St. Pauli

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St. Pauli (full name: Sankt Pauli) is a district of the German city of Hamburg and a district of the State of Hamburg.

The district has about 27.000 inhabitants (2002) on 2.6 km². It is situated directly at the Elbe river close to the Hamburg port.

At the beginning of the 17th century it developed as a suburb called 'Hamburger Berg' (Hamburg mountain) outside the gates of the nearby city of Hamburg and close to the city of Altona. The name comes from a hill in that area that was planed by Hamburg in 1620 for defence reasons (free field of fire for the artillery). Therefore, settlement was initially allowed there, but soon businesses, which were not desired inside Hamburg, e.g. for their smell or noise, were relegated to 'Hamburger Berg'. Also the rope makers (or 'Reeper' in Low German) went here because in the city it was hard to find enough space for their work. The name of St. Pauli's most famous street Reeperbahn, or "Rope Walk," harkens back to its rope making past. When people were officially allowed to live in St. Pauli at the end of the 17th century the city government moved workhouses and (pestilence) hospitals out of the city to 'Hamburger Berg,' which later was named after its church, 'St. Pauli' (Saint Paul).

St. Pauli has a long tradition as a recreation and amusement centre. The big port of Hamburg led many sailors to Hamburg who preferably spent their spare time (as long as their ships were unloaded and loaded again) in this area. Since then there has been prostitution in St. Pauli. And it is still best known as Hamburg's red-light district.

The district is nowadays one of the poorest in former West Germany. There have been various social fights during the last decades (examples are Hafenstraße, Rote Flora and Bambule).

St. Pauli is known as well as a centre for the German punk movement.

St. Pauli's most prominent symbol is its eponymous football club, FC St. Pauli. St. Pauli played host to the inaugural FIFI Wild Cup in May-June 2006.

St. Pauli has a strong music tradition. The Beatles lived in St. Pauli and played there before becoming famous. Singer and actor Hans Albers is strongly associated with St. Pauli, providing the neighbourhood's unofficial anthem, with "Auf der Reeperbahn Nachts um Halb Eins."