  The integer quantum Hall effect (QHE) is one of the most basic and, at the
same time, astonishing phenomena in condensed matter physics. Despite its
importance for metrology and fundamental physics, our microscopic understanding
of the QHE is not yet complete. For decades, there has been a discussion about
the current distribution inside a Hall bar for the case of a quantized Hall
resistance. With the advent of quantum technology, the questions, if the
current flows in compressible Landauer-B\"uttiker edge channels or in
incompressible strips with varying geometry and whether the current flow is
chiral or not, gain importance, because the quantum phase of each charge
carrier depends on its exact pathway. In the present work, we compare
multi-terminal current measurements in the regime of the QHE with model
calculations in order to unravel the current density distribution in a Hall-bar
device. We find, that the conjecture of chirality is justified for the plateaus
of quantized Hall resistance, while in between plateaus the current density
looses its chirality. The latter is described by the Drude model, which
predicts a homogeneous current density for a sample with homogeneous mobility
and carrier density.
