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The proliferation of sex and erotic museums in Europe far outnumbers the ones in the United States of America. What is it about European culture that enables (at least) nine sex and erotic museums to exist there, while the USA can only muster three (and one of those started by a European at that)? With thriving sex museums in Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam (2), Paris, Barcelona, London, Copenhagen, and Saint Petersburg, the European attitude seems less hysterical about public displays of all things erotic. Are Europeans really so much more liberal than Americans? Who knows? You'll have to visit Europe to see for yourself. I've covered the erotic museums in Barcelona and Paris in previous Eros columns, so for your edification, here are the remaining ones in Europe. Amsterdam
But before we talk about Amsterdam's sex museums, let's clear up a misperception about the Dutch that permeates American thought. It's widely believed the Dutch are extremely liberal people--after all they have a world famous red light district in Amsterdam, and marijuana available in coffee shops, right? The reality is that most Netherlanders do not openly support these activities-they're actually a very conservative lot. It's more like they put up with the prostitution and marijuana. As long as the red light district does not affect them personally, they'll tolerate it. And it brings in a lot of tourist $$. The Sex Museum (aka The Temple of Venus) The Sex Museum, (on Damrak) has been around since 1985, attracting half a million visitors each year. It displays the standard erotic cultural artifacts such as art, other unique sexual objects, photographs, china, plates, figurines, lingerie, and much more, mainly from the 18th and 19th centuries. Multimedia effects heighten the attraction park atmosphere. A sculpture of Venus greets you at the entrance, while nearby, a Marilyn Monroe model, skirt blown aloft by compressed air, shows her wares. Rooms named Mata Hari, Marquis de Sade, Rudolf Valentino, Oscar Wilde, etc, attempt to portray the namesake's sexual proclivities through piped-in music from ceiling mounted speakers. Sounds of women's screams of joy emerge from a speaker in the ceiling in the Marquis de Sade Room. Interspersed through the museum among the educational exhibits, ritual objects, and decorative art, are dioramas with moving models such as a couple copulating behind a screen. Despite this, one critic describes the museum as "avoiding the bluntness of pornography" by bringing the artifacts together in an organized and interesting way on the museum's three floors. Fair enough. Check out the website. Nice music and a virtual tour of the museum. Homepage: www.sexmuseumamsterdam.nl Amsterdam Erotic Museum (Red Light District) A neon sign proclaims "Erotic Museum" above the entrance to this old 17th century canal warehouse. Higher up on the façade the words "Gid is mijn Burgh" (God is my Castle) are engraved into an old stone plaque, providing the interesting sort of juxtaposition that you'll see all over Amsterdam, where the old and new collide. An interesting collection of erotic art, historical and cultural objects from around the world range from a clockwork vibrator to erotic drawings by John Lennon given to Yoko Ono. Photographs, paintings, postcards, books and S & M objects are also displayed in the five floors of this museum. A surreal little theater with mushroom-shaped chairs shows a pornographic animated cartoon of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves that would make uncle Walt turn in his grave. Well, let's face it -- it was only a matter of time before someone produced a porno film about them. There's a life like display about the Red Light District for those who aren't ready for the real thing; little neon signed booths with prostitutes beckoning you, just around the corner. On the museum's higher levels dioramas portray S & M scenes, while pornographic films play in small open booths. Homepage: www.janot.com Berlin: Beate Uhse Erotik-Museum
You'll see carved Indonesian phalli, 18th and 19th century silk sex paintings, 19th century Chinese brothel tokens, 20th century erotic Chinese porcelain, African fertility masks, and 2,000 year-old Peruvian drinking vessels. The myriad items in the collection continues with Japanese Shunga art sporting oversized genitalia by Utamaro, Weimar era pornographic cartoons, sculptures, sexual accessories, Balinese carved phalli, life size fetish dioramas, snuff bottles, and erotic silent films and cartoons. There's a sex superstore on the first floor and coffee bar. Homepage: www.erotikmuseum.de (In German only) Hamburg: Erotic Art Museum
Over 100,000 curious tourists and locals visit this museum every year to view the impressive collection of 1,800 original artworks. Presented in tasteful galleries with bare wooden floors, exposed beams and red brick walls are 18th century French erotic prints, lithographs, photographs, woodcarvings, and Japanese woodcut prints. Reviews of this museum have high acclaim for its tasteful and artistic displays. A well-stocked souvenir and bookshop will lighten your wallet and add weight to your luggage. Homepage: www.eroticartmuseum.de (In German only) Copenhagen: Museum Erotica Described by one critic as "The Louvre of Sex Museums", Copenhagen's Museum Erotica is located just off Stroget, Copenhagen's busiest shopping street. Opened in 1994 by Danish filmmaker and photographer Ole Ege, its noble mission statement is to "Illustrate the history of erotic expression". It can't be too bad-over one million visitors of all ages tromp through its galleries each year, 50% of them women.
