Kino Sojus

Marzahn. The last Bastion of old Berlin. Cold, Ugly, and Unwelcoming. Plattenbauten as far as the eye can see. Unless you are a fan of giant east german housing estates, there isn’t terribly much to see. You would think – but then you’d be wrong. Wedged in between blocks of concrete flats lies the Kino Sojus, a once popular socialist era cinema, now a desolate ruin.

kino sojus side view abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus entrance abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus outside abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus aussen outside abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany

Kino Sojus: Rats and Pigeons

So what would bring anyone to visits this part of town? Well 2 things as a matter of fact. Marzahn has a section which is named after all things related to space – I mean Kosmos. They have a street called “Allee der Kosmonauten” which I had been dying to photograph for 2 years, but until now never found a good enough reason to go there. The other reason was that we were on the lookout for an abandoned Cinema, and we found one – the Kino Sojus. Turns out this wasn’t the one we were looking for. Nevertheless we went in and checked it out. Aside from dead pigeons, rats and tons of pigeon shit there was hardly anything worth seeing inside.

kino sojus eingang abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
Kino Sojus abandoned cinema berlin germany main theater
kino sojus buttons abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany

A new cinema for East Berlin

East Berlin was suffering from a chronic lack of adequate housing in the in the late 1960s, so the SED (the socialist unity party) decided  to remedy this by building a “modern” housing estate in the somewhat empty and desolate area of Marzahn. Construction of the Plattenbauten began in 1977 (it only took 110 days to completely build an 11 Story Building) and until its completion in 1979, over 4000 appartements had been built, making it the largest housing estate in all of East Germany.

Every housing estate needs facilities to keep the workers docile and entertained, so on the 30th of April 1981 the Kino Sojus was opened. The legend goes that the construction of the cinema was only approved because Erich Honecker (the other german dictator) needed a large venue where he could hold a speech.

kino sojus saal sitze seats abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus abandoned screen abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus row of cinema chairs abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus sitze kino abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany

The Kino Sojus after German reunification

When the Kino Sojus initially opened, it only had one screen ( but in 1992 when the ownership changed and the UFA took over – it added another 2 screens in 1995)

After the wall came tumbling down, the Cinema came under ownership of the legendary Ufa-Theater AG. Sadly the UFA AG ran into some financial problems as it couldn’t compete with the new Multiplex theaters and was forced to shut down the Kino Sojus in 1999 (The UFA AG went bankrupt in 2002).

The abandoned cinema didn’t say empty for too long though a Discount Cinema Chain from Hamburg took over the building. This proved rather popular for a few years as tickets only cost €1,99 (and on Tuesday only .99 cents) – but ultimately only postponed the inevitable. In mid september 2007, the Kino Sojus closed its doors for good. The defunct UFA was forced to sell off the property to an investor – who at this point hasn’t announced any further plans for the property, though it is widely accepted that the building is going to be torn down.

kino sojus abandoned projector room abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus electronics abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus junk and trash abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus lighting buttons abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany

The Sojus isnt the only abandoned Cinema in Berlin. The Cinema Directors House is a lovely little abandoned Cinema in Berlin (which has since been demolished), though the screen is blocked off and the building is rumoured to be torn down soon. 

Despite only being closed for 5 years (at the time of writing), the abandoned cinema “Kino Sojus”  is in terrible condition. It apparently has been set on fire several times, and is filled with trash. Windows are smashed and holes have been ripped into the walls, thus making for a super easy entry (hence the rampant vandalism). There isn’t much to see, and the entire upper floor is inhabited by hundreds of pigeons (alive and dead) and covered in Pigeon shit. 

kino sojus lower cinema screens abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus lower screen cinema seats abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus technische anleitung abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus electricity log sheet abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus electric room abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany

The Kino Sojus today (2022)

2022 Update: The Kino Sojus still stands, though its (in our opinion) beautiful signage has been removed moved into the storage of the Technik Museum in Berlin. The investors plans were seemingly never realized over the past 4 years, so the building continues to rot. In late May of 2021, the owners announced that instead of building the residential care home, they are now planning on building two 9 story high rise buildings (with a supermarket on the ground floor) and a parking garage. If and when this project will ever be completed is a question no one can answer at this point.

2018 Update (left for completeness sake): As of 2018, the owners have decided to tear down the Kino Sojus. by the year 2020, a 2500m2 , three story residential care home will be built on the property, including a supermarket and a carpark (to the tune of 10 million euros). While its a shame to see the building go – the only thing worth preserving at this point seem to have found a new home. The legendary signs of the Kino Sojus will be preserved – one will be integrated into the new building while the other will find a new home in the Bezirksamt in the Riesaer Straße.

kino sojus front logo abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus side logo abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus sign abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus tower block view abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany
kino sojus door abandoned cinema verlassenes kino lost places abandoned berlin germany

Kino Sojus Address

Helene-Weigel-Platz 12
12681 Marzahn – Berlin

8 Comments

  1. kopparrox
    on 24/10/2012 at •Reply

    Great blog and guide through Berlin!

  2. Pingback:111 Places in Berlin - Nr 5: The Ballhaus Riviera | Digital Cosmonaut

  3. SojusGuy
    on 07/11/2013 at •Reply

    Thanx for those photos. I was born in East-Germany and grew up in Marzahn (no i’m not xenophobe;-) ). While the Berlin Wall was still up, my Grandpa worked at the Sojus, so me and my sister wen’t there regularely to see movies for free. Later, after the Berlin Wall came down, my mother worked there so we also got the chance to watch movies for free and i used it really often. I have plenty of good memories of that place and it’s really sad to see it as it is in your pictures (i guess it looks even worse now in 2013:( ). The cinema closed 2007 because the owner wanted it to be closed. the company from Hamburg which used the Sojus up until then made profits and people liked the idea behind it. So i guess you can blame the retarded owner for what you see here…

    Anyway, the owner is planning to build some kind of shopping mall there in the future. Sadly i do not live in Marzahn anymore so i rarely get to be there to even think about visiting the Sojus again.

    Thanks a lot for those pics!

    Is it possible that you could send me some pictures of your trip to the Sojus in a higher resolution via E-Mail? Would gladly appreciate it.

  4. Hywel Davies
    on 21/05/2018 at •Reply

    Think I went there once or twice when living in neighbouring Biesdorf back in the mid 90s – really sad to see it in such a state. Also lived in Mazahn for a while, never had any problems, reputation largely undeserved I think – always felt like home to me

  5. Pingback:The Cinema Directors House

  6. Google Maps
    on 14/12/2021 at •Reply

    Hey, your map says that this place is already demolished, but the latest google maps satellite image of it from 12/2021 shows it standing untouched, plus this news article from 5/2021 talking about how it’s still standing.

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