Carlswerk Victoria

The copper that gave way to the dance floor

In 1904, the first transatlantic telephone cable left these warehouses. More than a century later, the old Wickelei of the Carlswerk —the winding hall of Felten & Guilleaume in Cologne-Mülheim— beats as Carlswerk Victoria: a hall of concrete, steel, and light that has turned the industrial memory of the right bank of the Rhine into a concert and electronic nightlife venue.

Franz Carl Guilleaume started cable production here in 1874. The campus, of more than 120,000 square meters, went from a factory to an urban neighborhood with offices, gastronomy, and the Schauspiel Köln. In 2018, AllesGute.Live occupied building 3.12 and opened Victoria as an events hall, months after the neighboring Club Volta started on August 9. A beer garden connects both halls and allows them to be used separately or as a single venue.

Warehouse for 1,600 bodies

The main hall adds up to about 880 m², nineteen by fifty meters and about eight meters high, with a ground floor and gallery. The official capacity reaches 1,600 standing people and 960 seated. The fixed PA is d&b audiotechnik J-series, with cardioid J-SUBs. It is not a permanent DJ booth club: it is a multipurpose hall that one day hosts a gala, the next a concert, and the following night a warehouse rave.

Since the first winter, it has programmed electronic dance music. New Year's Eve 2018 filled Victoria and Volta with Adana Twins, Dominik Eulberg, and FJAAK for more than twelve hours. Since then, there have been Bicep sessions, hard techno cycles by Unreal —including all-nighters and the Fantasm warehouse tour— and parties that push closing until dawn. The same stage hosts pop, metal, and rap: the identity of the venue is the industrial container, not a single genre.

Mülheim as the new nightlife shore

The operators spoke of Mülheim as the next nightlife neighborhood in Cologne, near E-Werk and Palladium but with a more flexible format. Victoria remains active: variable programming, parking for 440 cars, coat check, wheelchair access, and a venue designed to be combined with Volta. Those looking for the electronic dance floor do not find a fixed weekend nightclub here, but a living warehouse that lights up when the lineup calls for it.