Goterjan Brewery (1897) Groterjan Villa (1907)

The malt beer specialties patented by Christoph Groterjan were the main attraction of the small brewery that opened at 4 Milastraße in 1897. A typical Berlin banquet hall with a nine-pin bowling alley and a beer garden with room for 1,500 guests were meant to boost beer consumption. Right down the street, at 1 Milastraße, the brewmaster built an ornate villa in 1907 as his private home and business headquarters. In 1914 Groterjan merged with the Gebhardt wheat beer brewery and moved the operation to Wedding. A chocolate and sugar factory moved into the production hall. The banquet hall first accommodated the “Mila-Lichtspiele” movie theater and then, until 1990, a rehearsal stage for the Volksbühne on Rosa- Luxemburg-Platz. The space is now occupied by a furniture store, and the villa is home to a restaurant.