Cologne's playground scandal: Capital of the crazy” in focus!

Cologne's playground scandal: Capital of the crazy” in focus!

In Cologne, the planned renaming of the playgrounds is causing a lot of conversation, and cult comedian Guido Cantz hits the nail on the head when he describes the city as the “capital of the crazy”. This clever expression seems to delight many people in Cologne and is even seen as an honor by some. The city administration plans to replace the word “playground” with “play and activity areas” in order to reflect the idea of ​​inclusion and to provide space for future cross-generational activities. But many citizens are asking themselves the question: Is this really necessary, or are we experiencing a real summer slump here? This is reported by ksta.de.

The background to this discussion goes back to a decision by the Youth Welfare Committee almost two years ago. The aim was to avoid the old term suggesting that playgrounds could only be used by children and not young people. “There’s something going on,” you might say. There is also a controversial debate about the connection between playgrounds and youth activities. One wonders whether the new signage is even necessary, especially since the signs for over 700 areas have not even been ordered yet.

Political reactions

Henriette Reker, the current mayor, has distanced herself from the new plans and considers the term “playground” to be clear and understandable. “We don’t want to confuse it with the carnival parade, do we?” Cantz mocked in one of his appearances. The city council will decide on the plans on September 4th and it remains exciting to see whether the sign replacement actually goes through. The future signs should then bear the signature “The Mayor” or “The Mayor” if the terms are finally changed.

In the meantime, there are also other topics related to Cologne's parks, such as the Gleueler Wiese, which could be protected as a biotope for its diversity of species, or the Decksteiner Weiher, which is considered the most beautiful water playground in the city. Perhaps this is a better place to preserve nature and its biodiversity instead of debating new signs. This could also refute the ideas of Becker and Stankowski, who published a book called “Biotope für Crazy”.

Whatever the decision, the people of Cologne have plenty to talk about - and perhaps they have to get used to the new names while still wanting to hold on to the humorous side of their city. Who knows, maybe one or two Cologne residents will become writers, like Becker and Stankowski, to give a stage to further adventures in the “biotope for crazy people”. It's just a shame that the diversity of people and their backgrounds cannot be covered by a new sign exchange.

For those interested in the details, tag24.de offers comprehensive insights into the reviews and what happened during spiegel.de followed the developments closely. Cologne and its citizens are definitely ready for the next round of this curious and entertaining debate!