Sophiensæle

The Sophiensæle is a Berlin venue for independent performance, theatre, dance, music, and discussions. It occupies the historically protected former Handwerkervereinshaus building in Berlin.

The building connects present-day performance with Berlin’s political history and its earlier role in workers’ education. Karl Liebknecht addressed workers there during the German Revolution. From 1950 to 1990, the site served as a theatre workshop for the Maxim Gorki Theater. Artists founded Sophiensæle in 1996, including Sasha Waltz and Jochen Sandig. Its opening featured Sasha Waltz’s production Allee der Kosmonauten. Renovation preserved the premises before their reopening in 2011. Three rooms shape the venue: the ballroom, wedding hall, and canteen.

Sophiensæle invites local, national, and international artists to create and present work across several forms. Its programme includes theatre, dance, performance, music, and discussions. The venue also supports artists with funding applications, co-production partnerships, press work, and public relations. Wheelchair accessibility forms part of the venue’s recorded facilities. Its rooms retain architectural traces of the building’s changing cultural and political uses.