German capital sets up €1m fund to protect world-famous clubs from going out of business in face of rising property prices

Politicians in Berlin have launched a campaign to rescue the city's legendary nightclub scene from the spectre of property investors in the hope of salvaging the capital's reputation as one of Europe's party hotspots.

A 'Music Board' fund of around €1m (£835,000) has been set up to help protect the city's shrinking club scene, which has been a mainstay of the economy since the fall of the Berlin Wall but has found itself increasingly squeezed out by real estate investors.

Berlin's clubs have even coined the word 'clubsterben' – literally, 'club death' – to describe the phenomenon. The €1m fund will be used to help stricken clubs find new locations and hold fundraising concerts.

Around 15 clubs are currently under threat of closure according to Spiegel, while three prominent clubs have closed within the last few months. The nightspots, which are often housed in grungy urban buildings, breweries, or former factories situated on prime land, are increasingly being converted into apartment blocks and loft homes.

In addition to conversion projects, clubs often inspire the wrath of 'nimby' residents who lodge complaints about the noise, leading to authorities closing them down.

City politicians have been forced to address the issue having recognised the economic consequences of a fall in the number of young Europeans who fly to Berlin – sometimes for a single night – to enjoy clubbing in cheap, quirky venues.

Christian Goiny from the conservative Christian Democratic Union party, who is heading the fight, told Spiegel: "Clubs move around the city now and then, but what's new is that practically entire city districts are being cleared out."

In the spruced-up district of Prenzlauer Berg that has become the epitome of gentrification, the famous Knaack club closed its doors last year after almost six decades when residents complained about noise.

The legendary Icon closed a few weeks ago with its owners eyeing up a lucrative property deal for the former brewery. In January the Klub der Republik partied for the last time before builders moved in to turn it into new apartments.

Schokoladen (Chocolate), a favourite haunt in Berlin's former communist Mitte – a central, and now very desirable, district – hosts everything from punk bands to alternative theatre troupes. It is the most prominent club venue that is fighting for survival, and bailiffs are due in by the end of the month.

"We're an oasis of fringe culture in Berlin, living with the faint hope that we will survive," said Anja Gerlich of Schokoladen. "What is needed is a fundamental rethink of the ambitions for this city. We don't want to be an island in the middle of a town that has been thoroughly gentrified, where rents are rising, people are being squeezed out, clubs are dying."