ST. PAULI 1965-1985 • GÜNTER ZINT & ENNO KAUFHOLD

One neighborhood: St. Pauli. Two perspectives: that of the participant and the observer. Two photographic approaches: one open, one hidden. Two photographers: Günter Zint and Enno Kaufhold.

Renowned photographer Günter Zint (b. 1941) spent decades in Hamburg, beginning in the 1960s when he set out to document every facet of St. Pauli from within. As a journalist, photographer, and activist, Zint’s life became deeply intertwined with the neighborhood. His vast archive of images draws us into the heart of Hamburg’s most storied district, offering rare glimpses both into everyday life and behind the scenes of the red-light world.

Enno Kaufhold (b. 1944)—freelance photographer, photo historian, journalist, lecturer, and curator—also called Hamburg home from the mid-1960s until the fall of the Wall, when he moved to Berlin. With a hidden camera, Kaufhold roamed St. Pauli’s streets, driven by a desire to capture the district’s reality in the most unfiltered, candid way possible.

Now, Fotogalerie Friedrichshain brings these two distinct yet complementary photographic journeys together in a single exhibition. Rediscover St. Pauli—its history, its people, its conflicted aspects. From the Beatles’ first performances at the Star Club to the intimate world of the Reeperbahn’s brothels, from cinematic street scenes to smoky bar moments, the exhibition moves between light and shadow, documentation and raw beauty—encountering the women and men who shaped this iconic neighborhood.