Berlin has been known as a queer capital for more than a century. In the 1920s, in the 1970s, and today, nowhere has been gayer than the Rainbow Neighborhood around Nollendorfplatz.

The queer liberation movement took off in Germany at the end of the 19th century. But persecution under the infamous Paragraph 175 continued for more than a century.

In this Kiez, queer people established cafés, nightclubs, bookstores, and youth centers — and occupied buildings as well. We will visit the homes of Audre Lorde, Christopher Isherwood, Rosa von Praunheim, August Bebel, the Homosexual Action West Berlin, and more.

Our tour will be meeting at Nollendorfplatz, in the middle of the square, on the south side of the elevated station, next to the plaque for the homosexual victims of fascism. We will meet at 2pm and leave by 2:10pm.

The tour will end two hours later near Yorckstraße. We will not be using public transportation — the tour will be entirely outside.

Suggested donation is 10 euros per person, but any contribution is appreciated and none is required. You can also pick up a signed copy of the book Revolutionary Berlin. which we reviewed here