Pascha

Before the venue opened, Cologne's sex workers were based primarily in the Kleine Brinkgasse in the city centre, causing ongoing friction with residents and businesses. To concentrate and regulate the trade, the city council commissioned a licensed operator to build a high-rise with numerous small private rooms on municipal land. An appeal by the women to retain their right to work in the centre was rejected by the Higher Administrative Court. Initially unnamed and trading as the "Eros-Center", not until 1995 — after a foreclosure and rebranding to "Pascha" — did visitor numbers recover.

Forced to close for five months during the COVID-19 pandemic and with reserves exhausted, the operators filed for insolvency in September 2020; final closure followed in January 2021, with around 60 staff made redundant. Chinese businesswoman Jing Hu subsequently acquired the property and brand rights for €11 million, and after renovation the brothel reopened on 14 November 2021 under operator André Wienstroth. In August 2024 the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office seized the building as a precautionary measure in connection with a luxury people-smuggling investigation; day-to-day operations were unaffected.

Before the insolvency, the building housed a restaurant, beauty centre, boutique, laundrette, tanning studio and bistros, and published its own in-house newspaper — complete with a money-back guarantee for dissatisfied customers. The seventh floor was reserved for transgender sex workers. Following the 2021 renovation, the current offering comprises the walk-in brothel, a nightclub and Hotel P9 on the ninth floor with views across the city. Venues under the same name were also operated in Linz, Munich, Salzburg and Graz.

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a large banner displaying the flags of all 32 participating nations was hung on the façade. Because the flags of Saudi Arabia and Iran feature Islamic declarations of faith, Muslim groups complained to management and both flags were subsequently blacked out. In 2007 the queer Sommerblut Festival was scheduled to open at the Pascha; following protests, the opening event was moved to a different venue.