Photos & Videos From Inside KitKatClub: Berlin’s Most Infamous Club
Rare photos and videos from inside Berlin's KitKatClub, the two 2026 documentaries, the dress code, the door and what really happens inside.
KitKatClub is Berlin’s most famous sex-positive techno club, and almost nobody has seen inside it. Phones are taped over at the door, cameras are banned on the floor and the club has published only a handful of official images in 32 years. This is what does exist: the rare photos, the few videos filmed inside, and the two 2026 documentaries that finally took cameras past the door at Köpenicker Straße 76.
If you have read our photos and videos from inside Berghain, think of this as the other half of the story. Berghain is black, strict and silent about itself. KitKat is loud, glittery and asks you to stop wearing black.
Why there are almost no photos from inside KitKatClub
The rule is simple and it is enforced. On most nights phone cameras get a sticker at the cloakroom, and on some parties, such as Electric Monday, the official programme says it plainly: “Strictly NO phones in the club allowed.” Break it and you are out.
The reason is not mystique for its own sake. KitKat is a place where people dance in latex, lingerie, body paint or nothing at all, and that only works if nobody ends up on Instagram the next morning. The club even had its own Instagram account, around 220,000 followers, blocked by Meta in March 2026 before it was restored. Its feed is mostly flyers for exactly that reason.
There is one exception. A small number of approved photographers, such as Gili Shani, who has worked there since 2016, shoot only with explicit consent and blur anyone in the background. That is why the few official pictures you see look staged and careful, never candid.
Rare photos from inside KitKatClub
These two images were taken in 2014, when the rooms were lit and nearly empty. They are among the very few interior photos released under a free licence, and they show what the darkness usually hides: the UV paintings, the lounges and the famous pool behind plastic curtains.
Most of the art you see on the walls comes from Vigor Calma, known as “Der Träumer”, a regular since 1995 who also wrote a novel about the club. Under UV light at 3am, the same paintings glow like they are moving.
Videos filmed inside KitKatClub
For years, footage from inside KitKat simply did not exist outside private archives. That changed in September 2025, when DJ Mag released Stella Bossi’s set from Symbiotikka, the club’s Wednesday techno night. DJ Mag described it as the first official set recorded at the club. It is still the closest most people will get to a Wednesday on that floor.
Two older clips show the club’s stranger, more theatrical side. In 2015 the ensemble Musica Sequenza staged a baroque opera with electronics for KitKat’s 21st birthday, right on the floor.
And in 2021 the live act 11 Unicorns filmed “Down The Rabbit Hole” inside the club, with the lights and the fluorescent walls doing most of the talking.
The 2026 documentaries that went inside
This autumn is the first time a wider audience can actually see a KitKat night. Two films landed within three weeks of each other.
KitKatClub: Kinks of Berlin by Philipp Fussenegger is a 96-minute black and white documentary, made with ZDF, that premiered at CPH:DOX in March 2026 and reached German cinemas on 10 September 2026 with an 18+ rating. It began life during the pandemic closure, when the empty club had time to talk about itself.
One Night at KitKat, directed by Mohsen Najafimehri and Diba Darbari for ARD, follows a single Saturday night through a DJ, a regular and a dominatrix. It went live in the ARD Mediathek on 30 September 2026 (viewable after 10pm) and airs on 3sat on 8 October at 22:55.
If you want something shorter, Romuald Karmakar’s short film for Aarhus European Capital of Culture lets co-founder Kirsten Krüger explain the club in her own words.
A week at KitKatClub
KitKat is not one party but a different club almost every night. This is the regular programme from the club’s own calendar for autumn 2026.
Saturday’s CarneBall Bizarre is the night the club calls the one it is “famous and infamous for”. It opens at 8pm with a string quartet playing classical music at the pool, which is about as KitKat as it gets. Sunday’s Nachspiel then runs from 8am into the late afternoon and is one of the oldest afterhours in Berlin.
Bonus: the door, and who decides
Berghain has Sven Marquardt. KitKat has never had one famous face at the door, but for years it had something stricter: co-founder Kirsten Krüger checking the Saturday dress code herself. Today a team does it, and the club says it openly: “Purchasing a ticket doesn’t guarantee entrance.”
The door is less about who you are and more about what you are wearing and how you behave in the queue. rbb24’s late night series Nachtsicht stood in that queue in 2025, and it is the best four minutes you can watch before going.
Since spring 2024 doors open at 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays with a “Come Together” warm-up at the pool, partly to shorten the queue. Arriving early also means a much shorter wait.
12 things you didn’t know about KitKatClub
- The name comes from the fictional Berlin cabaret in the musical “Cabaret”, which itself borrowed it from an 18th-century London gentlemen’s club.
- It was founded in March 1994 by Austrian filmmaker Simon Thaur and his partner Kirsten Krüger. The first nights drew around 25 people.
- Thaur’s first trick to get shy guests out of their clothes was body paint. The no-street-clothes rule came later.
