The Reeperbahn: A Walk on the Wild Side

The Reeperbahn: A Walk on the Wild Side

Commercialized sex flourishes in many towns, but hardworking, entrepreneurial Hamburg has succeeded better than almost anywhere else at transforming it into a tourist attraction. The place where it all hangs out is the St. Pauli district (U-Bahn: St. Pauli; S-Bahn: Reeperbahn), just east of the center. St. Pauli's midsection -- the "genital zone," as it's sometimes called -- is the Reeperbahn, a half-mile thoroughfare whose name literally translates as "rope street," referring to the massive amounts of hempen rope produced here during the 18th and 19th centuries for ships in Germany's biggest harbor.

In the 19th century, most forms of entertainment, including theaters, were banned from the city's more respectable medieval core. As one resident of the district remarked, "Bourgeois Protestants don't know how to have fun." Consequently, this neighborhood near the great port developed entertainment options of its own, and sailors from around the world were safely channeled into a neighborhood where their recreational activities were out of sight (and out of mind) of the city's sober business establishment. Hamburg's first theater opened on the Reeperbahn in 1842. By the 1860s, the question, "Whatch'a doing, sailor?" became the unofficial motto of an army of prostitutes who set up shop (with the legal sanction of municipal authorities) in the district.

The city's official line is that the Reeperbahn is Hamburg's second-greatest attraction and asset (the first is the port itself). The authorities see their policies as a rare instance of civic and moral enlightenment unparalleled in any other city, except for Amsterdam's more sanitized sex scene. They make frequent references to their requirement that every officially sanctioned working girl submit to a medical examination every 2 weeks -- and pay income tax on her profits. Hamburg's most-talked-about police station, Davidwache, at the corner of the Davidstrasse and the Reeperbahn, provides highly visible and omnipresent police protection.

What are the rules of the game, and what should you do to survive such an "in-your-face" neighborhood? Throw your sense of scheduling to the wind and take a nap on the day of your visit. Mornings in St. Pauli are burned-out, unenthusiastic times, when virtually everyone is recovering from the bacchanals of the night before. Midafternoons perk up a bit. But regardless of the fogs that roll in from the Baltic and the damp chill that's an inseparable part of the Hamburg experience, by 8pm the district's bars and theaters (legitimate and otherwise) are roaring away. Between midnight and 5am, you'll find thousands of women and men in drag, strutting their stuff along the turf. German enterprise has honored these women (and their reputation for a good time) by naming one of Hamburg's native beers in their honor -- the famous "St. Pauli Girl."

There's a distinct pecking order among the working girls, based on the neighborhood, or street, where they're headquartered. The most exclusive and expensive area is Herbertstrasse, where plate-glass windows allow the women to display their charms to window-shoppers. By city ordinance, this street is open only to men 19 and over (women are officially banned, but this does not seem to be enforced). Less expensive rents can be found on the streets near Herbertstrasse: Gunterstrasse, Erichstrasse, Friedrichstrasse, Davidstrasse, and Gerhardstrasse. Lots of the women here are from the Eastern Bloc, and lately there's been a distressing trend for runaway teenagers to join their ranks. Cross-dressers and transsexuals ply their trade here, too.

If it's erotic theater you're looking for, you'll have to move a few blocks away to Grosse Freiheit, a street whose name appropriately translates as "Great Freedom." Any act of sexual expression, with every conceivable permutation, except those that involve animals (bestiality is one of the few things expressly forbidden), is shown in these theaters. Be it joyful, be it disgusting, it's all here, often performed by artists whose barely concealed boredom sometimes permeates the setting in a way that elsewhere would be embarrassing, but here seems merely surreal.

You aren't likely to be solicited at a performance -- municipal regulations forbid prostitution, or overt solicitation, inside erotic theaters. But there's nothing to prevent a member of the audience from suddenly deciding to be a performer -- it's been known to happen, if rarely. And there's nothing that prevents performers from setting up an off-premises rendezvous. In any event, caveat emptor.

Off-the-record theaters include Safari, Grosse Freiheit 24 (tel. 040/313233; www.safari-hamburg.de; S-Bahn: Reeperbahn), where you're likely to find the press agent for the city of Hamburg entertaining foreign travel writers. Expect to pay a fixed price of around 25€ for one beer.