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Grosse Freiheit in St. Pauli


The Reeperbahn - Festival

 

GPS Coordinates

1 -- Subway Station St. Pauli / Reeperbahn, Germany
Decimal Lat: 53.550214 / Lon: 9.969159
Degree

 

The Reeperbahn - a string of entertainment in transition

The Reeperbahn is a living legend – once a seedy red-light quarter for seafarers and ne’er-do-wells, then during the 1960s and 1970s a springboard for Pop culture and the Beatles of the Wirtschaftswunder, but also a deeply Germanic eldorado for stolen moments of fl eeting, uninhibited sex tourism. Yet since the 1990s, the red-light district has been transformed into something quite different – offering drinking and clubbing en masse alongside art galleries, cabarets and theatres, established theatres, gaudy palaces for musicals and even classy restaurants.

The backbone of Hamburg’s amusement area is 930 metres long, strewn with nightclubs and bars, discotheques and pubs. Grosse Freiheit off it, Hans-Albers-Platz, Davidswache police station, as well as Spielbudenplatz with the Panoptikum waxworks and Operettenhaus are all musts on the tourist round.

Far more cramped but parallel to the Reeperbahn is Herbertstrasse, a street of brothels that is off limits for juveniles and female visitors. Yet the masses today stream past the red-light haunts and on into in-vogue clubs and restaurants, theatres and stage musicals. Alongside the Reeperbahn, the revamped Spielbudenplatz with two mobile platforms offers plenty of space for open-air gigs and public views. The remake of Spielbudenplatz makes the Kiez even more appealing.

Reeperbahn Festival

Over 12,000 visitors descended on the Kiez for the second Reeperbahn Festival in September every year for three days of top-class in Hamburg’s clubs on and around the Reeperbahn. Over100 bands playon more than 15 stages. Heavy media coverage made the event known throughout Europe. Music fans of all ages and in pursuit of all genres of music enjoy three stunning evenings in the various theatres and clubs. Unique in Europe, this feast of clubbing in the heart of the Reeperbahn amusement district is again on the horizon.

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