Freunde des Mauerparks e.V.

Last year, conflicts between local residents and park users were the subject of intensive discussions at the Mauerpark Round Table. A participation process was set up and the Save Mauerpark initiative put forward a range of ideas for workable regulations.

As a result, Pankow borough council introduced new rules for the 2019 Mauerpark season and used multilingual brochures and park rangers to inform people about them throughout the season.

For the 2020 season, structures known as acoustic shells will be introduced as a practical way of dealing with unwanted noise. The shells form a sound barrier that protects local residents (1), while at the same time improving the acoustic experience for the musicians and their audience (2).

Flanagan Lawrence architects are international leaders in this field. Their acoustic shells come in very different shapes and sizes and are already in use in parks and public spaces around the world. Ulrich Schweizer, an engineer and member of Berlin Street Music, has designed a mobile version of the shells for the pilot project in Mauerpark. Pankow’s parks and gardens department and Freunde des Mauerparks e.V. have signed an agreement to implement the pilot project.

The mobile acoustic shells will be erected mostly on Sundays, weather permitting, from May 2020 onwards. Freunde des Mauerparks, together with students from TU Berlin and Pankow’s parks and gardens department, will investigate and document their effectiveness. At the same time, the various user groups will be kept up to speed on developments. It is obviously crucial to ensure that the musicians in the park are onboard with the project and Berlin Street Music will take on the important role of looking after communications with them.

Freunde des Mauerparks e.V. see the acoustic shells as a practical approach to resolving the conflict that will benefit both residents and musicians. In this way, we are continuing to address the needs of all the park’s user groups and fulfil our declared aim to promote constructive cooperation and a culture of tolerance and mutual respect in Mauerpark.

We have one request to everyone who is thinking of coming to the Mauerpark to see in the New Year:

Please spare a thought for the wildlife in the park and celebrate without bangers and rockets. A lot of animals live in the Mauerpark and the noise, smoke and flashes of fireworks are terrifying for them. The park is one of the very few safe places for them to seek refuge in the city. Please don’t destroy that for them.

And think of your fellow human beings too! They are not an appropriate target for home-made rockets or bangers. Have a great party and enjoy yourselves but please do not overestimate your skills in handling the fireworks. Remember they can cause serious injury – to you and others.

Please don’t litter the park. Take your empty packaging, bottles and glasses home with you.

Our motto for 2020 remains the same: Respect for one another and commitment to taking care of this precious open space in our city.

The Friends of the Mauerpark wish you fun on New Year’s Eve and all the best for 2020!

Five photographers, five windows onto the former death strip

25 years after Mauerpark opened, a photo exhibition depicts the new life that has evolved on the site where the Berlin Wall once stood. Gone is the barbed wire and the threat of death; replaced by life and fun – karaoke, street food, artists, street musicians and a flea market.

The common thread connecting the work is the individual way each photographer sees Mauerpark. But not in isolation from the bigger picture and current issues. Who does the park actually belong to, for instance? It calls for a thoughtful, loving, ironic and critical view.

The photographers also document the constant changes the park has had to deal with and how it has responded to engineering work, its popularity with tourists and what local people want from it. The result is a good mix of street photography, urban landscapes, studio photos and documentation that goes beyond the usual clichés.

The exhibition impressively conveys the message that culture needs an open space that embraces diversity and that Mauerpark is a unique privilege for Berlin.

Photographers:
Hartmut Bräunlich
Thomas Henk Henkel
Peter Kagerer
Friederike Kronauer
Alexander Puell

Vernissage: Friday, 8 November 2019 at 7.00 pm
Exhibition: Sunday, 10 November 2019, 10.00 am  – 6.00 pm

Where: Mauersegler, Bernauer Str. 63-64, 13555 Berlin

Powered by Kulturgemeinschaft Mauerpark

Berlin Street Music and Save Mauerpark are hosting the Fête de la Musique in Mauerpark on 21. June:

16:00 Legendary Strawberry Man
17:00 Stephen Paul Taylor
18:00 12Volt
19:00 Beranger

The cultural iniatives actively promote music in Mauerpark. But reducing noise levels for local residents is also important to them, which is why they will be collecting donations for acoustic shells, which absorb sound.

