Overview

• Sex workers in Herbertstraße say crowds now come to look rather than buy services, with some tourists entering during the day with children despite the street’s working purpose.
• Former brothels and red-light bars are being converted into holiday apartments, exemplified by Ricarda Belmar’s portfolio of short-term rentals on the Kiez.
• Longtime resident and former bouncer Michel Ruge argues guided tours and low-cost party tourism turn authentic venues into spectacle and dilute the district’s character.
• Ex-figure Carsten Marek recalls thousands working in the trade decades ago and estimates only about 450 prostitutes remain, reflecting tighter regulation and a transformed scene.
• The BID Reeperbahn and the Lebendiges Kulturerbe St. Pauli association are collecting public input to draft a Leitbild that balances nightlife, residents and cultural heritage.