Oldenburg - Guide for Gays, Lesbians and Queers

Oldenburg's queer scene is compact but firmly established, centred on a handful of reliable places. The queer centre on Ziegelhofstraße is home to Hempels, a pub-café run by the associations Na Und – Queeres Leben in Oldenburg e.V. and TROLSZ with volunteer bar staff. It opens mainly in the evenings, and once a month there is an evening reserved for women and lesbians. Hempels also hosts readings, talks, exhibitions and Sunday cafés, and many groups meet in the building, from the youth group to initiatives for trans* and inter* people.

For party nights, Alhambra on Hermannstraße is the city's fixed address. Rosa Disco, organised by Na Und since the late 1980s, is Oldenburg's largest queer party, while Männerfabrik invites men every third Saturday of the month, many of them in leather and fetish gear. Those looking for something more discreet will find a steam room, a Finnish sauna and private areas at K13 Club Sauna, opposite the main train station; it is also popular with visitors from Bremen and the surrounding region.

Landmarks such as the market square, the Schlossgarten and the Lappan tower shape the wider cityscape without being part of the scene's infrastructure themselves. Proximity to Carl von Ossietzky University brings noticeably youthful energy to the community, while Na Und has organised counselling and networking for people of all ages for many years.

Oldenburg's scene is down to earth and personal: newcomers usually find the quickest way into contacts and events through Hempels, before heading on to Alhambra or K13 Club Sauna on party weekends.