Ampelmen lamps (Tamala Malerk)

As I was meandering around the great capital city of Berlin, I couldn’t help but notice that the traffic lights at crosswalks were different than other ones I had seen in Europe and Germany. The man inside the lights donned a distinctive brimmed hat. I didn’t really think too much about it until I was taking a walking tour, and the traffic light man was brought up again; turns out he has a name, Ampelmann. Not only that, but he comes with a fascinating story as well.

In 1963, Ampelmann was created by Karl Peglau in East Berlin as a response to the high auto traffic accident rate. The little traffic light man was designed “fat and cute” so that he would be clear to all, especially children and those with visual impairments. He was so fat and cute that the installation of the new traffic lights was delayed because the new shape could not fit the existing traffic lights.

Ampelmann sign (Tamala Malerk)

Ampelmann was so popular, he went on to become a television star in 1982. The Ampelmen helped to teach road safety in several videos. You can watch one of them here on YouTube.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Ampelmann was in danger. There was an effort to essentially eradicate remnants of “East Germany” and, unfortunately, Ampelmann fell under that distinction. Not all hope was lost, though. While he was removed from the traffic lights initially, in 1997, a committee came together to create the “Rettet die Ampelmännchen” (Save the Ampelmen) campaign. Thanks to the campaign, now, not only do the Ampelmenn tell you when to walk in former-East Berlin, but all over Berlin.

Green Ampelmann on sidewalk (Tamala Malerk)

Today, not only does Ampelmann guide you all over Berlin, but you can also take an Ampelmann home yourself. You can purchase Ampelmann products at their awesome store. You can also learn about different places and trends in Berlin from his YouTube video series, led by #teamampelmann (and these videos even have English subtitles). Watch them here.