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How the studio got to its name:
Probably nobody will believe this, but one night we really had an encounter with a round, glowing flying object on the roof of the old brewery. But it would be a pity if we wouldn’t mention that.

We believe!!!!



MUSIC BREWERY BERLIN – UFO SOUND STUDIOS

This location has written captivating history


Schneider C. Brewery – Schweizer Garten History

  
       
   
The UFO Sound Studios are situated in the historical C. Schneider brewery at Prenzlauer Berg which was built in 1891. The legendary lager beer was brewed here (later supposedly also bottled beer) and was served at the nearby fairground. This beer garden was built in the 18th century and was called Schweizer Garten (Swiss garden). The fairground, called „Lunapark“ was built later in 1867. It included a cinema and various stages for entertainment. Just next to it there was a big festivity hall which was – similarly to the one in Munich – a permanent component of the brewery ensemble.
  
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At that time there were plenty of breweries in Prenzlauer Berg - in the north-east of Berlin. Among them were „Aktienbrauerei“,“Bötzowbrauerei“, „Königstadtbrauerei“, „Schultheissbrauerei“, „Pfefferberg“, just to mention a few of the 24 breweries. The terrain of the C Schneider brewery in the „Schweizer Garten“ is of particular interest, since many secret and historical events have taken place here. Sure the hidden location of the park and the altitude level of the brewery on the hill have contributed to that fact. The supposedly artificial altitude offers enough room for big brewery coves, but also for secret underway passageways and bunkers. We’ll get to that later!


The prosperity did not last for long, and many of the breweries had to close their business down due to the relative poverty of the citizens (caused by World War I). So did the brewery C. Schneider – it closed down in 1914, only 23 years after its formation.


In 1921 the fairground at the Schweizer Garten was taken on by W. Paeschke who established the biggest and oldest summer-theatre in Berlin, which offered seats for 10.000 people. The moving-picture palace offered not only film presentations, but also celebrations, balls and boxing fights.


>> during the nazi times


Back in the time of the Republic of Weimar, both right-wing and left-wing parties were strongly repesentated and had civil war-like riots in the streets of Berlin. We won’t dig deeper into historical details, but there was a crucial speech of the right-wing party NSDAP in the roofed hall. That was towards the end of the Republic of Weimar (1932). It was not the content of the speech that was crucial, but the counter reaction of the annoyed left-wing, who counted more men. They invaded the meeting which turned into a big violent fight in the hall. One person of the NSDAP was even killed and Joseph Goebbels had to flee out of the window – at least that’s what they say.

When Adolf Hitler was declared as the Chancellor of the Reich, a propaganda department was established as an act of revenge to the invasion of the left-wing. It was situated next to the roofed hall and the C. Schneider brewery. From there Goebbels was reigning as the minister in charge and the leader of the district. The people’s observer was situated in the ministry and most nazi strategies were developed there.

Today this building is the publishing house for economics. Around it the „Goebbelssiedlung“ was built, which comprised 147 appartments that are probably still inhabited by old functionaries (in case they aren’t dead yet).


>> Bunker, secret passages...



  
   

Next to the ministry of propaganda - today a park („Volkspark Friedrichshain“) with a fountain - two giant towers (known as "Flakturm") had been erected for shooting down military planes. After the war, the Russians tried to blow up these. But due to their enormousity only 30% of them were destroyed. The rest of the bunker is still intact. Today you can still see the blasted top on a hill in the park. Thus, the park is actually built above these bunkers. Many historians would like to explore them, but have no access to them.


The last hidden entry was one of the many secret passages. It began in the elevator shaft of the C. Schneider brewery. It lead to the ministry of propaganda and branched out in two directions: one to the roofed hall and to the tower and the other one to the „Friedensstrasse“. The latter was destroyed by the Berlin road works, while the other one was completely dug out in order to build the Victor Hotel which stands in the place of the roofed hall

  
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Nex to the building several weapons from World War II were secured. Shortly the last connecting passage between the C. Schneider brewery and the ministry of propaganda was destroyed in order to make space for a townhouse project which covers the Schweizer Garten with concrete.

  
       
   

Below the parking lot of the former ministry of propaganda there is one of the quaintest bunkers of Berlin. Here almost nothing was altered, since hardly anyone has entered the rooms since the war.  Old rusty Siemens air filtering systems and GDR-cables draw through the rooms. As mentioned, you cannot enter this passage from the outside.

The 1000 square meter big brewery cellar also offers quite a bit of contemporary history. You can still see the bunker-beds that are attached to the walls. The old bunker doors which were made of sawdust, glue and plaster (since the nazis used all metallic materials for the weapons and the cheapest was just good enough for the citizens) fell from their hinges on the spot. Some of them have inscriptions like „Kaule is stupid“. They are supposedly scribbled by working children whose job was growing mushrooms at the time of GDR. Apparently they really liked their employers.
Furthermore there are also phosphoresced inscrptions and you can easilly see the areas of low pressure and the emergency exits of the bunker. Lately we’ve tidied up the elevator shaft that was filled with trash of a „Trabant“-service in the 60's.

Quite a few stories about Goebbels and his underway escape passageways have been told. For instance, that an 8 meter wide trafficable tunnel went aross the town and lead to the cloister „Katharinen Stift“ nearby the C. Schneider brewery. But this turned out to be just a rumour after the townhouse project dug out the complete Schweizer Garten. There were just some weapons found like bombs and multiple rocket launchers. But the fact that the – mostly narrow – underway passages branched out from here far into Berlin is undisputed. Sadly they will remain forever closed for seekers from the outside.


>> Stasi (State Security), GDR...

During the time of GDR, military and secret service operations were being executed in our rooms above the historical bunkers. When we first entered the building, we found a complete wiretapping equipment. This was used by the state security and it apparently enabled wiretapping even into the West. After a museum refused to take it, we took out the inner content (with its remarkable 1.000.000 handmade solder points) and made a nice polished-metal bookshelf out of the board.
According to a descendant of the brewery family, the upper floors have been storing all the military outfits, protective suits and gas masks. On the bombed roof which once served as a refrigeration ship there is still evidence of the war by the numerous Kalashnikoff shelves

  
       
       
   

The music brewery - its historical and current us

  
       
   

HISTORICAL USE

 CURRENT USE

As a Brewery:
office & personnel rooms
During the Nazi-times:
military centre of strategy
During the GDR times :
Wiretapping central, later storage room for “Trabant” spare parts

UFO SOUND STUDIOS:

Lobby, Control Room “Cockpit A”, recording room “Space

As a Brewery:
hops floor
During the Nazi-times:
military centre of strategy
During the GDR times:
room for weapons, protective suits and gas masks

UFO SOUND STUDIOS:

Cockpit B, Cockpit C, Mastering, bureau

As a Brewery:
fermentation cellar, small hall
During the GDR times:
VEB coal business

UFO SOUND STUDIOS:
Studio/concert hall

As a Brewery:
refrigeration ship
During the Nazi-times:
it was bombed out during the World War II

 It is currently still in that bombed out condition with evidences of the war like plain walls and bullet-holes

As a Brewery:
big fermentation cellar
During the GDR times:
car workshop for “Trabant”

UFO SOUND STUDIOS:
Studios

As a Brewery:
where the barrels were transported in and out
During the GDR times:
car workshop for "Trabant"

We are planning a music brewery

As a Brewery:
cove lager cellar
During the Nazi-times:
Goebbels’ escape bunker with secret passageways
During the GDR times:
mushroom breeding

 We are planning a music brewery

The other parts of the brewery:
heating, malt floor, ice room, stable
During the GDR times:
district heating for the nearby block

 going to be modified to apartements