It is named after its location near the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain, and is a short walk from Berlin Ostbahnhof main line railway station.

After parties in Bunker ended in December 1996,[10] Snax Club found a steady location of its own, which opened in 1998 and was called Lab.oratory.

It was a unique intersection between techno music and gay sex: "The main bar was located behind the dance floor – as well as the darkrooms, more or less to the irritation of the party people from Mitte.

[14] According to Deutsche Welle, Ostgut, "known for unique parties and boundless freedoms, sexual and otherwise, is considered to have paved the way for Berghain.

"[15] "It remains Teufele’s and Thormann’s ultimate secret how they persuaded (or seduced) the gay crowd to dance to modern club music.

"[12] Ostgut closed in January 2003, with the building slated for demolition and later replaced by a large indoor arena, the O2 World Berlin.

The club is located in the former Friedrichshain Combined Heat and Power Plant built in 1953 as part of the flagship post-war Stalinallee development[6] and abandoned in the 1980s.

[20] In 2016, a German court officially designated Berghain a cultural institution, which allows the club to pay a reduced tax rate.

[21] The club's main room is focused on techno, with a smaller upstairs space, Panorama Bar, featuring house music.

[4][22] An outdoor garden opens between late spring and early autumn to host daytime DJ sets.

[29] In September 2020, the indoors club reopened as an art space, hosting an exhibition titled "Studio Berlin" featuring 115 Berlin-based artists including Tacita Dean, Olafur Eliasson and Wolfgang Tillmans.

[3] This policy was also maintained in 2020 when the club temporarily converted into an art space for the "Studio Berlin" exhibition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"[1][4] A 2022 academic study described Berghain as a unique 'pharmacolibidinal constellation', where existing sexual orientations may become porous, as well as preexisting behaviors altered, due to the environment.

[46][47] The ballet's soundtrack, released on Ostgut Ton on May 29, 2007,[47] is made up of five specially composed tracks by prominent minimal techno artists, such as Luciano, Âme, Sleeparchive and Luke Slater (The 7th Plain).

[45] Ostgut Ton closed in December 2021, having been (according to Resident Advisor) "a dominant force in dance music, beloved for its mix series and dozens of EPs, albums and compilations" for 16 years.