400 Years of the Reeperbahn“The milieu has always been highly contradictory”

27 April 2026, by Claudia Sewig

Photo: AdobeStock/pixs:sell

The Center for Hamburg History likely has the largest collection on the history of St. Pauli.

Hamburg’s most famous street is celebrating its 400th anniversary. In this interview, Dr. Dirk Brietzke, a research associate at the Center for Hamburg History within the Department of History, discusses the history of the Reeperbahn—a place caught between prostitution, world-famous music clubs, and organized crime.

The Reeperbahn is known far beyond Hamburg’s borders as “Germany’s most sinful mile.” But that wasn’t always the case, was it?

The Reeperbahn only gradually developed into the street we know today, starting in the late 18th century. It got its name from a craft that was practiced here for centuries: From 1626 until the end of the 19th century, north of today’s Reeperbahn, the rope makers (die Reepschläger) had their 400-meter-long work areas where they produced ship’s ropes from hemp—a product for which there was great demand in the port and trading metropolis of Hamburg.

Before 1626, Hamburg’s rope makers carried out their work in the area that would later become Neustadt. Eventually, the space available to produce the increasingly large rigging was insufficient, and operations were moved outside the city gates. The street Drehbahn near Gänsemarkt still commemorates the original location today.

When did the Reeperbahn begin its transformation into a hub of fun and entertainment?

Its origins can be traced back to the early 19th century. Back then, if you left the city heading west through the Millerntor, you would arrive in the suburb known as “Hamburger Berg,” which had officially been called St. Pauli since 1833. Just beyond the Millerntor Guardhouse—which still stands today—lay the Heiligengeistfeld and the Reeperbahn. After just a few steps, one reached Spielbudenplatz, which attracted many people seeking fun and entertainment.

In front of picturesque wooden shacks stood town criers who loudly announced sensational events to curious passersby. Those who were lured into the booths could marvel at folk theater spectacles, raree shows, exhibitions featuring curiosities from all over the world, menageries, and much more. In the adjacent streets, one could find infamous dance halls with attached brothels, such as the widely known establishment “Vier Löwen.”

Why did prostitution take root in this part of town?

The proximity to the harbor fueled the entertainment industry and prostitution; dockworkers and sailors from the ships at anchor filled the streets. Many residents of Hamburg viewed this milieu with ambivalence as early as the 19th century: on the one hand, they were curious about the exotic, alluring world of popular entertainment and fascinated by the wild, colorful, and noisy spectacle; on the other hand, they sought to distance themselves from it and insisted on bourgeois morality. As the port expanded beginning in the 1860s, large ballrooms, music halls, and beer halls sprang up. St. Pauli grew into the entertainment and red-light district we know today.

How does it happen that some of Hamburg’s most renowned music clubs were—or still are—located on the Reeperbahn or in its immediate vicinity?

The existing entertainment and nightlife scene in the area around Spielbudenplatz was a good prerequisite for theaters, dance halls, and eventually music clubs to establish themselves on the Reeperbahn and in the surrounding area. One of the earliest establishments was the “Urania Theater” in 1841. It still exists today under the name “St. Pauli Theater”—its historic auditorium is a designated historic landmark. In the 1920s, legendary venues and variety theaters such as the “Alkazar” and the “Zillertal” were known far beyond the borders of Hamburg.

Today, the Reeperbahn Festival is Europe's largest club festival

n the late 1950s and early 1960s in particular, numerous clubs sprang up that attracted large young audiences with live music. As early as 1959, the “Kaiserkeller” was founded on Große Freiheit; in 1960, the “Top Ten Club” at Reeperbahn 136 and the “Indra” followed. In the early years, these venues primarily offered performance opportunities to young bands from England.

The “Star-Club,” founded in 1962 in a former movie theater on Große Freiheit, became world-famous. It was here that the Beatles launched their global career in April 1962. Many already famous musicians, such as Ray Charles and Jimi Hendrix, also performed at the internationally renowned club. In 1968, the “Grünspan” (today: “Gruenspan”) opened in a former dance hall; it initially served primarily as a discotheque but soon became one of Hamburg’s most important live music venues.

The club scene of the 1960s and 1970s was an expression of a new, internationally influenced youth culture and, not least, a sign of rebellion against established forms of music and entertainment. Today, clubs such as “Bahnhof Pauli,” “Docks,” “Große Freiheit 36,” “Gruenspan,” “Indra,” “Molotow,” and “Nochtspeicher” represent a highly vibrant scene. The annual, internationally renowned Reeperbahn Festival is Europe’s largest club festival.

Tourism, musicals, and theater on one hand; crime, drug trafficking, and a gun-free zone on the other: Where does the Reeperbahn currently rank in terms of its significance to Hamburg?

The Reeperbahn’s 400th anniversary is certainly no occasion for a nostalgic, romanticized look back. The scene has always been highly contradictory: on the one hand, it was a unique urban environment shaped by the harbor and an expression of a diverse, often innovative culture of popular entertainment that has made music and theater history. And on the other hand, a hotbed of violence, organized crime, and real estate speculation. That remains the case to this day—even if someone who comes there for a night of partying might only notice the positive side. But I believe everyone who lives there is aware of the ambivalence.

Anyone who wants to understand the Reeperbahn in all its current diversity and contradictions should also explore its history. At the Library of the Research Center for the History of Hamburg, we have an extensive collection on the history of St. Pauli. It was compiled over many decades by the historian and literary scholar Hans-Werner Engels, whose scholarly estate we were able to acquire a few years ago with the support of the Hamburg Foundation for Science and Culture. It is arguably the largest collection on the subject. It contains many works and historical sources that cannot be found in any other library.

(This content has been translated automatically.)