Herbertstraße is a street in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, located near the main red light districtReeperbahn. It is the only street in the city where it is still possible to find prostitutes in "windows" as in the famous De Wallen district of Amsterdam. It is reputed to have Hamburg's best looking and most expensive prostitutes. At its peak about 250 women worked there.
Background
The street is located near the Hans-Albers-Platz and the Spielbudenplatz. Herbertstraße is not named after a person, but is part of a system of streets in the area named alphabetically after male given names. Originally the street was called "Heinrichstraße". This custom dates back to the reconstruction of the neighborhood after the fire of 1814 which was deliberately started by occupying French troops as a defensive measure. The prostitutes sit on stools in the windows, usually scantily dressed, to try and entice clients to enter. They will sometimes talk to potential clients through an open window. Often the windows have red lighting and neon signs.
History
Origins
After the area was re-built in the 19th century, it became an area where sailors from the nearby Elbe docks spent their wages in the pubs and strip bars of the neighborhood. Licenses for prostitution were issued.
Prostitution increased in street after many of the brothels in the neighboring Davidstraße and other streets of St. Pauli lost their licenses. These brothels relocated to Herbertstraße.
Nazi Germany
At the time of National Socialism there was a ban on striptease and prostitution from 1933. However, as a ban on the typical St. Pauli trade could not be consistently enforced, these activities were tolerated only in an alley - Herbertstrasse. In order that no one could see in advance what was really not to be allowed, barriers were erected at both ends of the street.
1970s
In the 1970s police added barriers and signs advising youths and women against entering: the former for reasons of protection against harmful influences, the latter because prostitutes would actively seek to chase away any women who entered, thus causing trouble. The signs are written in both English and German. Zutritt für Männer unter 18 und Frauen verboten in German and Entry for men under 18 and women prohibited in English. The ban on women entering the street has brought criticism for gender discrimination.
2000s
In September 2005, the Energy Hamburgradio station was fined 10,000 euros for having made a "Live Morning aus der Herbertstraße" in March, the content of which was criticized for inappropriate sexual practices and offers of prostitution. During the show there were several interviews between two journalists and two prostitutes in Herbertstraße, the two prostitutes reporting in detail their practices. In 2013 Sasha Grey and Mariya Ocher crashed the gates. In December 2015 the Hamburg police handed out flyers at the entrances to Herbertstraße warning male visitors of the prostitutes' tricks including charging excessive amounts for supposed sexual services. On 8 March 2019, International Women's Day, members of the feminist activist groupFEMEN removed the metal gates keeping Herbertstraße out of public view. The group said that the protest was against the sexual exploitation of women, trafficking and sexual violence, and activists criticised the fact that the street was inaccessible to women.
St. Pauli Herbertstraße is a 1965 West German film about a farm girl who ends up working in the Herbertstraße.
In 1967, Herbertstraße prostitutes were employed in a film directed by Jürgen Roland, entitled Polizeirevier Davidswache. The film was partially shot in the street.