The gallery on the sex lives of famous Danes and others describes Hans Christian Andersen's kink. Nevertheless, it's possible to bring younger people (over 16) here; because of it's blending of sensual art, and its clinical examination of mainstream attitudes towards sex. There are a lot of explanations about the significance and meaning behind the artwork--even a guided tour for those who need the erotica explained to them. Check out the great website. Read some charming little stories about the exhibits, while you listen to a piano concerto. Homepage: www.museumerotic.dk London: Amora Sex Theme Park London has finally jumped on the Erotic Museum bandwagon, but with a distinct educational twist. That's an understatement--it's revolutionary compared to the other erotic museums described above. Read on . . . the 7 million pound Academy of Sex and Relationships at the Trocadero in Piccadilly (where else would you expect to find this but near the statue of Eros, the Greek god of love?) only opened last September. It's also large-10,500 square feet. This theme park expects 600,000 visitors within its first year. With an entry age of 18 years and a hefty 15 pounds admission fee it had better be good. You can touch life sized silicone models to discover their erogenous zones and explore sexual anatomy, (bonus points for finding the G-Spot). You can also build your ideal partner from body parts. There's even instructions on how to kiss and talk more sexily. These interactive fun and games sound like more fun than listening to Dr Ruth or reading Cosmopolitan Magazine, and at 15 English pounds is a lot cheaper than therapy, even when you throw in the transatlantic flight. Divided into seven zones including Pleasure, Orgasm, Love and Relationships, and Unsafe Sex, the Sex Theme Park's admirable goal is to "separate fact from myth and educate everyone into being better lovers". The Orgasm Tunnel lets you walk though a giant climaxing vagina. You can admire a wall of plaster cast penises. And of course a boutique where you can buy the finest dildos and other objects d'amour. The director of exhibits, Dr Sarah Brewer claims that "The academy does push your boundaries back and whatever your prowess when you come in we will give you all the information you need to become a fantastic lover". St. Petersburg: Museum of Erotica This small museum is located in the St. Petersburg Russian Academy of Natural Sciences Prostate Research Center (honest!). To see the collection you either have to be a patient or buy a souvenir. These souvenirs include books on the history of St. Petersburg prostitutes, and a DVD with Russian sex lessons. As you amble along among the sculptures, paintings, and love swings, you'll pass by patients waiting to see doctors, while nurses in short white dresses and high heels go in and out of examinations rooms. Patients have even been known to donate objects for the displays. Started in 2004, the museum's biggest claim to fame is Grigory Rasputin's 28.5-centimeter (11 inch) long penis. Now the Russians can stop the (penis) envy of the USA where Napoleon's phallus is on display. And the mad monk's pickled organ is much bigger. So big in fact, that some western visitors say it's a desiccated sea cucumber. Rasputin was renown for his control over Tsar Nicholas II's court and his strange mixture of Christian and sexual practices, that he apparently consummated with a large number of noble women and even the empress. Director Knyazkin purchased the penis from a French antiquitarian for 8,000 dollars, along with several of Rasputin's handwritten letters. There are 1,000 other erotic items such as toys, statues, figurines, bawdy drawings, paintings, sculptures, love swings, and a café with erotically shaped dishes and high potency cocktails. Ironically the museum's founder is Igor Knyazkin, chief of the prostate research center in St. Petersburg of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. Homepage: www.prostata.ru/souvenir/index.html (Sorry, Russian only, but this website does give you an idea of the souvenirs available. If you surf around the website you'll see a photo of a doctor sitting at his office desk with an erotic painting of a naked woman, hanging on the wall above him). Spaceba. To view some photographs reputed to be of Rasputin's penis, go to www.suprmchaos.com/bcEnt-RasputinPenis.html More Sex Museums Also worthy of mention are the Museum of Erotica, Stockholm; the Museum of Porn in Art, Lausanne, Switzerland; Erotic Art, Dresden; and the Sex Machines Museum, Prague. These then, are the remaining erotic museums in Europe. Most exhibit cultural artifacts from around the world, but vary in their overall atmosphere and themes. Some attempt to merge art and culture with eroticism, creating a classy blend that sidesteps pornography; others fall short.
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