Our house – a piece of Berlin history
Welcome to our restaurant „Zum Paddenwirt“ – a tavern steeped in tradition in the heart of the Nikolaiviertel, Berlin’s oldest quarter, right by the Nikolaikirche and the historic bank of the Spree.
Where Berlin began
The Nikolaiviertel is Berlin’s oldest settled area and was already a lively hub of trade, craft and conviviality in the Middle Ages. Around 1230, the Nikolaikirche was built here – the spiritual and social centre of the early twin city of Berlin-Cölln.
The area between the Spree riverbank, Mühlendamm and Spandauer Straße was home to craftsmen from the various guilds, traders and numerous taverns that fed and watered hungry, thirsty Berliners. The nearby Molkenmarkt in particular – then known as the „Alter Markt“ or „Olde Markt“ – was already an important trading place before the first documented mentions of Berlin and Cölln (1237 and 1244 respectively).
Food and goods were delivered by boat along the Spree in those days – a tradition that would go on to matter for our own house’s history too.
The legend of the Paddenwirt
The name „Paddenwirt“ goes back to a legendary event said to have taken place in the early 19th century.
Back then, the area around the Spree riverbank was still a natural habitat for all kinds of creatures – among them many toads, known in Berlin dialect as „Padden“. There was in fact a Paddengasse here from medieval times, with 15 houses and a „length of 100 paces“, which only disappeared from the city maps in 1862 when it was built over.
One evening – so the story goes – an innkeeper could no longer be bothered to unload his heavy beer casks from the barge. During the transport, one of the large casks had sprung a leak.
It must have been mid to late March, because the toad migration had just begun. When the innkeeper went to fetch his beer from the barge the next morning, legend has it he was greeted by hundreds of drunken frogs and toads, drawn in by the escaping barley juice.
The creatures went wild, hopping over tables and benches and following the innkeeper the short way to the tavern, where a small „beer pond“ had formed from the leaking cask. Guests and passers-by were amused, and thanks to this „fine hospitality shown to the amphibians“, the innkeeper earned his nickname – from then on people said „Du olle Padde“ („you old toad“), and the tavern became the „Paddenwirt“.
Rebuilt for Berlin’s city anniversary
The Nikolaiviertel was almost completely destroyed in the Second World War. For decades, the area south of Alexanderplatz remained derelict, and East German city planners initially rejected any reconstruction of the old structures.
It was only in the late 1970s, with Berlin’s 750th city anniversary in 1987 approaching, that building policy changed. In 1979, an architecture competition for rebuilding the Nikolaiviertel was announced, won by architect Günter Stahn (1939–2017).
From 1981, the quarter was rebuilt according to heritage-conservation guidelines: the Nikolaikirche was largely reconstructed in its historic appearance, historic buildings such as the Ephraim-Palais were restored, and new residential buildings in a historicising style completed the ensemble.
On 14 May 1987, the Nikolaiviertel was inaugurated right in time for Berlin’s 750th anniversary celebrations. Around 800 flats for roughly 2,000 people were built, along with numerous shops and restaurants – including today’s Zum Paddenwirt.
Since 2018, the Nikolaiviertel has been listed on the Berlin Heritage Register as a significant example of East Germany’s changed building policy of the 1980s.
Our house today
Today’s restaurant „Zum Paddenwirt“ sits on Nikolaikirchplatz, right at the corner of Eiergasse – in the heart of the historic Nikolaiviertel.
To this day, our namesake – a large toad – adorns our facade.
In the beer garden stands a historic draw-well roughly 2 metres across, made of red-veined marble and crowned with wrought-iron ornamentation.
We serve hearty classics of Berlin cooking – from potato soup to our home-made Sülze (meat in aspic) with remoulade sauce – and keep the tradition of old-Berlin hospitality alive, with heart and hand.
Whether you’re stopping in after a walk through the Nikolaiviertel, have just visited the Nikolaikirche, or simply want to experience Berlin history with good food – you are very welcome here.
Sources
Text sources: berlin-nikolaiviertel.com, berlin.de, paddenwirt.de, tipBerlin, berlingeschichte.de, stadtwende.de. Image sources as credited in each caption. Usage rights and original sources for the historic photographs are being finalised before publication.