Germany: On Fertile Ground; Government support and inexpensive workspace make Berlin a creative haven.

Byline: Stefan Theil

When a group of young artists took over the bombed-out remains of a 19th-century shopping arcade on Berlin's Oranienburger Strasse in the early 1990s, the city government intervened to stop the wrecking ball. In a victory of art over commerce, officials forced the developer who owned the land--a 2.43-hectare plot of prime downtown real estate to give the artists a virtually rent-free lease. Four years ago the developer even agreed to spend 3 million euro to make the improvised studios and performance spaces safe for the artists to work in. Today the Kunsthaus Tacheles, as the now spruced-up building is called, thrives--its exhibitions, performances and concerts a magnet for young Berliners and tourists alike.

Few countries promote culture and the arts like Germany. In many places around the world, shrinking public budgets and rising commercial pressures have marginalized all but the most successful artists. Germany, on the other hand, is still awash with largesse--in the form of state-funded cultural venues and other support for the arts. Despite recent cuts, the country still boasts 324 major orchestras and theaters, along with low, subsidized ticket prices. This year alone, there will be more than 300 classical-music festivals in Germany, many of them outdoors and free. State spending on the arts amounts to roughly 8 billion euro a year. "State [support] for the arts has a long tradition, going back to the Prussian kings," says Ingrid Wagner-Kantuser, an official in Berlin's culture department. "Art and culture are a very popular part of our lifestyle."

In the capital, Berlin, that arts-friendly attitude has fostered a mushrooming international creative scene. One big reason: Berlin has the lowest cost of living of any Western metropolis, combined with a seemingly endless supply of empty ...