Located on Halenseestrasse 32-36, you will find a towering white building resembling a cross between a storage warehouse and a communist hotel. This is Club Artemis Berlin; one of the most famous brothels in the world.
You certainly wouldn’t link it to the beating heart of Germany’s sex industry if you had never ventured inside. But once you do, something incredible happens. The industrial sprawl of Charlottenburg disappears, and we travel back 40 years to the 1970s.
Spiegel once memorably described the Artemis Berlin interior as a bizarre cross “between mid-re 1990s Las Vegas and a cheesy British ‘Carry-On’ film”. Boy, were they on the money!
What’s Inside Artemis Berlin?
The Artemis FKK Club is set across four floors and littered with ornate statues of the Greek and Roman variety.
On most days, you’ll find around 50 of Berlin’s sex workers plying their trade here. It’s one of the busiest bordellos in all of Germany, drawing over 25 million Euros per year, about half of which goes to the sex workers.
It also makes quite the first impression.
The walls are garish, in-your-face and covered in decals that time forgot.
You could describe the place as lavish, in the same way, that some clubs make for nice scenery… for a few hours – not for living in for the rest of your life.
Of course, there are many women who do call Artemis Berlin a second home.
Many of the sex workers in Artemis are not actually from Berlin, or Germany for that matter. There is a strong presence from Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Upstairs from the main brothel you will find over 40 rooms that the prostitutes can use to rest in overnight. Many of them come from out of town. Others are playing a long-stay game of earning enough in the day to cover the ‘rent’ of crashing in Artemis.
“A woman will have some kind of sex with maybe five, seven, three men a night, whatever they please”, according to the FKK club’s Geschäftsführer. That’s German for Mr. Manager.
While Artemis is a brothel, it doesn’t accept the classic house payments that you would associate with this type of adult facility. Instead it is modelled on a day spa.
Everybody pays to access the facilities.
But only the escorts stand a chance of leaving the place richer!
Note: If you’re not sure what to expect inside an FKK Club, check our handy guide. We also have a guide to FKK’s place in German culture and history, as well as a giant list of FKK clubs by city.
The Story Behind The Famous Brothel
Artemis opened its doors in September 2005 as Berlin’s first “wellness brothel”, a massive four-story complex built for both relaxation and adult fun.
It was the brainchild of Turkish businessman Hakki “Haki” Şimşek, who invested roughly €5 million to create this pleasure palace, one that would soon become synonymous with Berlin’s roaring sex trade.
From day one, Artemis billed itself as a sauna club – a place where paying the entry fee gives you spa amenities and a nude-friendly environment, with sexual services available on the side.
This concept wasn’t new in Germany, but Artemis was the first to bring it to Berlin at such a grand scale.
And the timing was perfect.
Germany had fully legalized prostitution a few years earlier, and with the 2006 FIFA World Cup looming, media buzzed about an expected boom in sex tourism.
Artemis gained prominence quickly, being featured in international outlets like Spiegel and The New York Times as Berlin’s latest mega-brothel ready to satisfy soccer fans.
As things transpired, the World Cup “sex boom” was overhyped and bait of a damp squib. But Artemis benefited greatly from the media hype, rapidly gaining notoriety from local punters, working girls and intrigued sex tourists.
Over the years, Artemis has seen its share of drama too.
In April 2016, the club was raided by some 900 police officers amid allegations of human trafficking and tax evasion.
However, the accusations fell apart in court; by 2018 the case was dismissed for lack of evidence, and in 2023 the city of Berlin even issued a formal apology and paid €250,000 in compensation to Artemis’s operators for the botched raid.
If anything, the controversies merely solidified its reputation as one of the centerpieces of Berlin’s sex scene.
The Artemis Experience
If you’re wondering what draws the punters to this famous venue, it doesn’t take long upon arrival to see the appeal.
That’s because walking into Artemis is kind of like entering a 3,000 m² adult spa resort.
We’re not sure how to describe this place. Let’s try a 1970s hotel slash strip club fused with the modern-day amenities of a spa. Surrounded by an ocean of sex and solicitation.
The exterior might resemble a plain office block, but inside it’s a curious mix of mid-90s Las Vegas flash and cheeky Euro-kitsch.
There’s a swimming pool for a refreshing dip, multiple saunas (Finnish and bio saunas) to work up a healthy sweat, and even a Turkish-style hammam steam room.
Feeling tense? Relax in the jacuzzi or stretch out on lounge chairs. For the fitness-inclined, Artemis even has a small gym/fitness area to pump some iron between the more intimate workouts.
Everything about the brothel is designed to trap you in a day-long ‘sextravaganza’. So, naturally, that includes good catering.
The club offers a hearty buffet: think German staples like schnitzel and sausages, plus salads, hot dishes (their chili con carne is a fan favorite), and sweet treats, replenished throughout the day.
Non-alcoholic drinks and basic food are included in your entry, while alcohol is available at a cash bar (at least you won’t have to remortgage your house for a beer – prices are reasonable by club standards).
Entertainment-wise, Artemis keeps the atmosphere lively in classic FKK style. Don’t expect a full-on nightclub, but there is a central lounge with a bar and likely a pole or small stage where, on busier nights, some of the women may do impromptu striptease or dance shows.
Working their way through this setup is, of course, a gaggle of Berlin’s famous working girls.
Mingling With The Girls
Here’s how it works in practice:
Once inside, you’ll find anywhere from 30 to 40 women on a typical night (sometimes more on weekends or big events) mingling with the guys… pretty much across the entire facility.
The women are usually wearing little more than a pair of heels – it’s an FKK norm that female entertainers are nude or nearly nude, while customers often wrap in towels or roam in shorts/robes provided.
