User:PiertotumLocomotorHP/Ballermann 6

Ballermann 6 (since Feburary 2017: Beach Club Six) is a beach bar in Palma, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is located in the district of Ses Cadenes in S'Arenal, Palma.

Name

The name "Ballermann" is a malapropism of the word Balneario, which is Spanish for "health spa". The German word Ballermann is a commonly used, colloquial term for a firearm. Ballern is German and can either mean shooting with a gun or drinking large amounts of alcohol. Over many years, a subculture developed under the term Ballermann. Today, terms such as Ballermann music, Ballermann parties and Ballermann artists are not exclusively related to Mallorca anymore, but also to a genre of music and events. In 1994, a married couple from Lower Saxony, Germany got the copyright of the word brand Ballermann. Their right of holding the licence expires in 2027. If people use the word Ballermann without holding a licence, the couple reacts with warnings. Thus, when the Austrian singer and entertainer Lorenzo Büffel used the word Ballermann in a hashtag in March 2021, he was given such a warning. In Feburary 2017, the beach bar Ballermann 6 was renamed into Beach Club Six.

Description

The beach bar, at which particularly German tourists gather, consists of a small steel house equipped with a counter, beer pumps, toilets and a storage room. In front of that, there is a separate terrace with seating and umbrellas. The whole terrace is spanned by a semi-translucent steel construction between two light poles, which makes shadows in the day and lets in light during the night. In a stretch of about four kilometers there is an almost identical beach bar every 270 meters, 15 in total (Balneario nº 1 to Balneario Nº 15 - the count is done from South East to North West). The Balneario Nº 6 (Ballermann 6) in particular has received its reputation through mass tourism from Germany. German and European media have often reported on the scenes at Ballermann 6. German beer and Spanish sangría are particular drinks of choice there; the latter used to be served in plastic buckets with extra long drinking straws. This was known colloquially as ‘Eimersaufen‘ (getting bucket drunk). A few years ago, the Mallorcan government made the sale of alcoholic beverages in buckets illegal. The term Ballermann is, for some, a synonym for a certain party mentality or heavy drinking. This was portrayed in the 1997 comedy Ballermann 6.

Myths and stereotypes of Ballermann 6

The myth of Ballermann is seen as both a cliché or stereotype. The typical Ballermann ambience is created through a sound system that plays compilations of Ballermann hits - a mix of popular folk music, Eurodance and ‘Kirmestechno’, sung predominantly in German, which concern topics such as sex, alcohol consumption and local events - holidays, sun, the beach and Ballermann itself. These songs are played through outdoor loudspeakers during the opening hours at the beach bars, but they can also be heard in other restaurants. This kind of music is the expression of a sense of life which also appears in the form of public or private “Ballermann-parties”. There are comparable parties at the carnival in cologne, at the Oktoberfest in Munich and at après-ski-parties, too, for example in Ischgl in Austria. Among others, Jürgen Drews, Mickie Krause, Markus Becker, Dieter Thomas Kuhn, Michael Wendler and Tim Toupet are or were said to be stars of that scene. Cologne’s carnival groups Paveier and Höhner are popular as well – even when it is not carnival season.

Excessive party culture and drinking tourism

In general the term Ballermann refers to forms of excessive party culture and the segment of the drinking and party tourism, also beyond Mallorca, for example in Bulgaria. There, corresponding bars can be found at the golden beach and at the sunny beach. The beaches become more and more popular with adolescents due to the comparably cheap prices for beverages. As wished by the local gastronomies, these party miles are referred to as the Ballerman on the Balkans. Also in Berlin-Friedrichshain the Ballermann tourism is said to be increasing.

Reactions on the image and on the impairments for the local population

After the soccer world cup 2006, the government of the Balearic Islands determined an already existing limitation for the music outside to 64dB. The bars on the Platja de Palma have to completely turn off the music outside, which means a great loss of the “Ballermann mood” for a lot of tourists. The sound limitation concerns the whole island of Mallorca. Volume limitation on the music systems and double doors for the reduction of the outside sound are obligatory in all bars on the island that are open at night. The bars in Balneario themselves are closed from about 2am to 11am. In 1998, the German sign with the inscription „Ballermann 6”, which was still to be seen in the film of the same name, has already been removed. In the same year, there were demonstrations by restaurateurs against the planned implementation of an earlier closing time. In 2013, a ban on alcohol was in force for the first time at Ballermann, in order to give a better image during the high season. Between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., a police alcohol patrol was on the road from Ballermann 6 to Ballermann 4. The ban on alcohol was in force from June 28, 2013 until September 1, 2013 inclusive. In 2014, the city council of Palma decided with the “enforcement for civilized coexistence” on a catalog of prohibitions, in order to provide more order and cleanness at the Ballermann.

Covid-19 pandemic

After the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, pubs, restaurants, and other places for nighttime entertainment were closed throughout Europe. In Spain, 30.000 died in association with COVID-19 by mid-2020. After an extensive lockdown in Spain (including the Spanish islands), tourism has been allowed again since June 2020. In July, there were nighttime drinking bouts again at the Ballermann and in adjacent streets, where the participants violated distance and hygiene rules. This attracted attention throughout Europe – also because of the après-ski parties in Ischgl in early 2020, which had been a hotspot from which returning tourists carried SARS-CoV-2 to their home countries. German foreign minister Heiko Maas (SPD) called the behavior dangerous and “inconsiderate towards everyone who wants to spend their vacation in safety”. The regional government of Mallorca closed all bars and party centers (in addition to the Bier- and Schinkenstraße also Punta Ballena in the British stronghold Magaluf for two months) in mid-July.

Trivia

In 1974, the band “Grobschnitt” released an album entitled “Ballermann”.

Famous songs about Ballermann

• Ballermann – Wolfgang Petry
• Mein Herz schlägt für den Ballermann – Andy Bar
• Wir lieben den Ballermann – Lorenz Büffel, Papis Pumpels
• Wir sind der Ballermann – Ikke Hüftgold, Mia Julia
• Ballermann – 187 Strassenbande, Gzuz, Bonez MC
• Abriss Ballermann – Jöli
• Ba Ba Ballermann – Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung