AT first glance, the Pauli district in Germany’s port city of Hamburg is a bustling metropolis full of trendy bars, theatres and nightclubs.
But beneath the surface lies a seedier underbelly which houses a street once dubbed the ‘world’s most sinful mile’ – and boasts a strip of brothels behind a barricade which bans women and under 18s.
Two women in the windows of house 21 in Herbertstrasse, a street lined with brothels[/caption]
The area boasts an array of erotic shops, sex houses and brothels, mixed in with trnedy bars, clubs and pubs[/caption]
It’s an eclectic area which welcomes a reported 20million tourists every year – and not just for the sex scene.
In the 1960s, the district’s dive bars played host to bands like The Beatles and The Jets which means walking tours often stop off here, and in the daytime many passers by report there’s not much to see.
But by night it comes alive, with bright neon signs lighting up the sex houses including the bold and eye-catching Pink Palace, which is open 24 hours a day and according to one escort website, “boasts 60 international girls across five floors”.
Activists Femen protesting against prostitution and the sex industry in Herbertstrasse on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany, in January 2013[/caption]
A ‘pretty sleazy area’
In the 1980s the Pauli district was reportedly home to more than 1,000 prostitutes – however figures suggest it’s far, far fewer today.
The destination draws in mixed reviews from visitors, specifically St. Pauli’s most famous street Reeperbahn, dubbed ‘the sinful mile,’ and the nearby side streets and alleys.
Writing a review on Tripadvisor, one person commented: “It’s a pretty sleazy area, which is exactly what you’d expect, but it’s interesting nonetheless.”
“If you expect clean and neat entertainment you are at the wrong address. It is fun and entertaining if you enjoy life and want to party!” wrote another.
Another said: “A mile long mix of trashy sex shops, junk food stands and strip bars.
“Vendors from ‘porn show’ or ‘strip show’ places are so desperate that they catch your hand as you walk by.”
At the height of the area’s popularity, some 1,000 prostitutes worked there[/caption]
A ‘wee warning’ to women
However a lot of the real ‘action’ is hidden away from the main tourist strip
One street in particular, Herbertstrasse, hidden behind 12ft barriers which were erected in 1933 by the Nazis, is still key to the sex trade, which is legal in Germany.
Today, an estimated 250 workers offer sexual services for money here, with one sex website suggesting a ‘full service’ costs anywhere between 150 – 350 Euros.
It’s about 60 metres long and less than seven metres wide, and is lined by houses where prostitutes sit on stools in the windows.
However while men over 18 are welcome, the female workers are said to be less than happy for women to enter, with signs stipulating: “women prohibited”.
Do you know what they do if they catch a girl on that street? They throw buckets of p*** at her.”
Logan Paul
This is reportedly because, while it is a public street so technically anyone is allowed to enter, historically it is claimed there were concerns visiting women would be encouraged to work there.
Additionally visitors have reported the women who do work there being less than welcoming, apparently regarding other women as a potential ‘threat’.
One tourist website offering walking tours stating: “All non-male visitors should be aware, [they will be] prompted to leave again very quickly with the most hefty swearwords, rotten eggs… and arguments.”
Describing the street, a visitor earlier this year claimed on Tripadvisor: “There is an area where women flaunt [their] wares which women are prohibited from walking down.
“If women go there they get sprayed from water guns that contain urine, not water.”
Backing up these claims, American influencer and wrestler Logan Paul, said on his podcast a few years ago: “It’s a street where no women are allowed…
“You basically browse on the street like an outdoor shopping mall and in the window are women that you can purchase sexual favours from.
“I’m talking prostitution, commercialised.
“They were cat-calling, ‘hey you, big boy’.
“Do you know what they do if they catch a girl on that street? They throw buckets of p*** at her.”
One street in particular is screened off, and no women or men under 18 are welcome[/caption]
Inside the life of a sex worker
DR EMMA CUNNINGHAM, senior lecturer in criminology, with research interests in violence against women and girls, says:
“Some sex workers insist this is just a job, and they are making lots of money from it.
But there appear to be many more with awful experiences of violence and PTSD who become trapped in this work.
Some women may be topping up low-paid employment.
Some charities – Beyond Streets and Women’s Aid – have said the cost-of-living crisis has pushed more women into the informal economy of sex and escort work.
From films like Pretty Woman there is a romanticised notion of escorting, and it is not a crime to buy or sell sex between two consenting adults in the UK.
Many sex workers end up with PTSD.
Many are trafficked and exploited and take drugs to forget the trauma they have experienced.
Many female sex workers have experienced severe repeated violence.
How can a woman who is selling sex to a man who is physically much stronger than her withdraw her consent if he hurts her?
He is potentially capable of killing her.
According to research, women selling sex are 18 times more likely to be murdered than those who do not.”
‘Honeytrap’ scam
There are also some words of warning for punters who are allowed in, too.
According to The Local Germany, in December 2015 police were warning punters in Hamburg’s red light district to beware of prostitutes asking them to pay for sexual services with credit cards.
One visitor from London wrote: “Beware Herbertstrasse (also known as Herbertstraße) where many of the beautiful young women are a honeytrap.
“They will agree a price but once you have paid the money they will increase the price and usually you get nothing – it is fraud.”
Writing on Reddit, another punter previously claimed they were forced to fork out €2,200 at the end of their ‘session’ after sharing his debit card details with the escort – when they’d initially agreed €100 for sex.
They wrote: “This morning after partying, me and a friend, who was visiting me, went to the red light district in Hamburg to see a prostitute. As it turns out, they basically scam people.
“They wait in windows for customers and when you pass by, lure you inside for €50. Then you go to a room with her and get naked.
“You will get a p**** massage for that money and for anything more, you have to pay more.”
The area comes alive at night, and attracts millions of tourists every year[/caption]
Prostitute protests
Of course the topic of sex work can be a controversial one, and the area has attracted protests as a result.
Activists from feminist group Femen singled out Hamburg’s red light district for an International Women’s Day protest in 2019, breaking down the gate that hides away the brothels.
Wearing body paint with slogans saying “women are not goods”, topless members of the organisation took power tools to the metal barrier which bans women.
Earlier this year a memorial was also put up in the area, to remember the sex workers in the red-light district who were persecuted under Adolf Hitler, after Nazi officers arrested over 3,000 ‘fornicating women’ in the city in a matter of months in 1933, Der Spiegel reported.
As with most areas, the location has also encountered some scenes of violence – and some also claim it has been blighted with crime and a large homeless population.
The red light district was thrust into the spotlight just earlier this year for example, after police shot an axeman carrying a petrol bomb on a quiet side street during the Euros in a seemingly random incident.
But while there have been calls to end the selling of sex and clean up the area, it seems, for now at least, it’s still a big party of life in Pauli.
Police shot a man who was reportedly armed with an axe and a petrol bomb within the red light district earlier this year[/caption]
