Berlin's nightlife under threat

After decades nurturing its reputation as one of the coolest party spots in Europe, Berlin's nightlife is under threat, according to reports.

After decades nurturing its reputation as one of the coolest party spots in Europe, Berlin's nightlife is under threat, according to reports.

The trendy clubs and alternative dens of the German capital, which thrived in the chaotic years following the fall of the Berlin wall, are facing extinction thanks to an army of property investors and skyrocketing rent prices, wrote Der Spiegel this week.

A total of 15 clubs in the city are threatened with closure, the newspaper reported, as neighborhoods gentrify, residents complain and investors seek new housing.

Berliners are so concerned about the phenomenon that they have coined a phrase -- clubsterben (literally 'club death') -- for it, and even the authorities are fighting back.

The city government plans to set up a 'music board' charged with investing €1 million to help find clubs new locations and to protect Berlin's music scene, although the exact details haven't been worked out yet and aren't expected to be in place before 2013.

That will help some, but it will be too late for some trendy nightspots, with areas such as Prenzlauer Berg, once an alternative paradise but now gentrified and filled with young professionals and prosperous families.

Thanks to its low hotel prices, low-cost airlines and superb nightlife scene, Berlin has become increasingly popular with tourists from across Europe heading away for a weekend break.

Nearly 10 million visitors piled into the German capital in 2011, official figures suggest, an increase of nine percent -- the average stay was just 2.3 days.

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