xhiller   |    Wednesday, der 6. March 2013

Kreuzberger Feuerwache, Berlin, German / Fire Station in Berlin, Germany

Graffiti is so Kreuzberg, that even the fire house is covered with it. Hand painted flames and fire fighters grace the front facade of the fire station in Wiener Strasse. One of our office colleagues thinks the figure here looks like a Berlin version of a kinder and gentler Judge Dredd.

The fire station itself is a modern building. There is graffiti art on all sides – it is a kind of story that starts on the Lausitzer Strasse side with an image of Prometheus giving the gift of fire to humans. The frieze-like tableaux continues with an image of a cave man standing over a campfire. Later the hero fire fighter figures appear, one of them rescuing a woman in a racy outfit, carrying her in his arms from harm’s way. Well, I guess female fire fighters haven’t made it yet to Germany?

Ode to Kreuzberg’s fire fighters.