Red Light Street (De Wallen)

Red Light Street is a neighborhood in Amsterdam that is one of the city’s most famous and racy attractions. It consists of a network of alleys with low buildings containing many one-room rooms with storefronts. The rooms are rented by love priestesses who lure tourists and offer their sexual services from behind windows or glass doors. The girls behind the glass can erotically dance or pose in lingerie, and the red lighting smooths out skin imperfections. Red Lantern Street is also home to sex shops, sex theaters, peep shows, a cannabis museum, and coffee shops that sell marijuana. There is also the Museum of Prostitution, located in a former brothel. It familiarizes visitors with the history and realities of life of love priestesses. For many tourists, the Red Light District is a kind of symbol of freedom and liberation, as the Netherlands is one of the few countries where prostitution and light drugs are legalized.

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Video: Red Light Street

Contents

Highlights

In fact, Red Lantern Street is the entire district of Rosse Burt, consisting of the neighborhoods of De Vallen, Singelgebied and Røisdalkade. De Vallen is the oldest and largest quarter. It is where all the main rage of the sex industry unfolds.

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The Red Light District has an architecture and structure typical of 14th century Amsterdam, even though many of the buildings were built more recently. The neighborhood is also adjacent to a small Chinatown.

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‘ Love priestesses entice customers
‘ Red Lantern Quarter from a height

History of appearance

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‘ Red Lantern Street by day
‘ The Girl in the Window

In the 16th century, the city authorities gave the “night butterflies” an entire block in the area of Aude Nieuwstraat and Audezeids Achterbürchwal streets, as well as along the Audezeids Foerburgwal promenade. They were also forced to pay a regular tax of 1 thaler. The place was immediately named Red Light Street. The ladies of easy virtue stopped looking for clients on the streets of Amsterdam at night and sat down to wait for them at their windows. Thus arose the so-called window trading, which has interested visitors to the city since time immemorial.

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Official authorization

‘ Nighttime is the time when Red Lantern Street comes alive

Features of the sex industry

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‘ Discount erotic goods store

Red Lantern Street employs women of various nationalities from all corners of the world. Eastern Europeans are the most common, and the most in demand are petite Asian women and swarthy African women. Recently, the appearance of young and attractive male representatives among intimate workers has been noted. They occupy the area between Rembrandt Square and the waterfront. Male services are rare and quite expensive. Transsexuals are often found here, which is announced in advance by flyers distributed on the promenade Audzeids Foerburgwal.

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Fighting prostitution

‘ Windows.

Politicians who supported these innovations were unable to cope with the strong opposition. Brothel owners are highly respected, well supported in government structures and among mafia organizations. Nevertheless, they managed to buy one third of the premises occupied by the priestesses of love and give them to Dutch designers for free to open boutiques. This action called “Red Light Fashion” lasted for one year and cost 40 million dollars. The licenses of some brothels were revoked due to suspected illegal activities.

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‘ Old Church
‘ Restaurant De Waag
‘ The Bulldog Coffeeshop
  • The Old Church. In the red-lit streets there is a sanctuary, and the locals are not at all embarrassed by such an original combination – most of them hold liberal views. In front of the church, an unknown sculptor installed a bas-relief depicting a woman’s breasts. There is a belief – one touch to it guarantees stunning success on the love front throughout life.
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  • Erotic Museum. The collection features sculptures, paintings and statues from various cultures and periods. Antique prints depict intimate parts of the human body or sexual intercourse.
  • Erotic Museum.
  • Restaurant De Waag. The magnificent building in the form of a luxurious castle used to be home to several museums. Now it is an institution, which is especially beautiful at night. In the evening, hundreds of wax candles are lit in the restaurant, creating a special atmosphere in the room. Fans of romantic dinners are recommended to visit this place.
  • The Bulldog Coffeeshop. The oldest coffeeshop in the Dutch capital is located nearby. It opened more than 40 years ago and is still open today. Taste the amazing coffee right here and take a handful of beans home with you.
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‘ Erotic Museum
‘ Inside the museum
‘ One of the exhibitions of the Erotic Museum of Amsterdam

Memo for tourists

‘ class=”fancybox” >Signage in the Red Light District

Despite its dubious fame, Red Light Street is a relatively safe place. To avoid possible trouble, it is only necessary to follow certain rules.

  • Don’t walk in the Red Light District.
    • Don’t go here alone – anything is unlikely to happen to you if you are together with people you know.
    • Do not take pictures of women – when they see you holding a camera, they will demand that you stop taking pictures and delete them.
      • Immediately refuse offers from drug dealers – a firm “no” is usually enough to get the illegal sellers off your back.
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