Press releases

Play areas and child-friendly spaces where children can play, move around, and spend time safely are in high demand, especially in Aachen’s downtown area. To quickly improve the quality of life for families and children in the downtown area, the idea of purchasing a mobile play container was conceived about four years ago. In November 2023, Aachen’s first mobile play container was finally installed on the square in front of the Citykirche, at the corner of Minoritenstraße and Großkölnstraße. Due to various incidents, the container is now being relocated.

“The play container has been very well received by children and families,” says Elfi Buchkremer, head of the Department of Environmental Prevention Planning and Green Space Planning for the City of Aachen. “Originally, the pilot project was scheduled to last six months. We have since extended it to about three years.”

Unfortunately, however, the container has repeatedly been used as a gathering place for homeless people in the past. The city sanitation teams from Aachen’s municipal services and the playground inspection team have been cleaning the container weekly and repeatedly making it safe for play. Such incidents have increased in recent months. As a result, the ongoing costs for cleaning and maintenance have also risen.

“Given this development, the administration no longer considers it justifiable to continue operating the container at its current location,” says Heiko Thomas, Aachen’s Deputy Mayor for Climate and Environment, Municipal Services, and Buildings. The container was therefore dismantled by the city’s public works department and will be reassembled at a different location. Since it is a mobile play structure that was explicitly designed at the time of purchase with the intention of being relocated to another site after some time, this move is possible. “At the same time, this ensures that the mobile play container will continue to be available to children and families,” Heiko Thomas adds.

Experience from recent years shows that an enclosed play area in an inner-city setting faces particular challenges. Regardless, the space on Großkölnstraße has proven to be a suitable location for establishing a play area. Information regarding further plans for this area will be provided in due course.

Until then, parents are welcome to visit the nearby play areas and play spots with their children. The closest play spot with a climbing frame is located on Hotmannspief. The nearest playground with a ping-pong table, foosball table, trampoline, and “spinning top” is on Augustinergasse. A stream, sandbox, climbing frame, and slide invite children to linger and play at Lindenplatz. All playgrounds in Aachen can be found at www.aachen.de/spielplaetze.