Red Light in the Head - The Brew Barrel

About the most famous brothel in the world and why men go to whorehouses

The B3 publishing house called for an unusual press event in the Frankfurt noble brothel "Sudfass", which opened its doors in 1971 and for forty years was one of the most famous brothels in Germany, Europe and perhaps even the whole world. After all, the good reputation of the house has long since spread to Australia, Asia or America. There is hardly a celebrity who has been a guest in Frankfurt and has not stopped off at the "Sudfass". There is hardly a trade fair guest who has not taken a break from the stress of the trade fair in the "Sudfass". The well-known (screenplay) writer and director Peter Zingler has now created a monument to this traditional brothel and its founder Dieter Engel.

With the support of some co-authors, such as the graduate pedagogue and sex counsellor Monika Büchner, the city historian Silke Wustmann, the successful cartoonist Doris Lerche and with a text that the cabaret artist Matthias Belz, who died in 2002, wrote in 1996 about Frankfurt nightlife and the "Sudfass", has resulted in an interesting and amusing book that not only pays tribute to almost 40 years of "Sudfass", but also provides a very special look at the cultural history of manners in the Main metropolis. In addition, the book also deals with the not entirely uninteresting question of why men go to the whorehouse at all.

The richly illustrated book allows the reader a sometimes quite frank, honest look behind the scenes of the noble establishment in words and pictures. Its history, Dieter Engel's almost romantic business philosophy, amusing, interesting and sometimes sad anecdotes from the turbulent history of the house and its residents are given here as well as a look at the history of the oldest trade in the world in Frankfurt in general, introduced - how should it be different in a book about Frankfurt - with the appropriate Goethe quote: "Seid reinlich bei Tage und säuisch bei Nacht".

In addition to the short treatise on prostitution in Frankfurt, the digression in which the question of the motivation that drives men into brothels is also an extremely exciting read. Especially since here the experts have their say who are most likely to know why millions of men around the world use the services of prostitutes every day. What some of the ladies from the "Sudfass" have to report about the men's motivations, for instance, reveals that it is far from just about sex. Monika Büchner then tries to show which different types of men have which different motivations for visiting a brothel and why some of them are actually extremely sad to look at.

It is the mixture of analytical facts, history and the somewhat more loosely written stories from the house that makes this book so worth reading. For example, the story of the biggest idiot ever to be a guest at the "Sudfass", who nearly burned down the entire house with his very special lust for meat, or a short but extremely tragic love story between a prostitute and a bartender, the versatility of the "Sudfass"'s staff and guests is also reflected in the anecdotes described in the book. Particularly entertaining is also the guest list of prominent Sudfass visitors, which has been blacked out for legal reasons. Here the reader is challenged to find out with a little deductive talent, which celebrity has already given himself to the services of the brew barrel ladies.

Informative, entertaining, open and a little frivolous, that is "Rotlicht im Kopf". A book that makes it possible to immerse oneself in a world that enjoys great popularity, especially among men, but which nevertheless might be rather foreign to most people in this openness as it is presented here - and that is exactly what makes it so entertaining to read. Since the house is scheduled for demolition in the next few years, this homage to the "Sudfass" is also a piece of urban history. Because whether you like it or not, whether you condemn prostitution per se or not, there's no denying that houses like the "Sudfass" are an important and integral part of the cityscape and its history

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp