Winterthur – The residents of Bachtelstrasse 39 endured hell on earth for a whole year. But now it's over: At the weekend, the infamous Airbnb block in Veltheim was cleared - and with it the illegal red light business that had set up shop there!
“The moaning was really unbearable,” reports a neighbor who had to live side by side with the improvised brothel for a month. «You heard every detail. And the worst thing: families with children had to listen to it. It was a disgrace!"
No business apartments – there was a brothel here! What started as a harmless Airbnb rental turned into a 24-hour brothel operation. A total of 24 apartments were advertised as “business apartments” – but the only business that flourished here was horizontal trade.
The conditions were chaotic: Prostitutes picked up their clients downstairs at the front door; there was a “constant flow of customers in and out,” as residents report. The sex parties sometimes lasted until 5 a.m. “I had to call the police again and again because of noise pollution,” says the desperate neighbor.
Red light shift: from the brothel to the living room What happened in Winterthur is not an isolated case: The erotic milieu is massively shifting from the classic brothel to private apartments - often without any permission! The Winterthur city police confirm the trend and are carrying out raids more and more frequently.
The advantage for the operators: No brothel permit required, no controls, no paperwork. Simply rent an apartment, put in a few beds - and business can begin. For the residents: pure horror.
Main tenant: “They were just women who liked to have fun” The main tenant, who sublet the 24 apartments, denies everything. “There was never a brothel here,” he claims defiantly. “These were normal tenants, families from abroad or holiday guests. If there were young women as tenants, maybe they were just those who just liked to have fun in life."
Fun in life? The neighbors see it differently. They talk about walls that are noisy, through which you can “even hear the light switch” – and especially the loud sex sessions next door.
Finally peace in Veltheim The decision was made at the weekend: the owner had the block vacated - allegedly because the main tenant was no longer paying the rent. Numerous pillows, bed covers and duvets ended up on the terrace.
“The whole neighborhood is relieved,” says the neighbor. “Everyone is happy that it’s over now. It was simply chaotic conditions – in the middle of a good neighborhood.”
Conclusion: Winterthur breathes a sigh of relief. But the question remains: How many such illegal sex apartments are there in Swiss cities? The police are alerted - and the hunt continues.****
