Detours Gay Travel Blog

Persecution to Pride: The LGBTQ Journey in Germany, Hungary, & The Czech Republic

• Detours
• Apr 1, 2025

What’s the best way to learn about the history of a country? From the lips of those who have lived it. Sometimes leaving the safety of our home feels scary, but the growth that is waiting on the other end is like no other. 💪

Part of traveling means learning about things that may be hard to hear or understand. Now like any traveler who loves a little structured spontaneity, I recommend learning a bit about the history of a place before visiting — especially the queer history. 🌈

Our gay group trip to Central Europe is so special because it includes three of our favorite European capital cities together in one trip: Budapest, Prague, and Berlin! So as your trip leader, I thought I should provide a bit of context on the queer history of three countries: Germany, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. 

These diverse destinations are endless with unforgettable and authentic experiences, but you might be asking yourself, “Are these places gay friendly?” 🤔

While all three countries have differing levels of LGBTQ acceptance, there are vibrant gay communities in each. Detours has run numerous plenty of gay trips to Central Europe over the years and have felt absolutely welcomed in each one. 

But that wasn’t always the case, as I’m sure you already know. History is fraught with heart-wrenching stories about the persecution queer people have faced. But resilience is a trait that makes for a robust human spirit. 😉

Germany

The history of gay rights in Germany, like many countries, had many ups and downs. But before WWII Germany was actually at the forefront of gay rights activism. It even birthed the first ever gay and lesbian world organization — the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee — which was founded in Berlin. 

Berlin was home to the first homosexual movement which echoes throughout the city to this day. It was a refuge for gays between 1900 and 1930. During this era, Berlin had numerous gay clubs, bars, nightclubs, and dancehalls providing the LGBTQ community places to socialize, drink, and watch drag and cabaret performances. 👯‍♀️

In the 1920’s, Berlin was a queer haven with up to 40 queer bars, which doubled by 1925. The people who ran these clubs would use code words to speak directly to the gay community. One word that was used was “mondän” which means worldly, sophisticated.

Berlin in the early 18th century was a vivacious and thriving city for queer folks, but things were about to change.

LGBTQ and the Nazi Era

Like any good story, I think learning the backstory is always helpful when painting a larger picture. Before we move on, I wanted to take a moment to discuss Paragraph 175 because it is paramount to understanding the persecution of gay men during the Nazi era in Germany. 

Paragraph 175, which was a statute in Germany’s criminal code in 1871, criminalized homosexuality between men. To be clear, it wasn’t illegal to be gay, but it was illegal to engage in any homosexual activities with other men. It didn’t apply to sexual acts between women, only men. 

When the Nazi’s took power in 1933, police began targeting Germany’s gay community and shutting down queer businesses including sexual health centers and human rights associations. It was in 1935, a few years after the Nazi’s were in power, that Paragraph 175 was revised. 

The revision of the statute's goal was to target greater numbers of men than previous governments. Because of this statute, over 100,000 gay men were arrested in Germany during the Nazi regime. Even after the war and Nazi regime era, Paragraph 175 stayed. 

However, despite persecution, underground spaces flourished and Berlin became a queer capital. A reputation which survived through the Nazi crackdown and the Cold War. 

The LGBT community in Germany has had a long journey towards equality and recognition. Homosexuality remained illegal until 1968, so queer life was essentially hidden. But now, Berlin is famous for its extremely open culture of unique gay nightlife. Today it is known as one of the most open and tolerant cities in the world.

The Czech Republic

Prague, located in the Czech Republic, is a beautiful city and known as one of Europe’s favorite nightlife cities. It’s famous for its old-world charm, narrow alleyways, and cathedrals. Fun fact: Prague is home to the oldest university in Central Europe. 

Architecture aside, living in the shadow of post-war communist Russia, didn’t invoke a great deal of confidence in queer folks at the time. However, one of the earliest known Czechs to fight for equal rights of sexual minorities was Imrich Matyáš, who began advocating for gay rights in 1919. 

To help his fellow queer folk, Imrich Matyáš created a manual for gay people on how to defend themselves in the criminal justice system. But much like Germany, it wasn’t until the ’60s when homosexuality was decriminalized. 

Prague Today 

While you might not find a “gay epicenter” in Prague, the Vinohrady district is home to a lot of gay clubs and bars full of social opportunities. However on a trip to Prague you’ll find gay bars that have been around for the last 25 years including the Piano Bar. 

It wasn’t until 2006 that the Czech Republic legalized registered partnerships for same-sex couples, which is less than 20 years ago! 🤯 Today, Prague is one of the world’s gay hotspots.

If you’re looking to dig a little deeper into Prague’s gay history, check out the book Queer Prague — A Guide to the LGBT History of the Czech Capital, which offers over 100 different places connected to queer people of Prague’s past.

Hungary 

The next stop on our queer history tour is Hungary, or more specifically Budapest. Like many European countries, homosexuality was criminalized in Hungary in the past. Fun fact: the word “homosexual” was first coined by a Hungarian journalist named Karl Maria Kertbeny, who may have been a homosexual himself, albeit secretly. 

Homosexuality had been criminalized in Hungary since 1878, and in the early 1900’s the Budapest police force created a “homosexual registry” to keep track of gay men. When the communist dictatorship rose to power in 1949, men in the “homosexual registry” were often persecuted. But in 1962 consensual homosexual acts were decriminalized. However, the men whose names were on the registry were often blackmailed by the communist secret service to be informants. 

To be honest, researching LGBT history in Hungary doesn’t provide a ton of search results, same with Czech Republic. Based on the fact that gay men were persecuted in many of these countries during the 19th and 20th centuries (and likely before and after), it doesn’t surprise me that it’s difficult to find information. 

I found a quote from a historian, Anita Kurimay, who authored the book Queer Budapest 1873–1961, and I think she said it best; “Any apparent lack of queer history in Budapest does not arise from an actual absence, but is rather the direct result of intentional and cumulative erasures of the historical record of queer existence.”

By the turn of the century, clandestine queer establishments began to pop up around Budapest providing spaces for queer folk to create communities. Today, Budapest still has a long way to go in comparison to the US or major Western European cities, but you can find several bars, clubs, and parties.

Through the Eyes of the Victor

Traveling to different countries opens your eyes to the histories that have been left out of our history books. How does that Winston Churchill quote go? History is written by the victors. 

However hard learning about the history of marginalized people be it their race, sexuality, religion… it is necessary. 

It’s necessary because it tells our whole story. And how would we know how far we’ve come if we didn’t remember the past? Even the not so good parts. The human spirit is robust. And the persecution of queer men living in these Central European countries is a testament to that resiliency