Nikolai-Festspiele – a historic festival in Europe’s largest open-air museum, Berlin’s Nikolai Quarter

From Casanova to „Gold Alchemist“ Boettger – Historic Old Town Festival brings true events back to life in the Nikolai district

On August 23 and 24, 2014 Nikolaiviertel e.V. hosts the second annual „Nikolai-Festspiele“. Experience the historic moments of Berlin’s old town from 12:00 to 20:00 on Saturday and 12:00 to 18:00 Sunday.

Admission is free and visitors experience a festival from late baroque to empire – a journey back in time for young and old. Artists and performers in authentic costumes make for a unique experience for the whole family. The program of events includes baroque street music, artisans, quack doctor and a large organ grinder parade. Prominent personalities, stories and myths that have once shaped the district, emerge from the past and come back to life. At the heart of the Nikolai Quarter, the historic marketplace with numerous stalls invites visitors to stroll and marvel.

What has been gone for a long time has been rediscovered by Nikolaiviertel e.V. especially for the festival: who knows that Berlin’s historic downtown is among the origins of German porcelain manufacturing. Johann Friedrich Böttger, one of the „inventors of the white gold“, began his training as a pharmacist right here at Zornsche Apotheke. At the time, he made first alchemical attempts to transform base metals into gold – which culminated in the invention of „white gold“, German porcelain, years later.

Immerse yourself in a world, where many historic celebrities lived, worked and socialized, among others Giacomo Casanova, Friedrich Engels, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Andreas Schlüter, Heinrich Heine, Heinrich von Kleist, Otto Nagel, Gerhardt Hauptmann, Claire Waldoff and Heinrich Zille.