Berlin | Curry 61 & Haus Schwarzenberg

Curry 61 is apparently "The Original Berliner Currywurst" and when we read this on a sign in

Berlin Hackescher Markt SBhan Station at about half 11 in the morning after walking for about an hour on our way to The Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer (The Berlin Wall Memorial) notably in quite circular 'scenic routes' we though it was the best time to test one out.

It is located at number 6 Oranienburger Straße and like many fast food places in Berlin is take away only, but there are too little bin/tables under a cover where you can stay and eat your food out of the *snow*.

 

"Currywurst is a fast food dish of German origin consisting of steamed, then fried pork sausage cut into slices and seasoned with curry ketchup, regularly consisting of ketchup or tomato paste blended with generous amounts of curry powder, or a ready-made ketchup-based sauce seasoned with curry and other spices. It is frequently served at German 'Imbissbuden' and from food trucks.

The invention of currywurst is attributed to Herta Heuwer in Berlin in 1949 after she obtained ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and curry powder from British soldiers. She mixed these ingredients with other spices and poured it over grilled pork sausage. Heuwer started selling the cheap but filling snack at a street stand in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin where it became popular with construction workers rebuilding the devastated city. She patented her sauce, called Chillup, in 1951^. At its height the stand was selling 10,000 servings per week. She later opened a small restaurant which operated until 1974." Thanks Wikipedia.

I thought that it was going to be desperately spicy but it was so tasty, and I would most definitely like to be snacking into one right now while writing this post! 

 

Next we walked a bit further down the road and came across this place, 

it's called Haus Schwarzenberg and is located on Rosenthaler Straße, a 3 minute walk from Curry 61 and is home to The Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt, the Anne-Frank-Zentrum, a cafe/bar and the Neurotitan Gallery.

And I would imagine some more seasonal happening during the summer.

Heres a bit about the place,

"This blast from the past, criminally bypassed by many, is Haus Schwarzenberg, owned and run by the Verein Schwarzenberg (Schwarzenberg Association), who are independent from government funding.

It shares exactly the same format as the surrounding buildings, i.e. a rear courtyard full of apartments, shops and storage areas, but with the crucial difference that the entire space has retained, as much as possible, its original post-war condition. Also, the utilisation of the spaces within – an independent cinema, cafe/bar (with live music/art performances), an art/book shop, various artist studios and a trio of small but interesting museums – contrast distinctively with its luxe neighbours.

The property has a long history. Its various units have been used as a factory, a shared living commune, a GDR movie and television office and a brush-making factory that employed and hid Jews during the Second World War (the associated “Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt“ tells this story).

After the wall fell, the building remained empty until 1995 when an artistic group called the Dead Chickens moved in, finding it a cheap and inspiring place to work.

It was Jutta Weitz, an energetic, affable and now 62-year-old lady who made this possible. Jutta works for Wohnungsbau Gesellschaft (a housing development company) and instead of offering this massive building to some sort of business corporation she figured it would be perfect for this group of artists.

“I showed them this place and at first they weren’t interested – it was too big. But then they turned it into a collaboration with other artists and started to fix the place up,” she says, adding “The house is like a small universe…after the war, neither the Americans nor the Russians took over the space and to this day it’s a free structure.” You can read more here.

Overall, it is a really interesting and inspirational place with some pretty good art and exhibitions going on, if you find yourself in Berlin, check it out.