Zum schwarzen Ferkel

Zum schwarzen Ferkel. (German for "At the Black Piglet") was a legendary wine bar and tavern in late 19th-century Berlin that became the seminal meeting place for the Scandinavian and German avant-garde. Operating from approximately the 1840s until its closure in the 1890s, it is most famous as the primary social hub for the circle of August Strindberg and his contemporaries during the early 1890s. The establishment's unique name and its role as a crucible for modernist ideas have secured its enduring place in the cultural history of Central Europe.

History and Origins

The tavern's origins trace back to the mid-19th century, located in the historic Dorotheenstadt district near the University and the Unter den Linden boulevard. Its distinctive name, "The Black Piglet," reportedly derived from a small black earthenware jug or a sign depicting a piglet that once hung outside. Before achieving literary fame, it was a modest venue known to a local clientele. The establishment's transformation into a bohemian epicenter began in earnest when the Swedish playwright and novelist August Strindberg arrived in Berlin in late 1892. Strindberg, fresh from the scandal of his divorce from Siri von Essen and the controversial publication of his autobiographical work Inferno, adopted the tavern as his regular haunt, effectively anointing it as the headquarters for his intellectual coterie.

Notable Patrons and Literary Circle

The core group, which Adolf Paul later dubbed "The Black Piglet Society," revolved around the magnetic and turbulent figure of August Strindberg. Regular attendees included the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, who produced several portraits of Strindberg and absorbed the tense, psychological atmosphere that would influence works like The Scream. The Polish writer Stanisław Przybyszewski, a key figure in Young Poland, was a central member, along with his future wife, the Norwegian pianist Dagny Juel. Other notable figures were the German poet Richard Dehmel, the Swedish author Ola Hansson, and the Danish critic and scholar Georg Brandes. This international assembly of artists, writers, and thinkers engaged in fervent debates on Nietzschean philosophy, occultism, psychology, and the nascent symbols of literary modernism, with their discussions often fueled by considerable amounts of absinthe and Berliner Weiße.

Cultural Significance and Legacy

Zum schwarzen Ferkel functioned as a vital node in the fin de siècle European intellectual network, bridging Scandinavian and German modernist movements. The tavern provided a liberated, often chaotic environment where artistic conventions were challenged and new forms of expression were forged. The relationships and conflicts born there directly influenced major works; Strindberg's post-Inferno plays and Munch's Berlin period are deeply imbued with the spirit of the place. Its legacy is that of a prototypical artists' colony within an urban setting, a forerunner to later gatherings at places like the Café du Dôme in Paris. The circle disbanded after Strindberg's departure from Berlin in 1894, and the tavern itself closed shortly thereafter, but its myth was powerfully cemented in the memoirs of its patrons.

Physical Description and Location

The establishment was situated at what was then Neue Wilhelmstraße 72 (later designated as 75, and corresponding to a modern location near Behrenstraße). It was not a large or opulent venue but a characteristic, cramped Berlin Kneipe. Descriptions depict a narrow, smoke-filled room in the basement, with simple wooden tables and benches. The walls were likely bare or sparsely decorated, placing the focus entirely on the conversation and camaraderie of its patrons. Its location in the cultural and academic heart of Berlin, a short walk from institutions like the Royal Library and various publishing houses, made it an accessible and attractive rendezvous for the city's transient artistic community.

In Literature and Art

The tavern and its circle have been immortalized in numerous creative works. August Strindberg referenced its atmosphere in his later writings, while Edvard Munch captured the intense visages of its patrons in portraits like August Strindberg and the etching The Kiss, which features Stanisław Przybyszewski and Dagny Juel. Adolf Paul's memoir Strindberg-Erinnerungen provides a detailed, if romanticized, account of the gatherings. In the 20th century, the tavern inspired Per Anders Fogelström's novel Mina drömmars stad and has been the subject of scholarly studies examining the cross-pollination of Symbolist ideas. It remains a potent symbol of the volatile and creative ferment that characterized the transition to literary and artistic modernism. Category:Taverns in Berlin Category:History of Berlin Category:19th century in Berlin Category:German literary circles Category:August Strindberg