The story
Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg
Reeperbahn Festival, founded in 2006 and modelled on Austin's South by Southwest, turns Hamburg's St Pauli nightlife district into a multi-day music showcase using its existing clubs, including venues where the Beatles played residencies in 1960, as festival stages. Held each September, it is generally described as Europe's largest club festival, combining live music across genres with an industry conference programme.
Rope makers, or Reepschlager, worked the long, straight street that became known as the Reeperbahn from 1626 onward, twisting hemp into ship's rigging for a growing port city, centuries before the street became known internationally for nightlife.