Below the Akademie der Künste on Pariser Platz, a former coal cellar holds one of Berlin's least-known artworks: walls painted in 1957 and 1958 by young artists during carnival parties. On Wednesday 2 December 2026 at 5pm a guide takes up to 14 visitors down into this Bilderkeller. The tour costs 7.50 €, reduced 5 €, and is in German.
The painters were master students of the East Berlin Akademie der Künste, then housed in the building's surviving older parts. Among them were Manfred Böttcher, Harald Metzkes, Ernst Schroeder and Horst Zickelbein, who would later become well-known painters in the GDR. The parties fell into the brief political thaw of the mid-1950s, and the Akademie describes the dark, expressive pictures as an early sign of opposition in East Berlin painting: a reaction to both the art doctrine and the politics of the time. The cellars were later conserved and first shown to the public during Berlin Art Week 2018.
What to expect
Access is only possible with a guide. Besides the paintings themselves, a media station plays interviews with people who were there. Tours run every Wednesday at 5pm, so another date is easy to find if this one is full.
Good to know
- When: Wednesday 2 December 2026, 5pm (tours every Wednesday)
- Where: Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin
- Tickets: 7.50 €, reduced 5 €, through the Akademie's online shop. Maximum 14 people, so book ahead.
- Language: German. English tours can be requested at [email protected].
- Access: the cellar is not wheelchair accessible
- Getting there: S+U Brandenburger Tor
Nearby
The same week is the last chance for Metaxy, the Akademie's exhibition at Hanseatenweg, which closes on 6 December. Across town, the Ulay retrospective at the Neue Nationalgalerie has just opened.