Batschkapp (Hessian dialect for 'flat cap') is a rock and pop concert venue in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. It is located in the warehouse district of the neighborhood of Seckbach, on Gwinnerstraße.

History

Batschkapp was founded in 1976 to establish an autonomous and left-wing counter culture, and opened on 11 December 1976. It began as a cultural centre associated with the neighbourhood centre Arbeiterselbsthilfe which was located in the inn "Zum Elfmeter", in Maybachstraße next to Frankfurt Eschersheim station. This had been called "Wirtschaft zum Bahnhof" in 1910, and used as a dormitory for approximately 100 forced labourers between 1940 and 1945. It was then used as an operetta theatre and a cinema from 1949 to 1965.

Joschka Fischer Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer (born 12 April 1948) is a German retired politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens. He served as the foreign minister and as the vice-chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005. Fi ...

was a regular visitor in the early days. At the beginning of the 1980s, Batschkapp was in financial difficulties caused by extensions of fire safety and other standards and had tax debts of DM 30,000. A benefit concert in 1982 with

Ideal Ideal may refer to: Philosophy * Ideal (ethics), values that one actively pursues as goals * Platonic ideal, a philosophical idea of trueness of form, associated with Plato Mathematics * Ideal (ring theory), special subsets of a ring considered ...

and

BAP BAP or bap may refer to: Food * Bap (bread), a type of bread roll * Bap (rice dish), a Korean food Music * BAP (Basque band), a hardcore punk group (formed 1984) * BAP (German band), a Colognian rock group (formed 1976) * B.A.P (South Korean ban ...

among the bands generated enough profit to keep the venue in business. To celebrate its 30-year anniversary, a double CD "Batschkapp 76-06 – 30 Jahre Hörgenuss" was issued. Batschkapp moved on 10 December 2013. The original venue was demolished in February 2016, after archaeological excavations were made because the site was within the grounds of RühlŽsche Hof, to enable the building of flats and a supermarket. The new venue in Gwinnerstraße in Seckbach is a former plastics factory and has a capacity of 1500 whereas the old venue at the bridge Maybachbrücke in

Eschersheim Eschersheim is a city district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the ''Ortsbezirk Mitte-Nord'' and is subdivided into the ''Stadtbezirke'' Eschersheim-Nord and Eschersheim-Süd. Eschersheim, with a historical record beginning around ...

had a capacity of 350, which was sometimes exceeded. To celebrate its 40-year anniversary, a booklet "40 Jahre Batschkapp – Eine Legende" was published.

Media

*The video clip ''Hier kommt die Schwester'' of the singer

Sabrina Setlur Sabrina Setlur (born 10 January 1974), formerly known as Schwester S., is a German singer, rapper, songwriter and occasional actress. Her debut was in 1995 under the guidance of 3p Records executive and mentor Moses Pelham, producer of her breakt ...

, who was still using her stage name ''Schwester S.'' at the time, was filmed in front of and in Batschkapp in 1995. *In 2007, Anja Ehrhardt filmed a 45-minute documentary ''Ein Musikclub wird erwachsen'' with appearances of Joschka Fischer,

Wolfgang Niedecken Wolfgang Niedecken (, ; born 30 March 1951) is a German singer and musician. He founded the Kölsch-speaking rock group BAP at the end of the 1970s and soon became famous with BAP all over Germany. He is the lead singer and only remaining foun ...

and

Farin Urlaub Jan Vetter (born 27 October 1963), better known as Farin Urlaub. (from the German ''Fahr in Urlaub!'', "Go on holiday!"), is a German singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist/vocalist for punk rock band Die Ärzte. He ...

about Batschkapp for the television of

Hessischer Rundfunk Hessischer Rundfunk (HR; "Hesse Broadcasting") is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, ARD. Studios Do ...

. The film includes scenes from the Frankfurt Techno-Party ''Tunnel Rave'' which Batschkapp held at the end of August 1994. *The management has also been running a smaller club called ''Nachtleben'' in

Konstablerwache Konstablerwache is a central square in the centre of Frankfurt am Main and part of its pedestrian zone. It lies to the east of Hauptwache with both squares linked by the Zeil, the central shopping area of the city. History At the corner of th ...

since February 1993.

Awards

Batschkapp won the Live Entertainment Award for the best club of the year at the

Musikmesse Frankfurt Musikmesse Frankfurt was an international fair regarding the music industry that took place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany from 1980 until 2019. In 2012, 68,587 visitors and 1,512 exhibitors from 51 countries were counted. Despite an exhibitor drop ...

in March 2012.

References

External links

Web site of the Elfer Music Club
* * {{Authority control 1976 establishments in West Germany Culture in Frankfurt Music venues in Germany