Press releases

• The bouldering wall and other outdoor sports activities help bring key goals of the municipal sports development plan to life.
• Ten meters long, more than three meters high and wide, and equipped with 200 holds: the bouldering wall offers plenty of climbing options.
• With the German Alpine Club, Aachen Chapter, the Block has a reliable and competent sponsor.

Effective immediately, the Moltkebahnhof Community and Youth Park on Bergische Gasse is becoming a climbing area: A bouldering wall has recently been opened to the public there—right next to the railroad embankment. It’s another step toward promoting club-independent sports in Aachen’s parks and green spaces. Dr. Sebastian Breuer, chair of the Sports Committee, is thrilled: “I’m very happy that we now have such a great bouldering area in Aachen. This is sports for everyone, with no admission fee or membership required. Just get started and climb with friends. The Sports Development Plan has shown that this is exactly what we need for Aachen! That’s why we should create more of these facilities—in every neighborhood, for everyone.”

Carsten Jacobs, from the Sports Department’s “Sports Development Project Management” unit at the City of Aachen, adds: “With the Boulderblock, we are also putting key goals of municipal sports development planning into practice: We are creating a free, low-barrier sports opportunity in public spaces, thereby combining sports, physical activity, and social interaction. The bouldering block is unique in our city in this form and enriches Aachen’s sports landscape with a contemporary physical activity option that appeals to people of all ages, regardless of their athletic ability.”

Quality in the
Surroundings, Too: The massive and impressive freestanding artificial climbing structure, shaped like a boulder with an archway, is ten meters long, 3.20 meters wide, and 3.30 meters high. It offers approximately 65 square meters of climbing surface and 35 square meters of roof area. 200 colored climbing holds of varying difficulty levels provide grip for the ascent. And anyone who misses a hold lands on a 200-square-meter fall protection surface made of wood chips. Special emphasis was placed on the high quality of the wood chips: no “scattering effect,” wheelchair-accessible, and long-lasting. “The newly built bouldering wall is a special athletic highlight. It offers climbing enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels a varied and challenging opportunity to engage in outdoor physical activity. The facility is perfect for anyone who enjoys bouldering or wants to try it for the first time. Thanks to its location in a public green space, the bouldering wall blends seamlessly into the neighboring sports and playground areas and encourages active participation,” said Angela Fiege, landscape architect in the Climate and Environment Division’s Green Planning and Construction Department, and the project’s lead planner. The surrounding area has also been “upgraded”: 13 square meters were repaved and enhanced with two benches for young people and a trash can.

The Sports Department Asks for Careful
Use Bernd Elbert, deputy head of the Sports Department for the City of Aachen, responsible for the planning, construction, and maintenance of sports facilities, has a request for all users of the facility: “To ensure that everyone can enjoy these facilities for years to come, we ask that you treat them with care and respect. Through our partnership with the German Alpine Club, we’ve also gained a knowledgeable partner who actively brings the bouldering wall to life and continually provides new athletic challenges by regularly resetting the routes.”

Dietmar Petras, 1st Chair of the Aachen Section of the German Alpine Club, is delighted about the sponsorship: “Bouldering has been a popular trend sport for many years, especially among young people and students. The low barrier to entry and the social nature of the sport make it attractive to many. We’re all the more pleased that, with the Boulderblock, there’s now a free opportunity to climb outdoors right here in Aachen. This gives our youth group in the Alpine Club—the JDAV—a new place to boulder together and socialize. As the German Alpine Club, we are very happy to sponsor this project and hope to help ensure that the Boulderblock becomes a vibrant meeting place for climbing enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels. By regularly repositioning the holds, new routes and challenges are constantly emerging. Anyone looking to improve their skills or meet like-minded people will also find suitable courses and training opportunities at the DAV Aachen.”