How it all began

We, the non-profit Bonner Kulturverein Nordstadt e.V., were founded at the beginning of 1995 because at that time there was a glaring lack of studios, rehearsal rooms and venues for alternative culture in Bonn. Shortly beforehand, the former Wolfstrasse cultural center in Bonn’s Nordstadt district had to be closed because the landlord was pursuing other plans for the use of his building.

After long and tough negotiations with the city of Bonn (including a very close council decision) about the use of a previously vacant factory building on Viktoriabrücke owned by the city, this was finally given to our association for a minimum term of 10 years for use in return for payment. In this case, however, utilization initially meant a complete renovation of the very dilapidated premises, including massive structural alterations, which was carried out almost entirely on a voluntary basis by the club members (see photos). Walls had to be torn down and rebuilt, a complete heating system had to be installed and much more. The building was accepted by the city of Bonn in 1997.

After the initial rough work, the opening of the Kult41 cultural center was finally celebrated in April 1999. Over the course of the day, more than 800 (!) visitors came from the Bonn area; the festival was a complete success.

In addition to a large inner courtyard, our Kult41 event center now has three rehearsal rooms, four artist studios, a gallery and a large event room that regularly hosts events with up to 200 visitors. Concerts with various bands or theater, performances, etc. take place here.
An overview of the various artists and their activities can be found on the ” Kulturwiese” section of this homepage.

We need the proceeds from the events described to tackle further necessary construction work and to be able to make urgent purchases (e.g. expansion of the toilets, ventilation system, …). As a result, all of the association’s activities can still only be carried out thanks to the voluntary work of our now almost 100 members.

To mark the fifth anniversary of our association in spring 2000, a large summer festival was held on June 24 of this year with a variety of attractions: Among other things, readings, concerts, children’s activities, open doors to various studios, acrobatics and fire-breathing were offered to the large audience. We celebrated another summer party in June 2002. There were similar attractions there, which contributed to a similar success.

In addition to the events described above, the so-called Tumult61 takes place every Thursday in the event room, an open meeting for anyone who wants to come and spend an enjoyable evening with stimulating conversations and discussions accompanied by affordable drinks.

Photos: Háthem Klel