381949 Location 454836 &nbsp;<p>"Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb Eins..." The romantic sailor's image as once evoked by Hans Albers in his popular songs belongs as much to Hamburg history as the great fire of 1842. But there is much more to the St. Pauli where blond Hans once spent his time than just streetwalkers, strip shows and sex shops. </p><p>The heart of the harbor city beats on Hamburg's number-one pleasure mile: both Hamburg visitors and Hamburgers themselves meet in clubs, discos, dance clubs, bars, pubs and cafés. The cultural scene has also established itself: whenever the curtain goes up at Schmidt-Theater, for example, you can expect the show to be funky. Musicals theaters have also found a suitable theatrical home here. </p><p>NEVER would I go to the Reeperbahn for any other reason than to search for some traces of the places, where the Beatles started their carrier. Most of these places have disappeared and you may still see only the addresses like: Grosse Freiheit 36 where the Beatles were introduced as newcomers in 1959 Grosse Freiheit 39 where the famous Star Club used to be - the Beatles had their first solo-concerts there</p><p>As you probably know, various members of the Beatles performed at several clubs around Hamburg's Reeperbahn before the Beatles attained world-wide recognition. During this time, Pete Best was on the drums and the band included Stu Suttcliff. The Beatles, or Silver Beetles, etc., made their first recordings as a group in Hamburg, at Hamburg-Harburg 1961, June 22-23, the most famous of which were with Tony Sheridan. Stu also fell in love with Astrid and stayed on as an art student, before meeting his untimely end.</p><p>Reeperbahn got its name by the ropes (reep in the local dialect) that used to be produced in long halls. Today you have a lot of street-constructions going on, dividing Reeperbahn into the sinful north-side and the south-side that offers various good theaters and cabarets. </p><p>St. Pauli's worldwide fame as a party district par excellence is not without reason: as early as the 18th and 19th centuries, a colorful band of people settled around the harbor and built up a new life here. St. Pauli came to symbolize prostitution and other pleasures. </p><p>Tourists have been coming from all over the world since the First World War. When in the seventies and eighties the glamor age seemed to be over, Willi Bartels, property owner and "King of St. Pauli", committed himself to redesigning the area: less sex, more culture instead, more discos, more clean entertainment. "The young people should come to St. Pauli again,": was the credo of Bartels, who's now 87. A concept which took off with complete success: St. Pauli is livelier today than ever before. </p><p>So, the "Sündenmeile" ("mile of sin") has long been more than the center for established erotic clubs and has become a melting pot of diverse influences, trends and styles. The "Kiez" and the neighboring Schanze district are throbbing with trendy life. </p><p>There is simply everything in St. Pauli: business and erotica, kebab shops and Asian snack restaurants, yuppie bars and punk discos, long generations of Hamburgers and immigrant families, the trend-conscious and the drop-outs, FC St. Pauli and the Hafenstraße. You will find "Große Freiheit" ("Great Freedom") in the city district of St. Pauli - and that's not just the name of the street.</p><p>Despite its seedy appearance, the Reeperbahn is heavily policed and actually one of the safest parts of Hamburg. You can’t help but have a good time in the Reeperbahn. Check out one of the happening pubs where you’ll find heaps of young Germans grooving to the sounds of bands performing popular American tunes. </p><p>Commercialized sex flourishes in many towns, but hardworking, entrepreneurial Hamburg has succeeded better than almost anywhere else at transforming it into a tourist attraction. </p><p>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. </p><p>What are the rules of the game and what should you do to survive such an "in-your-face" neighborhood? </p><p>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. </p><p>Mid-afternoons 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. </p><p>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."</p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>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.</p><p>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 setting up an off-premises rendezvous. In any event, caveat emptor.</p><p>The district also contains the Erotic Art Museum, Bernhard 69 (tel. 040/317840; www.eroticartmuseum.de). This institution is privately owned and funded, and closed to anyone under 16. It manages to present its displays in a way that's both academic and titillating, and it has a street-level gift shop featuring erotic books. </p><p>Open daily 10am to midnight; admission is 8€ ($10) adults, 5€ ($6.25) students.</p><p>Website: www.eroticartmuseum.de</p> 2006-08-18T13:52:12-07:00 557842446 2006-06-09T17:00:00-07:00 0 -9223372036854775790 159070 1998698 381949 0 203718 0.0407047432667282 2006-06-08T17:00:00-07:00 Published 25.0 2006-08-18T14:00:20-07:00 89178 0