Dresden has established its tenth legal graffiti site as city officials acknowledge they are falling behind in removing illegal graffiti that causes enormous damage throughout the city each year. The new location, situated at the Industriegelände S-Bahn station, allows artists to legally spray paint on the bridge wall along Königsbrücker Street over the railway tracks, accessible only from the parking lot below the streetcar stop of the same name.
André Barth, district office manager for Neustadt, worked with Dresden Neustadt mobile youth services to identify the suitable location. "The wall is already being used for this purpose anyway, so we thought, why don't we make it legal," Barth explained. The approval process took 14 months, requiring coordination with the Parks and Environment Office and extensive negotiations with Deutsche Bahn railway company. "Everyone is informed, everyone has agreed," Barth confirmed.
The site offers several advantages for graffiti artists, according to Barth. The location is easily accessible by train yet remains somewhat secluded, which artists prefer since there's no commercial pressure and they don't have to perform in public view. The area has minimal conflict potential due to the scarcity of nearby residents. Deutsche Bahn insisted on barriers to separate their property, which have been installed. This represents the largest continuous wall surface among Dresden's legal graffiti areas.
Dresden's legal graffiti spaces began in 2000 with approximately 500 square meters at the youth playground on Karl-Laux-Straße, 120 square meters at the Game youth center on Gamigstraße, 50 square meters at Scheune in Neustadt (currently unavailable), and about 700 square meters in the flood channel in Pieschen. A small area was added in 2014 at Tolkewitz skate park on Marienberger Straße, followed by the Puschkinplatz graffiti park in 2015, which was the most expensive at approximately 60,000 euros. The Klotzsche skate park site on Binzer Weg was established in 2023.
More recent additions include areas created in 2024 at Alaunpark in Neustadt, covering about 100 square meters at a cost of 45,000 euros. This year saw the completion of the Spike association site on Otto-Dix-Ring for around 25,500 euros. The new Industriegelände location cost the city only 80 euros for traffic safety measures. "It's also crime prevention, offering spaces for experimentation," Barth emphasized.
First Mayor Jan Donhauser, responsible for crime prevention, noted that legal surfaces are relatively inexpensive to maintain. The sites are supervised and maintained by property owners and Dresden associations that offer graffiti workshops at the legal locations. Spray can disposal containers are installed at nearly every legal site except Klotzsche skate park, with city sanitation services handling emptying at an annual cost of 20,000 to 25,000 euros, covered by Dresden's Municipal Prevention Council.
The financial impact of illegal graffiti on the city is substantial. While damage to private buildings cannot be quantified, Dresden allocates 300,000 euros annually for graffiti removal from city buildings and surfaces, plus prevention measures. Only 67,000 euros had been used by this year's reporting date. However, Donhauser revealed that three million euros per year would actually be needed for removal. "We are only making slow progress in removing illegal graffiti. This is very unsatisfactory and has many causes," he stated.
To address these challenges, Donhauser announced plans to convene relevant city administration offices and Dresden sanitation services in September to discuss becoming more effective. The city is also testing laser technology for graffiti removal and considering whether sanitation services should purchase such equipment.
Looking forward, Donhauser identified the districts of Plauen, Cotta, and Altstadt as needing additional legal graffiti sites, though no timeline has been established for their realization. The new Industriegelände site operates under specific rules: access only via the parking lot, no fires, no walking over tracks or under the bridge, taking trash away, and disposing of cans in the parking lot container.
The facility will be officially inaugurated on Saturday, though it's only available until 2027 when the city plans to demolish the deteriorating bridge and build a new one. Afterward, the new bridge would again be available for graffiti, and Barth hopes for a skate facility beneath the replacement structure.
