8 Essential Facts About Public Toilets in Germany
Wo selbst der Kaiser zu Fuß hingeht

One of the first useful phrases any language student should learn is: “Where is the restroom?” in the target language. In German that would be “Wo ist die Toilette?” Of course, in most European languages the English word “restroom” or “loo” is a euphemism for toilet. The British term “loo” comes from the French les lieux d’aisances, “places of conveniences,” like the British “public conveniences” and somewhat similar to the American “restroom” term. Note that a “bathroom” in Europe is a place for bathing (das Badezimmer), with the possible exceptions of el baño in Spanish and il bagno in Italian, both of which can mean (public) toilet. Never ask: “Wo ist das Badezimmer?” – unless you want to take a bath or shower (die Dusche/duschen).

A colorful men’s room at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. PHOTO © Hyde Flippo

It’s not certain when and where the first flush toilet in Germany was installed. The water closet (WC) was invented by a British plumber named George Jennings (1810–1882) – not Thomas Crapper, a later advocate of sanitary plumbing. Jennings’ new invention was first displayed at the Great Exhibition in London’s Hyde Park in 1851. In Germany, a toilet was installed at Ehrenburg Palace in Coburg in 1860 for Queen Victoria, who often visited her relatives there. However, a daughter of the English King George III, the wife of a German landgrave, is said to have installed a flush toilet years earlier (in 1820) at her palace in Bad Homburg, but it disappeared during later renovations. At any rate, WCs did not begin to be common in German cities until the early 1900s. In rural areas they arrived even later.

Now that you know what they’re called, it’s time to learn some basic and helpful information about public toilets in Germany. Here are…

8 ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT PUBLIC TOILETS IN GERMANY

Toilet Fact 1: The restroom will be either downstairs or upstairs.
Rarely will you find a restroom in a restaurant or bar on the ground floor. Almost always you’ll have to take a stairway to get to the toilet downstairs (unten) or upstairs (oben). Train station (pay) WCs tend to be downstairs. Even if the toilet happens to be on the same floor, I have followed “WC” signs in German restaurants that took me on what seemed like a meandering half-kilometer hike! And if you’re disabled, good luck! Elevators for the upstairs or downstairs restroom are rare.

Ohne Worte: The sign says it all without words: Go downstairs to the WC.
PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Toilet Fact 2: You will probably have to pay to use a public toilet in Germany.
Even in train stations and department stores there’s usually an attendant or a coin-operated turnstile. The normal rate is 50 euro cents, but some places charge up to a euro. Airports are the rare exception to the pay-to-pee rule. Some smaller pubs and restaurants even charge patrons to use the facilities, but this is thankfully rare. McDonald’s restrooms sometimes have an attendant who expects a tip, especially in high-traffic areas. Unlike airports, train stations and autobahn rest stops in Germany often have commercial pay toilets that charge a flat rate from 70 euro cents to a euro for entry.

A sign indicating the “Toiletten” are upstairs. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Toilet Fact 3: German toilet stalls tend to be very private, almost hermetically sealed.
Germans find American toilet stalls odd – with side walls that have a foot or more of open space above the floor. Many German toilet stall walls go completely down to the floor, or very close to the floor. I’ve been in German toilet stalls that made me feel claustrophobic, not a normal thing for me at all. You could drop dead in some German toilet enclosures and no one would know for days.

Toilet Fact 4: The toilet attendant
Most public toilets have an attendant. Although I have become accustomed to this particular Germanic casual attitude, many male non-Germans are shocked when they first see a female toilet attendant nearby while they are answering nature’s call. She couldn’t care less. It’s her job after all. Get over it. She just wants to keep the place tidy. And isn’t this really better than having to hold it in while the restroom is closed for cleaning? Females may also see a male attendant in the ladies’ room. The standard amount for the tip tray is 40-50 euro cents, if there’s not a pay turnstile.

Toilet Fact 5: Public sanitary facilities, even in Germany, can be less than sanitary.
With all those toilet attendants collecting “tips,” you’d think that German public restrooms would be the epitome of cleanliness. Not always. I don’t mind (much) paying to pee or poop if the facilities are spotless and odorless. But, while German restrooms tend to be cleaner than those in the US, you will discover smelly exceptions now and then. If that’s the case, feel free to complain and leave a smaller (or no) tip in the tray.

Toilet Fact 6: Damen und Herren versus Unisex
Although unisex restrooms are much more common in Scandinavia, you might find them in Germany as well. Besides the single lockable room type, there’s the larger type with private stalls and a common wash area.

At least you can take the elevator (Aufzug) to reach these shopping center restrooms. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Toilet Fact 7: Two flush buttons.
Most German toilets have two flush buttons, one for number one and another for number two. This reflects the German/European attitude concerning the conservation of water (and saving money). It’s rather obvious, but the larger button is for larger matters, while the smaller button is for smaller matters. If you only left liquid behind, use the smaller button for a shorter flush. Waterless urinals, sometimes also seen in the US, are more often found at autobahn rest stops (Raststätten) and other public restrooms that charge a fee.

Toilet Fact 8: Das Pissoir
Although they are becoming increasingly rare, men will be glad to know that the French pissoir (das Pissoir), a male standing urinal, has not vanished from German-speaking Europe. I have seen (and used) them in Berlin and Bern, Switzerland (see photo below). Americans may be a bit shocked to see the lower pant legs and shoes of men using this facility, although some pissoirs are more enclosed. The first pissoirs appeared in Paris in the 19th century.

This pissoir is located near Albert Einstein’s apartment house in Bern, Switzerland. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

You’ll be glad to know that the so-called squat toilet (das Hocktoilette, eastern-style toilet) – common in southern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia – is not found in Germany. The last one I saw was on a visit to Greece, where a bus station restroom featured a porcelain basin set into the floor. To use it, you squat, do your business, and turn on a faucet to wash whatever you left there down a hole in the floor. There’s nothing to sit on. (Some say it’s healthier for your body because your intestines are better positioned than when you sit.) Fortunately, our Greek hotel had normal, western-style toilets. In Europe (France, Greece, Italy), squat toilets are usually found only in public restrooms. Personally, I do not miss the squat toilet when I’m in Germany.

GERMAN TOILET EUPHEMISMS
German has some clever phrases for the toilet and going to the bathroom (auf die Toilette gehen). Here are a few:

• wo (selbst) der Kaiser zu Fuß hingeht = the place to which (even) the emperor walks
• das stille Örtchen = the quiet little place, the smallest room in the house
• das Null-Null (00) = toilet (dated)
• die Keramikabteilung = china/porcelain department
• der Thron = throne
• die Nase pudern = to powder (my) nose
• mal verschwinden = to disappear for a bit
• Ich muss wohin. = I have to go somewhere. (I gotta go.)

For more about German toilets in general, see Erin’s blog post on the topic.

World Toilet Day
You may or may not know that World Toilet Day (WTD) falls on November 19th. WTD is an official United Nations international observance intended to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis, particularly in those parts of the world where toilets are rare and/or unavailable to much of the population. I mention this only to remind us all that German public toilets are a first-world problem. Even in certain parts of Europe, finding a good toilet, or any toilet, can be much more of a problem than in the German-speaking region. So let’s try to remember that on November 19.

– HF

ON THE WEB – A few public toilet websites

• FreePee.org – Find a free toilet in Germany, Europe, and elsewhere
• Nette Toilette – “Nice Toilet” is a free toilet program active in 210 German cities since 2000.
• Toilette – Wikipedia – in German

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