The Drei-Farben-Haus three-colour house is Stuttgart 's largest and oldest brothel. The name comes from its striking red-white-blue painted facade, [3] [2] the colours of the Tricolour , which was supposed to signify French sensual pleasures and sinfulness.
The "DFH" is in three connected buildings. There are five floors, including the basement, with up to 24 rooms per house. The numbering of the rooms dates from the time when the hallways of the houses were still separated and the access was only through the courtyard.
Before WW2 , the nursing home of the Bebenhausen Abbey stood on the site. This was destroyed by the allied bombing of Stuttgart during the war. After the war prostitutes started to use the ruins to meet their clients, they became known as the "rubble prostitutes". The house opened in 17 February [2] as the "Hotel Garni" [1] and 71 prostitutes moved into the building. The husband of the couple died in and his wife continued to run the house, including cooking for the prostitutes and selecting new tenants, until old age.
The interior and the condition inside are typical of the era it was built The rooms, yellow tiled corridors [1] [4] and stairs are rather functional. The twelve-square-meter rooms are equipped with a sink and furnished according to the services offered and the tastes of the tenant. There is a private cafeteria which is supposed to smell of pure soap , [1] [4] shared bathrooms, showers and sanitary facilities for the residents. The house was built with municipal support, and the municipality laid down conditions for its operation.
The prostitutes must work for themselves and pay a fixed fee to rent the rooms, rather than working for the house and giving them a percentage of earnings. None of the prostitutes could be pimped. As the house is technically a dormitory, there are no club rooms or bar. This helps to keep down complaints about noise and rowdy behaviour.
