Literary Berlin: Bookshops, Readings, and Writers' Haunts

From Döblin to the Present Day: A City of Writers

From Alfred Döblin to Herta Müller, from Christopher Isherwood to contemporary literature: Berlin has always been a city of writers. Not in a comfortable, agreeable sense, but in the sense that the city draws writers who are trying to work something out. Every era has left its books behind. What remains is a literary infrastructure without equal in Germany: independent bookshops with a point of view, reading venues with history, and cafés where you can still sit for hours undisturbed.

Bookshops Worth a Detour

Dussmann das KulturKaufhaus at Friedrichstraße 90 is Berlin's largest bookshop. Four floors, open until 11pm, with departments covering books, music and film. The international section is well stocked, and the music department is among the best in the city. In a city where almost everything closes at 8pm, the late opening hours are no small thing. You can spend a very long time here without noticing.

For something smaller and more focused: do you read me?! at Oranienstraße 20 in Kreuzberg is one of the most carefully curated bookshops in Germany. German-language literature, international art books, magazines from around the world. The staff know the stock, and the selection has been assembled with genuine care.

Another Country at Riemannstraße 7 in Schöneberg is an English-language second-hand bookshop with a lending library attached. The atmosphere is cosy and the stock pleasantly random in the best sense: you find what you weren't looking for.

In Friedrichshain, at Warschauer Straße 74, Shakespeare and Sons offers English books alongside an attached bagel café — a place to linger. And for architecture, art and design in printed form: Bücherbogen am Savignyplatz in Charlottenburg, tucked beneath the S-Bahn arches, is one of the finest specialist bookshops in the city.

Where Readings Take Place

The Literaturhaus Berlin at Fasanenstraße 23 in Charlottenburg is the foremost address for literary events in the city. Readings, conversations, book launches — the programme is of a high standard and the guests are often significant authors. The house also has one of Berlin's most beautiful garden cafés. Most events are held in German.

More experimental and accessible is Lettrétage at Mehringdamm 61 in Kreuzberg: a literary laboratory hosting open mics, readings and writing workshops. Well suited to anyone who doesn't want to experience literature as high culture.

Places with Literary History

The Romanisches Café, which stood on Tauentzienstraße in the 1920s — now built over and gone — was the meeting place of the Berlin Bohème. Writers, painters and journalists drank coffee there and argued about books. The place is gone; the idea of it remains.

Still standing is the Brecht-Weigel-Haus at Chausseestraße 125 in Mitte: Bertolt Brecht's last home, now a museum. Brecht's study, his library, Helene Weigel's kitchen — all largely preserved in their original state. Open Tuesday to Sunday, closed Monday, admission around 5 euros.

Berlin as Literary Subject

A selection of books in which Berlin is the central character:

• Alfred Döblin – "Berlin Alexanderplatz" (1929): The definitive work. No novel captures the city's noise, cruelty and energy so precisely. Franz Biberkopf returns from prison to the roaring Berlin of the Weimar Republic, and the city rolls straight over him.
• Christopher Isherwood – "Goodbye to Berlin" (1939): The Englishman Isherwood lived in Berlin in the early 1930s and watched the Weimar Republic die. His book later became the basis for the musical Cabaret.
• Anna Funder – "Stasiland" (2003): The Australian author spoke with former GDR citizens and Stasi employees. One of the most haunting books about the GDR and its aftermath.
• Wim Wenders – "Der Himmel über Berlin": Not a novel, but as literary as a film can be. The story of two angels above a divided city, and the Berlin of 1987, before the Wall came down.

Reading about Berlin before visiting changes the way you see the city. Many bevoflats apartments are located in districts that feature in these books — sometimes literally around the corner from places that have been written about.