- The club has moved four times: Kreuzberg, Nollendorfplatz, Schöneberg and, since July 2007, the old Sage Club building above U Heinrich-Heine-Straße.
- KitKat had its own float at the 1995 Love Parade.
- In December 2020, during the lockdown, it reopened as a Covid test centre. The club’s post said “Be wild and come naked!” and then added “(Please don’t…)”.
- In August 2023 it told guests to “stop showing up in black outfits”. Colour is now preferred at the door, a deliberate contrast with Berghain.
- Mick Jagger came by in June 2018, stayed around 90 minutes and drank only water.
- Elon Musk reportedly danced there for hours in 2022, after skipping Berghain the same night.
- There is a sauna, a candy shop and free fruit and lollipops.
- Argentine tango lessons run in the basement before Saturday’s party, no partner needed.
- The club had its own record label from 2005, with compilations such as “Hedonistic Nightlife in Berlin”.
What to wear to KitKatClub
The dress code changes by night, but Saturday sets the standard. In the club’s own words it wants kinky, fetish, gothic, lacquer and leather, costumes, glitter and glamour or elegant eveningwear, and “colourful outfits are preferred”.
What works
- Latex, leather, PVC, mesh and harnesses, ideally with colour
- Lingerie, sexy swimwear or body paint
- Costumes, glitter and anything that looks like you made an effort
- For Nachspiel on Sunday: “Dress to impress”
What gets you turned away
- Jeans, T-shirts and trainers, which the club bans outright
- Plain everyday underwear
- Police, military or other uniforms on some nights
- An all-black harness look is “tolerated, but not preferred” on Fridays
Monday is the relaxed exception, where kinky sportswear and smart casual are fine.
What happens inside KitKatClub
Mostly, people dance. Reporters who go in expecting an orgy usually come out describing a techno club with unusual freedom: a main floor, a basement disco, a tango room, a pool, outdoor space and quieter play areas for those who want them. Music runs from techno and house to psytrance, trance and disco depending on the night.
The club insists “we are not a swingers’ club”, and nobody is expected to do anything. What is non-negotiable is consent. Touching anyone without their agreement, even in passing, means a lifetime ban, and awareness teams are now visible on more nights than just Saturday.
KitKatClub vs Berghain
| KitKatClub | Berghain | |
|---|---|---|
| Opened | 1994 | 2004 |
| Look at the door | Colourful fetish, costume, skin | Mostly black, understated |
| Phones | Camera taped, or no phones at all | Camera taped |
| Music | Techno, house, trance, psytrance, disco | Techno (Berghain), house (Panorama Bar) |
| Signature | The pool | The Funktion-One main floor |
| Official footage | One DJ Mag set and two 2026 documentaries | Almost none |
You will find the address, map and opening details on the KitKatClub page in our club guide, and the rest of the city’s essentials in our best techno clubs in Berlin list.
The TA view
KitKat has spent 32 years refusing to be photographed, and in 2026 it suddenly let in two film crews and a DJ Mag camera. That is not a change of heart so much as a change of pressure: rising rents, an Instagram ban and Berlin’s wider club closures make visibility a survival tool. The rule on the floor has not moved an inch, though. If you want to see inside, watch the films. If you want to be inside, leave the phone in the cloakroom and bring some colour.
Frequently asked questions
Is KitKatClub the same as Berghain?
No. They are separate clubs with different owners, crowds and dress codes. Berghain is in Friedrichshain, KitKat is at Köpenicker Straße 76 in Mitte.
Where is KitKatClub?
Köpenicker Straße 76, 10179 Berlin, directly above U8 Heinrich-Heine-Straße, in the same building as the former Sage Club.
Is KitKatClub a sex club?
It is a sex-positive techno club. Sex can happen in designated areas, but the club states it is not a swingers’ club and most guests come to dance.
Can you just watch at KitKatClub?
Nobody is obliged to take part in anything. Touching anyone without their consent leads to a lifetime ban.
Can you take photos inside KitKatClub?
No. Phone cameras are taped over and some nights do not allow phones in the club at all. Only approved photographers work there, with explicit consent.
How much is entry to KitKatClub?
The club does not publish prices. Reports put regular entry at around 15 to 25 euros, with Saturday the most expensive. Special events cost more, and a ticket does not guarantee entry.
When is KitKatClub open?
Most nights except Tuesday. Doors open at 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays, around 10pm on weeknights, and Nachspiel starts at 8am on Sunday.
Is there a pool at KitKatClub?
Yes. The pool is the club’s best-known feature, and Saturday nights open with live classical music beside it.
Where can I see inside KitKatClub?
In the 2026 documentaries “KitKatClub: Kinks of Berlin” and “One Night at KitKat” (ARD Mediathek, 3sat), and in DJ Mag’s Stella Bossi set from Symbiotikka.
Sources: KitKatClub official programme, Wikipedia, The Berliner, DJ Mag, visitBerlin, Berliner Zeitung, The Local, German Documentaries.