Further information: facebook.com/events/2338730729780413/

Six months after the Kulturgemeinschaft Mauerpark launched the Mauerpark Round Table, the borough’s mayor, Sören Benn (Die Linke party) has announced new park rules:

www.berlin.de/ba-pankow/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen

In numerous arduous discussions at the meetings of the Round Table, residents, musicians, grass roots groups and civil servants had talked about how to reconcile culture in the park with the need of local residents to enjoy some peace and quiet.

SaveMauerpark, a group representing musicians and local residents, made extensive suggestions. It organised a petition, which 8,500 people have signed to date – many of them Berliners and people living near the park.

Over the many months since it formed, the group calling itself the “anti-noise campaign”, which had been set up to represent residents with a grievance, took part in a half-hearted way in the Round Table, repeatedly blocked attempts to find a compromise and even threatened the borough council with lawsuits.

The borough’s mayor has now asserted his authority and come up with some practical and conciliatory solutions for the 2019 season.

The new arrangements about music takes account of both the interests of the local residents and Mauerpark’s importance as a venue for cultural activities and provides a framework to work with for this year. The Freunde des Mauerparks welcome these arrangements and, in conjunction with the Kulturgemeinschaft Mauerpark, will do all they can to support Pankow borough council in implementing them.

At the end of the day, the Mauerpark Round Table was able to bring about much-needed clarification and it will continue to be a platform where all stakeholders can get together to work out practical solutions for any problems that might arise. If everyone is committed to this, solutions can be found even in difficult situations with conflicts of interest.

The Freunde des Mauerparks are relieved that the new rules on street music mean that music (in moderation) can continue in Mauerpark. Mauerpark can continue to develop as a place for making culture and keep its special place in Berlin’s social and cultural landscape.

Karaoke in Mauerpark has been the subject of extensive media coverage recently. The department responsible for environmental matters and nature conservation at Pankow Borough Council is holding a public hearing at which residents who feel disturbed by noise from the park will be able to have their say. Pankow Council will then take a decision on granting permits for the Sunday karaoke.

When: Wednesday, 3 April 2019 from 6.30 to 8.00 pm
Where: BVV-Saal, Haus 7, Fröbelstr. 17, 10405 Berlin

The hearing is open to the public.

For further information (in German) go to:
www.berlin.de/ba-pankow/

Tuesday, 29.01.2019, 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Rathaus Pankow, Breite Strasse 24A-26, 13187 Berlin
in the Grosser Saal

Pankow Council has convened the third meeting of the Mauerpark Round Table on Tuesday 29 January 2019 at 5:30 pm in the Grosser Saal of the Town Hall, Rathaus Pankow, Breite Strasse 24-26, 13187 Berlin.

As agreed at the first two sessions of the Round Table, this meeting will now debate the possibility of updating the existing park regulations, designating functional areas for different uses in the park, and deploying park rangers.

The aim of the third Round Table is to find a sustainable solution that is acceptable to all stakeholders and to define possible ways forward that will enable local residents and the artists using the park to get on well together.

A range of people is expected to attend: representatives of the local council, of civil society, the public administration and business. The Mayor of Pankow, Sören Benn (Die Linke party), will also be there. The meeting has been organised by the newly established Büro für Bürgerbeteiligung (Public Participation Office).

For minutes of the first two meetings, please go to:
www.berlin.de/ba-pankow/

Information on the initiators of the Mauerpark Round Table:
www.mauerparkkultur.de

Appeal by the Freunde des Mauerparks:
www.mauerpark.info/2018/10/culture-in-the-mauerpark

2018 was a turbulent year for the Mauerpark and 2019 will no doubt also have a few surprises in store.

We have just one request to everyone who is thinking of coming to the Mauerpark to see in the New Year:

Please spare a thought for the wildlife in the park and celebrate without bangers and rockets. A lot of animals live in the Mauerpark and the noise, smoke and flashes of fireworks are terrifying for them. The park is one of the very few safe places for them to seek refuge in the city. Please don’t destroy that for them.

And think of your fellow human beings too! They are not an appropriate target for home-made rockets or bangers. Have a great party and enjoy yourselves but please do not overestimate your skills in handling the fireworks. Remember they can cause serious injury – to you and others.

Please don’t litter the park. Take your empty packaging, bottles and glasses home with you.

Our motto for 2019 remains the same: Respect for one another and commitment to taking care of this precious open space in our city.

The Friends of the Mauerpark wish you fun on New Year’s Eve and all the best for 2019!