Prostitution in Vienna – An overview

The Austrian capital of Vienna has been described by some as one of the most beautiful cities on earth. While I think that may have been true at one time there I don’t know if it still the reality. There is also a lot of open prostitution in Vienna.

Austria has a fairly rational policy allowing for the sale of sexual services just like the neighboring country of Germany which it shares a language with. Vienna may not have perfect laws when it comes to sex work but they are certainly a lot better than many others around which try in vein to shut down the oldest profession in the world.

There is no secret that sex is sold in Vienna. Advertisements for brothels and strip clubs with dancers available for sex can be found all over the city. No one seems to worried about it. On the other hand the sale of sex doesn’t seem to be as bold and in your face as it is in some other cities around the world, including a few where the trade is officially outlawed. That just goes to show you how effective anti sex work laws are.

Strip clubs

The aforementioned strip clubs are places where guys can sit around and watch girls dance. Sometimes. At other times the ladies seem to lounge around and occasionally talk with guys in the search for customers. Rooms are usually available on premises where the women will take customers for over a hundred Euros to start. The women come from all over Europe but Romanians are probably the most common. Austrians are rare. Without question Maxim is the most well known of these strip clubs. There are other types of clubs around too including some peep shows.

FKK sex saunas

There are also some FKK sex clubs in Vienna. These operate just like the the FKK sex clubs in Germany. Guys pay a set fee of around 90 Euros ($95 USD) to enter that allows them access to the ground and unlimited food and beverages. Women also pay an entrance fee for the same thing. Inside the clubs the women walk around nude or nearly nude and look for guys to have sex with. The entrance fees in Austria can be a little higher than those in Germany but the prices for sexual services are about the same. The ladies in Austrian FKKs hail from all over Europe and typically charge around 60 Euros ($64 USD) per session. The previously reviewed Goldentime is perhaps the most prominent sex sauna in Austria. Funpalast is another. Babylon has a similar setup but is much more expensive.

Brothels and laufhaus

Vienna also has a lot of brothels which are often referred to as “studios”. Some of these places can be difficult for foreigners to navigate. Information about them can be tough to find in languages other than German. When it is there can still be problems. Addresses are sometimes odd and out of sequence and the people who work the phones don’t speak anything but German and their native language. That’s because a lot of these brothels are run or staffed by immigrants. Several are Asian themed such as Asia Studio Wein. Others are not. There is a wide variety and one can only guess as to how many of these shops exist in Vienna. Perhaps there is some organization out there studying it. Prices at brothels are typically lower than other venues. Sex can be sold for 50 Euros ($53 USD) or less.

Individual room brothels exist in buildings know as laufhaus throughout the German speaking world. They are something like the Fuji Building in Hong Kong. Customers walk through the buildings and look at the women in their rooms. If they see someone they like they negotiate a price for sex. Prices usually start at 50 Euros. Just as Frankfurt has its Bahnhofsviertel the city of Vienna is home to some places of its own. The Laufhaus Vienna is one example of such a place.

Escorts, streetwalkers and freelancers

There are also plenty of escorts working in Vienna. They operate just as they do anywhere else in the world. Some work out of their own rooms but most also travel to their customer’s rooms. In fact many of the escorts found in Vienna at any given time are on tour and travel throughout Europe and sometimes even the world. Vienna has high prices and people who can pay them. That’s surely a draw to independents and agency workers alike who are looking to make money.

Finally I must mention street walkers which can be found about where you might expect. There are the lower end areas which exist in most major cities. Vienna is no exception. The city has a relatively rough section called Gürte that is home to some of this. Various sorts of “sex clubs” can be found on the streets. There are also women in the streets at night. Felberstrasse, Mariahilferstrasse and the Technisches Museum also draw a lot of streetwalkers who want around 50 Euros for their time. Some of these places draw rather large numbers of sex workers at times and many are just as willing to work in semi-secluded parks as they are to go to a 10 Euro short time hotel room.