The questionable choice of artworks include raunchy tableaux and a regal portrait of Kaiser Bill. Photo / Supplied
The questionable choice of artworks include raunchy tableaux and a regal portrait of Kaiser Bill. Photo / Supplied
Underneath a popular tourist area lies a bizarre new club for the mega-rich that remains shrouded in mystery, writes Kate Schneider for news.com.au
Hidden a few metres underneath what at first glance appears to be an average carpark in Germany lies a very strange sight. A place where"normal people" wouldn't dare venture.
Few have set foot inside the newly opened Munich Contenance Club, a place so secretive that its exact location is shrouded in mystery. What is known is that it can be found somewhere behind Theresienwiese Square, where millions gather for Oktoberfest celebrations annually.
With membership costing up to $1.6 million per year for the top VIP treatment including flights on a private jet from anywhere in Europe, the extravagant basement vault is only for the mega-rich. And definitely not for women — unless they are there to serve the men. Even then, there are strict requirements as to who is hired, forget about it if you're not "sexy".
The club's exclusively male guests gather in a bizarrely garish grotto beneath Munich. Photo/ Supplied
When it opened last month the club became the centre of controversy, being labelled a "noble brothel" and a "misogynistic macho club", according to the local website Abendzeitung. But claims it's a sex club have been refuted by the owners, who have remained anonymous in the media apart from developer Walter Dietrich.
Following the hype, Vice became curious, tracking the club down and managing to get a look inside. What they found was gobsmacking in its absurdity and extravagance. We're talking massive chandeliers, raunchy drawings of foursomes, gold-coloured sofas, crowns and statues. It's a lavish and brash haven, the tackiness is pervasive.
The owner, a 63-year-old who wished to be known only as Michael, gave Vice an intriguing insight into how the business operates.
"Normal people," Michael says, simply aren't welcome. "They complain too much. I don't want anyone in here who just sits in the corner all night drinking Coke and looking sour."
When it comes to the women, there are strict hiring requirements; they must weigh less than 59 kilograms, be under 35 and taller than 1.75 metres. Oh, and be single.
Ultimately, Michael says, "the women here just need to be elegant ... and sexy".
And there's a rule that the women are only allowed to talk if they're spoken to first.
Michael continued to share his shock at having a model turn down a job at the club, surely every woman just wants to find a rich man and the club is the perfect place for that, right?
"She didn't want to work for $250 a night ... Ninety per cent of women prostitute themselves in one way or another," he said.
Say what?
Gobsmacking absurdity: there is no Oktoberfest beer to be seen in the Contenance Club. Photo / Supplied
Of course, the menu is over-the-top with oysters, Kobe beef (beef that's "caressed all day and tastes insane"), lots of champagne and caviar.
"I've had so much of it — I can't eat the stuff anymore," poor Michael complained of the caviar.
While his lips are sealed about how many members the club has, he says he's receiving about two requests per day.
While the annual membership fee varies, the true VIP treatment will cost you $1.6 million.
