Gay Holidays to Berlin

Berlin's origins go back more than 750 years. In 1701 Berlin became the capital of the kingdom of Prussia and in 1871 of the German Empire. Although Prussia was ruled by a gay king from 1740 till 1786 (Fredrick II), Berlin as a gay destination started a hundred or so years later. In the 1920s Berlin was seen as the city with the most lively and advanced gay subculture in Europe. That, of course, ended after 1933 when Hitler and the Nazis were given power in Germany.

When Berline was split, West Berlin, although an island in communist ruled East Germany (G.D.R.), became the gay capital of Germany. This wasn't only due to its population of about 3 million people, but partially also because the compulsory military service of West Germany (F.R.G.) didn't apply to men in West Berlin, which attracted many men to move to West Berlin. After homosexual contacts had been legalised in 1969, the gay scene and gay movement in West Berlin grew fast in the 1970s and 1980s.

The legal situation of gay men in East Germany was the best within the Eastern Bloc and even better than in some Western democracies, but as an authoritarian state there had been no rights to organize as a gay civil rights movement and there were only a few possibilities to develop a gay scene and subculture. At the end of the 1980s the situation improved, and the peak of that process was the premiere of the legendary movie 'Coming Out' – ironically in the night of the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989.

In 2001 Berlin got an openly gay Mayor, Klaus Wowereit from the Social Democrats. To prevent his outing by opponents during the election campaign he outed himself on a party congress with the legendary words 'Ich bin schwul, und das ist auch gut so' (I'm gay and that's just fine).

Traditionally in Berlin, there have been gay areas in the districts of Schöneberg and Kreuzberg (both in the western part of Berlin) as well as in Prenzlauer Berg (eastern part). Recently, the district of Friedrichshain developed as another area with a couple of gay-friendly clubs and restaurants. Most of the gay hotels, bars, cafes and shops in Berlin are located in the Schöneberg district (which had dance halls for men already back in the 1920s).

Annual gay highlights in Berlin are, among others, the Berlinale film festival in February (including the Queer Film Award Teddy), the Easter fetish week, the gay and lesbian streetfestival in Berlin-Schöneberg and the Gay Pride parade in June, and Folsom Europe in September.

Travelling to Berlin

Flights to Berlin are plentiful and having 3 airports (Schoenefeld, Tegel and Tempelhof) Berlin has the ability to allow a wider choice of airlines from many of the UK Airports. Berlin is served by Both Low Cost Airlines as well as Scheduled airlines.