Kettenhofweg 124/124a, Neo-Baroque double rental house in Westend, Frankfurt, Germany.
Kettenhofweg 124/124a is a semi-detached tenement built in 1902 in the neo-Baroque style, with a rich, partly sculpted stone façade and overhanging side risalits. The building is partly original, and its address in Frankfurt's Westend district is a listed monument.
This residential building was constructed in 1902 and later recognized for legal protection under Hessian heritage law due to its architectural significance. The house represents an important example of residential construction during Frankfurt's period of urban growth in the early 1900s.
From 1977 the house was run by Gabor and Ingrid Bartos as an exclusive brothel, with the ground floor as their home and the converted cellar, first and second floors given over to the business. The cellar held a make-up room, a meeting room where prostitutes were presented to clients, a sauna and a locker room. Clients came from business, politics, authorities and the judiciary, and new ones were admitted only on recommendation; Ingrid Bartos issued stationery receipts from her Frankfurt shop so customers could claim the visits as expenses.
The house is easily reached through Frankfurt's public transportation network and sits in a central location within the Westend neighborhood. Visitors can view the exterior architectural features from the street and explore the historic surrounding area on foot.
The house was bought in 1977 by Hungarian businessman Gabor Bartos and his German wife Ingrid, who lived on the ground floor and ran an exclusive brothel in the converted cellar and on the first and second floors. Clients came from business, politics, authorities and the judiciary, and new ones were admitted only on recommendation.
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