The BZ reporter hits a few balls on the colony path Photo: Ralf Lutter
By Oliver Ohmann
“Colony Golf Course” is written on the Laubenkolonie barrier. What hardly anyone knows: Berlin’s first golf course was laid out here on Spandauer Damm – and there are still remnants of it.
Marcus Conradt (50) took over the “Bolivar” from his mother-in-law three years ago. With his wife he made the small restaurant at Spandauer Damm 180 really lively again. The “Bolivar” has been family-owned for over half a century. And there is an exciting story on the menu.
Tee off Berlin: The photo of the golfer in Berlin was taken in 1919 Photo: Ullstein picture
Conradt: “Our building actually used to be the casino of Berlin’s first golf course.” The driving force behind the founding of the Charlottenburg Golf Club in May 1894 was the German-Scottish publisher Andrew Picairn-Knowles. The nine-hole course was given to golfers by a Countess of Eulenburg. The annual fee was 20 marks, and guests were allowed to play for three days free of charge.
The “Bolivar” is actually the casino of the golf course, which opened in 1894 Photo: Ralf Lutter
The “Westend Golf Course” quickly became a social meeting point. Even members of the imperial family hit a few balls here and then refreshed themselves in the casino.
The “Berlin Golf Club” on Spandauer Damm played until 1924, then they moved on to the new site in Wannsee, where the Wannsee Golf Club is still based today.
Marcus Conradt (50) keeps the memory of Berlin’s first golf course alive on the menu Photo: Ralf Lutter
The casino in Charlottenburg was used by the military for a few years and finally as a restaurant. The golf course area, during the war an anti-aircraft position, became a summerhouse colony from September 1945 and was called – Colony Golf Course.
The casino is now the “Bolivar“ and here you can comfortably dream of old fairways, tees and greens over a beer.
In the “Bolivar” the historic past is remembered Photo: Ralf Lutter