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Motzstraße is a street in the Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg in the former West Berlin, which now runs from Nollendorfplatz via Viktoria-Luise-Platz in Schöneberg to Prager Platz in Wilmersdorf. Named after Adolf von Motz a Prussian Finance Minister, the first, northerly section was laid out around 1870. That section, to the north of Nollendorfplatz has been renamed twice, firstly in 1934 to Mackensenstraße and again in 1996 to Else Lasker-Schüler Straße.
The section of Motzstraße between Nollendorfplatz and Martin-Luther-Straße is considered to be the centre of one of Berlin's gay areas and it is also the location for Berlin's Lesbian and Gay City Festival which is held every July (June until 2013), on the weekend before the Gay Pride celebrations (CSD) in Berlin. Motzstraße #6 was the location of the American Church from 1903 until 1944, when it was destroyed in an Allied air raid along with many other buildings in the area.
The area around Motzstraße has been recognised as a gay-friendly neighbourhood for well over a hundred years, with many famous queer establishments, such as Piscator's Theatre (later Metropol Theatre), which later became the Metropol cinema, Metropol discothek, Goya club and is now known again as Metropol, the infamous Eldorado bar, and countless other gay venues which attracted large numbers of queer and open-minded clientele. The renowned British-American author Christopher Isherwood lived just around the corner from Motzstraße on Nollendorfstraße, where he was inspired by the area's diversity to write several of his best-selling novels.
The section of Motzstraße around Viktoria-Luise-Platz, now restored after wartime damage, is a more upscale neighbourhood with attractive Wilhelmine architecture.
External links
- Berlin for gays and lesbians
- 1954 map showing situation of Motzstraße
- Motzstraße Vicinage (in German)