Kulturzentrum Strasse E, Event venue in Albertstadt, Dresden, Germany
Kulturzentrum Strasse E is an event venue in the Albertstadt district of Dresden, made up of two listed brick buildings covering about 5,500 square metres. Its main hall is the former Reithalle, a riding hall planned for the Royal Saxon Cavalry, with a southern head building known as the Bunker. The Reithalle holds 600 people seated and 1,300 standing.
The site's buildings were planned as a riding hall for the Royal Saxon Cavalry; shortly after completion it was converted into an armaments site for World War I, and after 1918 the industrial area was used for civilian purposes, including a cotton spinning mill. From 1995 the Alte Spinnerei was used in a controlled way, the Bunker club was founded in 1996, and in autumn 1998 the Bunker crew took over the whole site with a new concept.
The name Strasse E comes from the GDR era, when industrial streets were labelled with letters; it kept that name until 1997, when it became Werner-Hartmann-Straße. Since the Bunker opened in 1996, its programme has centred on the black scene, from Gothic and EBM to Dark Wave, Industrial and Neofolk. The Reithalle also hosts fairs, art events, musicals and collectors' exchanges.
The site lies in the Albertstadt industrial area on Werner-Hartmann-Straße, the street renamed from "Strasse E" in 1997. The Reithalle holds 1,300 standing or 600 seated; the Bunker below the southern head building is used mainly as a disco. The former Alte Spinnerei no longer hosts events, so check which of the two buildings a given event uses.
The southern head building of the Reithalle, known as Bunker Strasse E, began as a World War II air-raid shelter for workers; its cellar is now booked for concerts. The site's name comes from the GDR practice of labelling industrial streets with letters, kept until the street was renamed Werner-Hartmann-Straße in 1997.
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