Draft:Ochsengarten (bar)

The Ochsengarten leather bar in Munich was opened in 1967 and is Germany's second oldest leather bar. It is one of the oldest community spaces of the gay leather scene in Germany.

As a gay leather and fetish bar, the Ochsengarten is known for its high degree of sexual permissiveness. Sex among those present is practiced and accepted relatively openly in the quieter parts of the restaurant (darkroom and glory hole), as is masturbation and the expression of fetishes.

The door policy is no longer quite as strict as it was in the early days. The leather scene and guests in fetish outfits are still welcome. The Ochsengarten positions itself as a bar for jeans, leather, uniform and rubber guys. Only men are admitted.

The bar itself has a long history. As early as 1850, the building owned by a man named Martin Streicher housed a pub with a beer garden. The pub was popular with workers from the local horse and cattle markets, who liked to conduct their sales negotiations over beers. They earned the restaurant its name 'Ochsengarten', which means oxen garden in German.

The building is located in Müllerstraße in the Glockenbachviertel district of Munich, which was a tenement and commercial district with textile fabrics in the 1800s and early 1900s. Numerous brothels were located in and around Müllerstraße. There were also some gay bars in the district.

From 1945, the Ochsengarten was a wine bar and meeting place for prostitutes and their clients.

In 1966, Munich was awarded the 1972 Olympic Games and Munich city center became a restricted area, putting an end to prostitution in the area.

As a result, the former waitress Auguste "Gusti" Wirsing took over the red light bar in 1967 from the previous owner. After homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969 with the reform of Paragraph 175, Wirsing opened Bavaria's first leather bar here. Today, the Ochsengarten is considered Germany's oldest leather bar.

The Ochsengarten gained national and international fame thanks to Freddie Mercury, who was part of the Munich gay scene during his time in Munich from 1979 to 1985. In the past, the media repeatedly reported on prominent guests such as comedian Dirk Bach, actor Georg Uecker and politician Volker Beck. In the series Quantico, the Ochsengarten is mentioned in episode 11 of season 2 'ZRTORCH' when the young recruits are tasked with getting an agent out of Germany.

From 1978, Gusti's employee Fridolin "Fridl" Steinhauser ran the Ochsengarten until he handed it over to Elke Seifert in 2020. After 42 years, Seifert is now a woman behind the bar again. Following the closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the concept will continue unchanged.

Müllerstraße 47: Ochsengarten

In addition to the bars mentioned above, Mercury, who died of Aids, mostly frequented the "Frisco" at Blumenstraße 43 (today "Padres"), in the "Deutsche Eiche" (→ Reichenbachstraße) and in the "Ochsengarten" in Müllerstraße 47, which still exists today.

Müllerstraße 47, which still exists today.

in Munich was opened in 1967 by Augusta Wirsing. The former waitress had taken over the former red light bar from her boss. For more than ten years, "Gusti" ran the "Ochsengarten", which under her the meeting place of the gay

The Ochsengarten played an important role in the formation of the Münchner Löwen Club (Munich Lion’s Club), which was founded in November 1974 under the name Münchner Leder Club (Munich Leather Club) and is one of the oldest and largest gay leather and fetish clubs in Europe.

https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/59-mlc-munich.html

Konzept
Der Ochsengarten ist als schwule Fetischkneipe bis heute für ein hohes Maß an sexueller Freizügigkeit bekannt. Sex unter den Anwesenden wird relativ offen in den beruhigten Teilen des Gastraums (Darkroom und Klappe mit Glory Hole) praktiziert und akzeptiert, ebenso Selbstbefriedigung und die Auslebung von Fetischen.

Die Türpolitik ist nicht mehr ganz so streng wie in den Anfängen. Die Lederszene sowie Gäste in Fetischoutfits sind nach wie vor gern gesehen. Der Ochsengarten positioniert sich als Bar für Jeans-, Leder-, Uniform- und Gummi-Kerle. Nach wie vor haben nur Männer Zutritt. Ausnahme ist der Donnerstag. Hier ist der Ochsengarten Treffpunkt für Münchens ältesten BDSM-Stammtisch „Stammtisch FreieSMünchen“ und deshalb auch für Frauen geöffnet.

In der Community gilt der Ochsengarten durch die Öffnungszeiten als Anlaufstelle für die Party nach der Party.

Weiterführende Informationen

 * Das Sub – Schwules Kommunikations- und Kulturzentrum München e.V. stellt die kostenfreien Kondome zur Verfügung, die an der Bar ausgegeben werden.
 * In der US-Serie Quantico wird der Ochsengarten in Staffel 2 / Episode 11 (Schmutzige Hände (Original: ZRTORCH)) genannt, als die jungen Rekruten den Auftrag haben, einen Agenten aus Deutschland herauszuholen.

Siehe auch

 * Portal:Homo- und Bisexualität
 * Portal:BDSM und Fetisch

Weblinks

 * Website der Gaststätte
 * Geschichte der Lesben und Schulen in München
 * gayze – Queere Orte in München - Ochsengarten
 * Forum Queeres Archiv München