BERLIN, Feb 26 — Berlin’s infamous Berghain nightclub — pronounced Berg-HINE — is opening up a third destination, called Säule (German for “pillar”). Located directly underneath the venue’s main dancefloor, its booking policy will skew towards more experimental and conceptual electronica.

The notorious Berlin destination — located in a former steel-and-concrete power plant with cavernous dimensions and round-the-clock opening weekend hours — began as Ostgut, a host to male-only fetish parties, but was demolished in 2003.

The new iteration was christened Berghain, which fused the names of West Berlin’s Kreuzberg and East Berlin’s Friedrichshain neighborhoods. It has two separate dance floors, a monster sound system, and can accommodate epic crowds in the four digits, yielding a “reputation as the Mecca of clubbing.” It was opened in 2004 to the general public, becoming a hub of the hedonistic Berlin techno subculture. “Opened” is perhaps a loose term: GQ described it as “the world’s strictest, most inscrutable door policy. There are no reservations, no bottle service, and no way to get on a guest list (unless you are deep in Berlin’s electronic-music scene). Many folks wait hours and then, with no explanation, get politely asked to step aside and go elsewhere.”

The Telegraph wrote an article exploring its opaque admissions: “Berghain: How to get into Berlin’s most exclusive nightclub.” Amongst the get-in tips? Speak German; convince the bouncers you’re there to see a specific DJ; dress casually. The article recounted that “there are hundreds of forum posts online with advice ranging from the bizarre ‘look more gay’ to the much more reasonable ‘don’t be too drunk in the line,’ as well as an equal number of negative reviews from disappointed punters who claim that the mysterious door policy is xenophobic, sexist, racist and discriminatory in every way imaginable.”

There is even an online “How to get into Berghain” training.

Berghain already has two supplementary spaces, Kantine and Halle am Berghain, utilized for live performances and installations. In 2005, Berghain’s owners started a record label named Ostgut Ton, which releases various strains of techno and house.

Säule will launch on Thursday, March 23, with DJs Alessandro Adriani, Deena Abdelwahed, and Natalia Escobar on the bill. — AFP-Relaxnews