None of these ladies are particularly shy.
The women will likely make the first move if you look available, and a simple polite decline (“Vielleicht später, danke” – maybe later, thanks) is fine if you’re not interested.
When you’re ready for more personal entertainment, you and the lady agree to go to one of the many private rooms.
The Rooms at FKK Artemis
If you’ve successfully approached a lady inside the brothel and have agreed to retreat to one of the venue’s many sex dens, what can you expect inside?
Well, that depends on what type of themed room you end up in.
As you will have noticed within about 7 seconds, the interior design at Artemis changes from room-to-room.
It’s unpredictable; an LSD attack on the senses.
Wallpaper marks some rooms as tents in a desert, whilst others are set on the ‘seaside’ complete with dreamy oceans and sand. Not real sand, of course! Many rooms are trippy mixes of red and gold with upholstery that we guess might have looked respectable to a blind man in the seventies.
These days, it looks as it is. A little tacky. Like the interior of an overdressed brothel on an industrial strip of Berlin.
Hmm…
The beds are firm and foamy with little give.
Most are covered in dark blue polyester sheets and made to look homely with a couple of token pillows and cushions.
The first thing you will notice before getting down to the act is paper towels. Hundreds of them. A seemingly never-ending supply of kitchen roll has been deposited in to each room to assist, we presume, with the clean-up act.
An appreciated gesture, no doubt, but if you’re here for the day… you’ll probably still want to make use of the expansive shower facilities downstairs.
There are also a few VIP suites that provide some extra comfort.
What Does Sex Cost At Artemis?
Well, if you want a day pass at the Artemis Brothel, you must first pay the entrance fee of €90.
Note: Sundays and Mondays are half-price for seniors (and taxi drivers!).
This entrance fee applies both to clients, escorts and anybody who wants to use the facilities.
How much does sex cost at Artemis?
Here’s what you can expect:
- Full sex and room: €70 for 30 mins
- CIM (cum in mouth) extra: €50
- Anal sex extra: €100
So, while it’s possible to enjoy 30 minutes of sex with a Euro beauty for just €70, that quickly rises to €210 if you throw in some anal pleasure and CIM.
On top of the €90 entrance fee.
Payment is in cash directly to the service provider immediately after the session – the house explicitly does not take a cut of these earnings, aside from the entry fees and bar sales.
Overall, the price is pretty reasonable if we look at what the city’s escorts would charge.
It’s roughly on par with what you’d expect to pay at the top brothels in Australia and New Zealand, where prostitution is also legalised and regulated. Albeit nowhere near as cheap as Amsterdam’s ‘factory-line’ service (€50 for 15 mins).
The main difference with Artemis Berlin, and other popular German FKK clubs (as well as Berlin’s many brothels), is that you are paying for an entire day experience as part of admission.
Most punters who frequent Artemis stay for more than one round of sex. They will often stay for several hours.
It is considered the adult entertainment variety of a spa retreat.
You get laid, relax, unwind, grab a drink at the bar, grab some free food (it’s part of the entrance fee), and then cruise the huge facilities for your next catch.
No Women Allowed… Except for Escorts and Staff
Note that if you are female, but not a cleaner, a staff member or an escort, you won’t be allowed to access Artemis Berlin.
While the PC-brigade might scream “Bloody murder!” at this restriction, it’s pretty easy to see why the rule is there.
As per the norm at Germany’s FKK clubs, women are expected to wear nothing. Some might settle for just a pair of heels. But barring the special Lingerie Day on Wednesdays, that’s about it.
Likewise, being a brothel, most of the women are going to face a steady slew of offers for hanky panky. Whether it be oral, full sex, or one of the many special ‘extras’ that men are by no means afraid to ask for having gotten through the preliminary routine of “Hello, what’s your name?”.
Artemis Berlin is a gentlemen’s playground, and if we ignore a few predictable complaints, I think most of us can agree that this is a good thing… for both the men who go there and the women that work there!
Planning Your Visit
So you want to see what all the fuss is about?
Club Artemis is open 361 days a year.
The only days it closes are:
- December 24th
- December 25th
- December 31st
- January 1st
The brothel is open from 11am to 5am all other days, except for December 26th and January 2nd when it opens at 6pm.
Where is Artemis Berlin?
The full address is: Halenseestraße 32-36, 10711 Berlin, Germany (map here)
Have you been to FKK Artemis Berlin? What did you think of the mega-brothel?
Is it worthy of the reputation – or was it a let down compared to some of Germany’s other sauna clubs?
We’d love to hear your experiences and reviews; the good, the bad and the ugly.
Artemis was raided by the police in April 2016. Lots of drug dealing and criminal activity. Stay away.
i was there in September 2016. It is still open and very crowded. I was told by cab driver it is the only decent place in Berlin. There were about 25 all nude girls walking around and I would rate at least 10 girls in the 8/10 range. I was very content with the girls I picked (most of them are 24 years old) with tight everything.
I came back at least 4 other times since then. For 60 Euros, you are only allowed 30 minutes with 1 come (whether sex or oral). If you come, the session is over whether you were in the room for only 10 minutes. The girls tried to make you to extend to extra 30 min or some would agree to anal for extra 100E.
It is fairly easy to access the place via S Bahn which it is above subway line ( Westkreutz exit). It olnly took 20 min from downtown (with one station change). Oe way fare is 2.7 Euros
I would not at all be worried about police raid as it is perfectly legal in Germany. Only the girls would be in trouble if they dont have working permit. I was told some of these girls come from Eastern Europe to work there a few months and go back home so there is always a good rotation of women.