Berlin’s treasures come and go. While we can look forward to the comeback of Rogacki, one of Berlin’s most popular delicatessens, we must say goodbye to what is probably the city’s best-known haunted house. Unfortunately, however, this isn’t the only farewell. In the heart of Schöneberg’s Akazienkiez neighborhood, too, a story spanning nearly four decades is coming to an end. The Tara Nepal-Bazar, a unique shop specializing in Nepalese handicrafts, will close its doors for good on November 14, 2026, after about 38 years.
The reason is a drastic increase in commercial rent, which owner Melitta Goller can no longer afford. With this, Berlin loses not only an extraordinary store but also an institution that has been bringing a piece of Nepalese culture to the capital since 1988. The history of the Tara Nepal-Bazar dates back to the early 1980s. At that time, Melitta Goller, a native of South Tyrol, traveled to Nepal, where she met her future husband, Dil Gurung, who hails from the Nepalese village of Manang. Together they moved to West Berlin, where Goller opened her first art bazaar near Kurfürstendamm in 1988. At the same time, her husband founded the Nepalese restaurant Buddha Haus.
At that time, international products were still far less commonplace in West Berlin than they are today. Goller recalls that even Italian pasta and Parmesan cheese were hard to come by back then. With her bazaar, she brought traditional craftsmanship from the Himalayas to Berlin and created a special place for anyone interested in Nepalese culture, spirituality, and extraordinary works of art.
After a temporary location in Kreuzberg, the Tara Nepal-Bazar finally moved to Akazienstraße 27 in Berlin-Schöneberg in 2005. Since then, the shop has been located in a hidden courtyard decorated with colorful Nepalese prayer flags, immersing visitors in another world the moment they step inside.
Anyone who would like to visit this extraordinary bazaar one last time has only a few weeks left to do so. A major going-out-of-business sale will run through November 14, 2026, offering numerous items at discounts of up to 50 percent. Among them are handmade one-of-a-kind pieces, ornate statues, and traditional items from Nepal.
November 14 will be both the store’s last day of business and the final day for accepting orders through the online shop. Until then, visitors can still visit the Tara Nepal-Bazar at Akazienstraße 27 in Berlin-Schöneberg Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
With its permanent closure, a piece of Nepalese culture is disappearing from the Akazienkiez neighborhood. After nearly four decades filled with traditional craftsmanship, cultural encounters, and extraordinary finds, the story of one of Berlin’s most special traditional shops is coming to an end.
