Fischerpinte
Beloved boathouse sunk by Bezirksamt’s indifference
Berlin is the city where anything good and cherished is inevitably fucked up or destroyed by its powers that be.
The 100-year-old Fischerpinte is the latest* example. The rustic boathouse, pub and biergarten was Wedding’s beloved lakeside refuge by Plötzensee, an old West Berlin institution, and the best place in the whole city in summer for a relaxing beer, cake, sweets, ice cream or sausage served with a cigarette-smile in the age-old hut, itself a capsule from times gone.
You could hire pedal or row boats here and peddle/paddle your way around Plötzensee to get away from the landlubbers making a nuisance of themselves on the shore.
A tree-shaded suntrap in summer with wooden decking over the water, there really was no better place than the Fischerpinte to retire with a book, enjoy a cold beer, kick back on a deck chair and forget about the idiots in charge trying to ruin everything great there is about the city.
Their excuse now for actually wanting to demolish the Fischerpinte – Naturschutz!
Leute, I don’t know if you noticed but there’s a great big Strandbad on the other side of the lake where bathers lathered in sun lotion are jumping into the water, frolicking in the water, pissing in the water and undoubtedly making it less appealing for fish. There’s an FKK section beside it where naked bathers do exactly the same thing while also traumatizing the poor fish.
The A100 motorway runs right beside Plötzensee, but of course none of the geniuses in charge are talking about closing that down. Cars trump Naturschutz for Berlin mayor Kai Wegner and his cronies who are otherwise too busy trying to bring back the 1936 Nazi Olympics.
This dog-shit covered city strewn with refuse and old soiled mattresses wouldn’t know Naturschutz if it came up and bit it on the arse. No wonder there’s a pissed off fox in Reinickendorf lashing out – no Fuchs could take any more of the city’s hypocrisy.
History of the Fischerpinte (Fisherman’s Inn)
Photos from the 1920s show a jetty with boats where the Fischerpinte is now, maps from 1931 show a building there, and a boathouse was located at the same address in a business directory from 1946, according to Weddingweiser. The local news blog said a 1950s postcard shows the Fischerpinte pretty much as it was last summer.
Monika and Wolfgang Dühring – and at some stage their dog Lilo – took over the Fischerpinte some 37 years ago, renting the land on a lease from the Bezirksamt.
Monika, who died in 2022, was the boss of the ‘Pinte and a daily fixture with “an oxygen tank by her table, a cigarette in her hand, and Berliner charm on her lips,” Weddingweiser reported.
Wolfgang, who was the lease-holder, was in his 80s when he died in February, which is why the Fischerpinte’s days are up now.
Continued operation after death and a sale were prohibited in the lease, which stipulated that the jetties and boathouse had to be dismantled at the lease-holder’s expense after the business ceased, Berliner Kurier reported.
Wolfgang’s next of kin have already declined the inheritance, which would have lumped them with the expense. Germany – where debt survives death.
Weddingweiser is highly critical of the local authorities’ role in letting a much-loved Berliner institution simply disappear.
“A growing city, exorbitant rents, and cramped apartments. To abandon a place in (1926) 2026 that can stand for the connection between people and nature like no other is a mistake,” it said. “The little ‘Pinte has blended so seamlessly into the landscape over the last 100 years that even longtime residents of Wedding occasionally wonder why they’ve overlooked it until now.”
Rudi’s Recollections
Abandoned Berlin had been waiting until summer to get photos of the Fischerpinte to recommend it on Rudi’s Berlin, but Wolfgang Dühring’s sudden death hastened its publication as a fully-fledged abandoned attraction. The photos you see here were taken today.
Really, AB would prefer it weren’t abandoned – so many people including the author have so many happy memories of carefree sun-kissed days here, and it’s such a shame that those days are gone with little hope of new memories to come.
Here’s an abridged version of what Rudi had written some years before the sad news of Wolfgang and the Fischerpinte’s demise.
The magic of this place stems from the three things that are so vital in real estate – location, location, location. That said, the entrance to the Fischerpinte is somewhat hidden, tucked away on the footpath along the southeastern shore of Plötzensee – the Plötze as the Wedding locals call it.
It’s a hybrid of sorts: part pub and biergarten, and part boat-rental, which is why the sign bears the subtitle Bootshaus Plötzensee.
It feels like the Fischerpinte has been here forever. Monika and Wolfgang Dühring have been running the business for 32 years, according to the smoke-cured woman in her mid-fifties pouring my beer. She clarifies, after a barking cough, that she isn’t the boss, just an employee. This classic “Honky Tonk Woman” with her rough-around-the-edges charm fits this rustic oasis like a glove.
Otherwise, you’ll find every attribute typical of a traditional Wedding establishment – yellow-brown interiors steeped in a haze of beer and nicotine, quick-witted banter around the bar, and a curvaceous lady lounging on the coin tray.
Traditional gender roles and a love for dogs are priorities here. Lilo, the dog, is part of the host family. Other dogs are welcome, but only on a leash and limited to one per rental boat, as stated in the regulations.
The relaxed atmosphere is powered by a continuous stream of Schlager radio – from Helene Fischer to Roland Kaiser – and the “discofox beat” practically forces you to bob along.
Perched above the entrance gate is the legendary Schultheiß figure, the icon of old-school dive bars and taverns with a glass of foaming beer in his clenched right fist. He looks almost threatening, as if he’s ready to slam a Herrengedeck (beer and shot) into the man-bun of any hipster daring to ask for a matcha latte, Fritz-Cola, Astra, or Tannenzäpfle.
The 1970s are preserved with total authenticity after being pickled in alcohol and smoked to perfection.
You can read more about the Fischerpinte in German and what’s being done to save it at www.fischerpinte.de.
Spoiler – whatever half-assed compromise the authorities come up with, if they come up with any at all, the Fischerpinte will never return as it was before.
Location and access (How to find guide)
What: The Fischerpinte, an abandoned boathouse, pub and biergarten beside the water at Plötzensee.
Where: Nordufer 23, 13353 Berlin.
How to get there: Get a tram to Virchow-Klinikum and walk from there, or better yet, go on yer bike. Here it is on a map.
Getting in: This is the tricky bit. It’s secured by a high sturdy fence that’s difficult to climb because there’s no foothold, AND it’s topped by sharp little spikes. I** had to use sticks through the bars as footholds, but still lacerated my** hand on the spikes. An inflatable boat would be another option. Or bring waders and you can get in from the northern side.
When to go: Go soon before it’s knocked down or destroyed.
Difficulty rating: 6/10. Easy to get to but tricky to get over the fence.
Who to bring: Friends, animals to enjoy the Naturschutz.
What to bring: Bring something to cover the spikes on top of the fence if you’re going that way, and maybe a folding chair or a small ladder would be helpful too. Bring a camera for photos. Regrettably, you’ll need to bring your own beer.
Dangers: Please don’t impale yourself or your private parts on the fence! Otherwise just watch out for nosy passers-by.
*Previous examples of the Berlin fuckups include flogging off Tacheles to a bank for peanuts, closing Tegel airport and replacing it with a shit airport, taking all the fun out of Spreepark, demolishing Palast der Republik and rebuilding three-quarters of a Prussian palace with no purpose, building luxury apartments beside the East Side Gallery, every single “mall” that has been built, and let’s not forget that Berlin mayor Kai Wegener and his cronies are still pushing to build on Tempelhof. Was für ein Scheiße.
**Disclaimer – I and my rhyme with hi and bye and are inadmissible in a court of law.
Many thanks to Mark Rodden for proofreading. We would have gone to Fischerpinte on his next visit. Alas, it isn’t to be.
