History

Origins

The club was founded in September 1992 on the site of the former Kronen Brewery on Biedermannstraße in Leipzig-Connewitz. The idea came from a group of friends. This is also where the name is said to come from — “distillery” being the English term for a place where spirits are produced — even though no hard liquor was ever distilled at the brewery. The original location was closed due to a lack of permits, mainly because of missing emergency exits. This led to protests by promoters and guests, including parties held in front of Leipzig City Hall. As a result, the operators and the authorities agreed on a new location in Südvorstadt in September 1995. From then on, the club was located in a building on a former Deutsche Bahn site at Kurt-Eisner-Straße 108a.

Relocation pressure

After 2011, Distillery once again faced the threat of closure. The club’s previous location — at the end of two dead-end streets on a disused railway site — became part of a major development plan around Bayerischer Bahnhof and the City Tunnel. The planned connection between Kurt-Eisner-Straße and Semmelweisstraße across the railway tracks was completed by 2010, leaving the club situated directly on a busy road. In addition, Altenburger Straße was to be extended northwards. In 2012, the development of a comprehensive master plan for the railway site was approved. As part of this process, the club was expected to make way, as the city administration saw difficulties in marketing the surrounding building plots while the club remained there.

Campaigns

Petitions and demonstrations followed, with former mayor of Leipzig and former Federal Minister of Transport Wolfgang Tiefensee also taking part. Both The Greens and DIE LINKE campaigned in the city parliament for the club to remain at its old location. In July 2014, the city administration committed to preserving Distillery in its “framework agreement for the development of the Bayerischer Bahnhof urban area”. However, since March 2019 it had been clear that the club would have to relocate by 2022 at the latest.

New chapter

On May 29, 2023, the final event and a demonstration took place at the Kurt-Eisner-Straße location. In April 2024, the club’s former building was demolished.

Since 2025, the club has been based in Hall 7 at the Alte Messe Leipzig. On August 30, 2025, after almost two years of planning and construction, Distillery reopened its doors in the northern head building of Hall 7 at the Alte Messe Leipzig.

Documentation

The story of Distillery’s beginnings was documented in the 2013 film “Willkommen zu Hause – 20 Jahre Distillery”. In 2025, the club was also featured in the special exhibition “Zwischen Aufbruch und Abwicklung. Die 90er in Leipzig” at the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig.