Inside the Treffpunkt Kaiserhafen, referred to as ‘Last Pub before New York’, in Bremerhaven, Germany
| Photo Credit: Aliona Kardash/Indian Photo Fest 2025
Traditionally, pubs in Germany are not places where people just go to have a beer. These are social hubs, says Hamburg-based photographer Aliona Kardash. Her photography series, One Last Beer, is on view at Goethe Zentrum-Hyderabad as part of the Indian Photo Festival 2025.
“In smaller towns and villages, pubs are the centre of people’s lives. This is where they gather, communicate, and make new friends,” she explains.
The series took off when she learnt that in 2014, Germany had 31,650 traditional pubs, and by 2021, the number stood at 19,201. As more than 10,000 pubs closed down, she travelled the length and breadth of Germany, wanting to “get a deeper insight into German culture through its traditional pubs.”
Working for Stern magazine for a story on German pubs, titled Die Kneipen, Aliona photographed 15 traditional pubs. “My friends and colleagues suggested a few pubs and I got some recommendations through social media,” adds Aliona.
Over two months, she visited pubs and met a cross section of people. She remembers a pub in Cologne that was a venue for carnivals. In Bremerhaven, she visited Treffpunkt Kaiserhafen, which is referred to as the ‘Last Pub before New York’. “People stopped by at this pub located in Kaiserhafen (harbour) before and after arriving from Trans-Atlantic voyages. Another pub I visited in Frankfurt had its interiors themed after horses, since its owner is a friend of horses,” Ariona recalls.
Early this year, a traditional pub she frequented in Hamburg shut down. The pause during the pandemic alone was not the reason for pubs to shut down, Ariona reasons: “There has been a shift in culture. Many who frequent traditional pubs are from the older generation. The younger age group prefers modern pubs, which makes the older ones less financially sustainable.”
One Last Beer features 20 of several images taken by Ariona.
A pub in Berlin where guests indulge in a game of darts; Aliona Kardash
| Photo Credit:
Aliona Kardash/Indian Photo Fest 2025
This is Aliona’s first visit to India. She will also be hosting an Art Talk session on December 6 at State Gallery of Art, Madhapur, as part of IPF, discussing her approach to documentary photography.
Born in Siberia, Aliona moved to Germany in 2019. Completing her bachelors programme in journalism from Tomsk State University, Russia, she pursued photography at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hannover, followed by a masters programme of the FH Dortmund – University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
She was drawn to photography while studying journalism and says, “Photography is my language and I am keen on narrating stories of people; photography is not about aesthetic or decorative images for me.”
Her photograph titled It Smells of Smoke At Home, for instance, is a poignant reflection of the Ukraine-Russia war. The photograph won her a World Press Photo Award in the Long Term Project, Europe, category. This image, featuring her grandmother, is a part of a series through which she documents the society in unrest. “I shot this image in 2022. I had visited my hometown in Russia and was shocked by how the war had changed things. Family members have different opinions on the war and it is almost like an identity crisis.”
(One Last Beer will be on view at Goethe Zentrum-Hyderabad, Banjara Hills, till January 4. Aliona Kardash will deliver an Art Talk as part of IPF 2025 at State Gallery of Arts, Madhapur, on December 6, 5.30pm. Entry free)
Published – December 05, 2025 04:00 pm IST
