Saarbrücken used to be famous for its great Moselle wine, first-class cuisine and laid-back lifestyle. However, that German border town is rapidly gaining a reputation as the European capital of prostitution.
Saarbrücken has 170.000 inhabitants and more than a thousand kolgerli. That number increased in 2007, when Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union. Since then, the British "Independent" writes, that city has seen a constant influx of women who start practicing the oldest trade, often to escape poverty at home.
Soon, that number could increase further after the opening of a new "mega brothel" on an area of six thousand square meters in the Burbah area. In the brothel, the construction of which will cost 4,5 million euros, 90 prostitutes and 45 staff members will be permanently employed.
The local government complains that it is practically powerless to stop the expansion of the sex industry. "In Saarbrücken, it's easier to open a brothel than a fast food kiosk," Charlotte Britz, the mayor from the Social Democratic Party, told "Independent" reporter.
"Here, prostitution has reached unbearable proportions," she added.
"The Independent" writes that two factors led to the flourishing of prostitution.
The first is the German government's decision to liberalize prostitution laws, which were considered outdated and repressive. In 2001, the ruling coalition of Social Democrats and Greens, led by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, tried to turn prostitution into a business like any other by passing a law that gives prostitutes full rights to health insurance, pensions and other benefits, provided they pay the necessary taxes.
Exploitation of prostitutes remained a criminal offense, while their employment or provision of work was declared legal. The change in the law was an attempt to encourage responsible brothel owners who, it was hoped, would eventually push pimps out of the market and end the exploitation of sex workers.
Another factor that contributed to the boom is the proximity to France, where prostitution is in principle prohibited but it is not prohibited to be a prostitute. The law prohibits opening brothels, engaging in pimping or even "passively" offering sex for money in public, but it is not illegal to sell or "buy" someone else's body.
The French parliament passed a controversial law this Sunday that will see anyone caught paying for sex be fined at least 1.500 euros.
In Saarbrücken, which is only separated by the border from Strasbourg, Nassau and Metz, a large number of French sex tourists come on weekends. The concern from Stuttgart, Paradise Island Entertainment, which is behind the mega-brothel project, announced that it chose Saarbrücken precisely because of its proximity to France. However, as the "Independent" points out, that city is an extreme example of what happened to most German cities after the liberalization of the law in 2001. It is estimated that there are 400.000 prostitutes in the country, which has become a magnet for sex tourism.
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