Tucked away on an industrial estate in Stuttgart is The Paradise Club, or so its owners would say. But this is no ordinary haven. Instead, it’s the largest brothel in Germany and has around 150 girls working there, as well as chefs, bartenders and management staff and other employees. Not only is Paradise entirely legal, it is a serious money maker for owner Jurgen Rudloff, thanks to the 50,000 men who visit each year.

“I get a kick out of it every day I come in,’ he explains. ‘I compare myself to the owner of a hotel who has created a beautiful atmosphere, who does business entirely within the law.”

His business was made possible because of legislation enacted 12 years ago that not only made prostitution and paying for sex legal, but brothels as well. As a result, the German sex industry has exploded and is now worth an estimated 20 billion a year. It has also seen an explosion in the number of brothels, with an estimated 400,000 women now working in them to service the one million German men who visit them each day.

‘It really is a paradise because you have so many beautiful girls to chose from, I know those girls, and I am convinced about the quality of those girls,’ explains Wolfgang, a regular visitor to the Stuttgart club.