Pascha (brothel)

The Pascha, one of the largest brothels in the world and the largest in Europe, is a brothel in Cologne, Germany; it has 120 prostitutes, over 80 supporting-role employees and up to 1,000 customers per day.

History

The brothel was opened in January 1972 in the Hornstraße, under the name "Eros Center". It was Europe's first high-rise brothel. The city of Cologne wanted to eliminate the red light district "Kleine Brinkgasse" in the city centre and issued a licence to build the new brothel on land owned by the city in the outskirts of town. The prostitutes sued against closure of the Kleine Brinkgasse area and ultimately lost.

In 1995 the owner of the Eros Center changed after foreclosure, and the new name "Pascha" was introduced. They later added houses under the same name in Salzburg, Munich and Linz.

Operation

The house rents 126 rooms on 7 floors to prostitutes for a fee of 180 Euro per day, which includes meals, medical care, and the 20 Euro tax that authorities collect per prostitute per day (including Cologne's "pleasure tax" of 6 Euro). The women come from many countries; about 30% of them are German. They typically sit outside of their rooms and negotiate with customers who wander the hallways. Some of the women live in their rooms, others rent a second room to stay in, while still others stay in their own apartments in Cologne.

The house is open 24 hours a day; customers of the prostitutes pay an entrance fee of 5 Euro and then negotiate directly with the women, who work independently and keep all of the money. One floor is reserved for low-cost service and another one for transgender prostitutes. The house also contains a regular hotel, a table dance nightclub with separate entrance, several bars, and a separate club-style brothel on the top floor.