Culteum

Culteum was a cellar club at Essenweinstr. 9 in Karlsruhe’s Oststadt, Germany. It began in July 1994 as Kulturruine, occupying a former wine cellar, and had taken the Culteum name by November 2007. The venue’s programme ranged across electronic music and techno, alongside concerts, Gothic events and fetish and bondage nights. Its recurring programme included Gothic nights such as Endzeitwelten and Veitstanz, alongside More Fire!, Buntes Rauschen and Vinyl Nacht.

Veitstanz, hosted monthly by Falk and Lasterbalk of Saltatio Mortis, focused mainly on music from the medieval scene. Culteum had capacity for about 900, and artists who played there included Bias, DLR, KRÄX and MC Gusto. Its original operators cited falling visitor numbers and reduced financial viability when they announced the club’s closure. The final party took place on 28 December 2024; Adrian Ziser took over the venue, which reopened in 2025 as C2 OST.