaigned in the city parliament to keep the club at the old location. In July 2014, the city administration committed itself to the preservation of the distillery in its “Framework Agreement for the Development of the Urban Space of the Bayerischer Bahnhof”. However, since March 2019 it has been certain that the club will have to move by 2022 at the latest. Since then, a future alternative location has been sought, which should still be located in the south of Leipzig.

Street view in 2007

Musical and cultural development

In recent years the club has opened up to music. In addition to techno and house , drum and bass and other styles of electronic music as well as hip-hop and reggae have found their place in the multi-faceted program. Many national and international artists have already been guests - from Carl Craig , Laurent Garnier , Jeff Mills , Dave Clarke , Sven Väth and Richie Hawtin to Ricardo Villalobos , Paul Kalkbrenner , Louie Austen and Steve Bug to LTJ Bukem , Afrika Bambaataa , DJ Vadim , Blowfly , DJ Krush , DJ Koze , Storm , Kool Keith or Princess Superstar . The best-known local DJs, who are regular guests as residents, are the Leipzig Deep House DJ and producer Matthias Tanzmann or the DJ and producer Daniel Stefanik .

In addition to pure DJ sets, there are live acts , small club concerts and, since 2013, regular poetry slams and other cultural events.

Th! Nk? Open air

From the club's environment, the Th! Nk? emerged. After having been more regionally positioned in previous years, it was established in 2010 as a day open air at Lake Cospuden .

Admission Policy

The bouncer policy was very strict in the early years, even if there was no dress code . They wanted to differentiate themselves from the typical “disco crowd”, which contributed to the club's success. Today the door policy is more tolerant. At the entrance, the operators take a written statement against drug use and trafficking.

Web links

Commons : Distillery  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Save the Distillery - Petition open petition
  2. Framework agreement for the development of the urban space Bayerischer Bahnhof Website City of Leipzig, accessed on January 8, 2016
  3. mdr.de: Leipzig Techno Club Distillery has to move | MDR.DE. Retrieved November 6, 2019 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 19 ′ 16 ″  N , 12 ° 22 ′ 58 ″  E