Crime tour of Hamburg's St. Pauli — murder sites and criminal history
The St. Pauli Crime Tour has been guiding visitors through Hamburg's most notorious entertainment district for years, taking in real crime scenes spanning more than a century of criminal history. The tour is organised by the St. Pauli Office at Wohlwillstraße 1, 20359 Hamburg, which also serves as the meeting point. It lasts two hours, is conducted in German, and can be booked on set dates or as a private group or corporate event for up to 18 participants. One confirmed public date, for example, is 23 October 2026.
A neighbourhood with a dark history
The Reeperbahn is known the world over as Hamburg's entertainment strip — but behind its colourful façade of neon signs, bars and theatres lies a past defined by violence, gambling, drugs, prostitution, international Mafia connections reaching as far as the United States, and ruthless property sharks. The crime tour brings exactly these darker sides into focus. Participants move not only through the district's main streets but also through the narrow, often overlooked side streets where many of the documented crimes took place.
Fritz Honka and the victims of St. Pauli
One central element of the tour is the case of Fritz Honka. The serial killer deliberately targeted victims in St. Pauli's bars and is considered one of the most notorious criminal cases in Hamburg's post-war history. The tour visits the locations where Honka approached his victims and places his crimes in the social context of neighbourhood life at the time. What makes the case so disturbing to this day is how long his crimes went undetected — in the middle of one of Germany's most densely populated urban districts.
The pimp wars of the 1980s
Another focal point is the bloody pimp wars of the 1980s, when rival gangs fought for influence, territory and revenue from the red-light trade. The tour includes exclusive access to the legendary Ritze, including its famous boxing cellar — a venue that became known not only as a boxing gym but also as the scene of real murders and as the regular gathering place of the so-called GmbH, an association of influential pimps. Here it becomes tangible just how tightly sport, hospitality and organised crime were intertwined in St. Pauli.
A forgotten female serial killer
Less well known, but no less disturbing, is the case of a female serial killer who was active in St. Pauli around 120 years ago. Her crimes were suppressed for decades and remain largely unknown even to many Hamburg residents today. The crime tour visits the actual crime scenes and brings this nearly forgotten episode of Hamburg's criminal history back into public consciousness. In doing so, the tour demonstrates that St. Pauli's dark side stretches back far further than the headlines of the twentieth century might suggest.
Practical information
The tour lasts exactly two hours and takes place in German. The meeting point is the St. Pauli Office at Wohlwillstraße 1. Specific prices are not consistently published; for individual bookings, group rates or corporate events, direct contact with the organiser is recommended. Bookings and further information are available through several official channels, including Hamburg Travel, the St. Pauli Office website and hamburg.de. Tickets for individual public dates can also be purchased through platforms such as rausgegangen.de.
What visitors should bring
As the tour covers the district entirely on foot, comfortable shoes and weather-appropriate clothing are advisable. The guided walk through dark side streets, former crime scenes and dimly lit bars is best suited to adults with a genuine interest in criminal history and its social context — not to thrill-seekers drawn by sensationalism. Those who commit to the tour will experience a side of St. Pauli that goes far beyond the usual Reeperbahn folklore: a measured, historically grounded engagement with crimes that have shaped the neighbourhood for more than a century.
For true crime enthusiasts visiting Hamburg, this tour ranks among the most authentic ways to trace the criminal history of a major German city at the very locations where it unfolded — led by experts who have been documenting the district and its stories for decades.
