The cabaret theatre in Berlin found under 30 tonnes of rubbish

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/nov/23/cabaret-theatre-berlin-found

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A century-old cabaret theatre has been discovered in Berlin, under 30 tonnes of rubbish and builders' rubble, by a property developer who hopes to begin restoration on it by the end of the year.

Dirk Moritz, founder and CEO of the Moritz group, was visiting a public swimming pool with his daughter in the central district of Mitte when he saw the rundown three-storey building. The windows were boarded up and it was, he told Spiegel Online, "deserted and dilapidated". Three years later, in 2011, the Moritz group secured the property.

Having borrowed the keys from a caretaker, Moritz discovered the space filled with discarded sofas, shoes and rubbish. After contact with the building's Czech owners, his investigation revealed it to be a cabaret hall and restaurant that was closed in the 1930s, possibly as a result of the Nazis' crackdown on the artform.

Built in 1905 by the prolific German architect Oscar Garbe, the space was first used as Fritz Schmidt's restaurant and party hall before becoming the Hummingbird party hall and cabaret in 1919. During the 20s, the district was part of Berlin's thriving Latin Quarter.

After the second world war, when the district was part of Soviet-occupied East Berlin, it became a popular dumping ground and fell into disrepair by the time it was inherited by a Czech organisation.

Now Moritz hopes to restore it to its former glory as part of a €1.7m (£1.4m) renovation, which will transform it into a gallery space. Restoring it into a cabaret hall is not an option, however, as the building now sits in a densely packed residential area, he says.