Novelty traffic symbols light up German cities and beyond

Founded by the Vikings in the 8th century, the harbor city of Aarhus is once again home to wild hordes from the north. But this time around the Vikings have been delegated a tamer task: traffic duty. To celebrate its history, Denmark's second city is installing 17 traffic signals that depict axe and shield-wielding Vikings. But you won’t see any horned helmets — those are more fiction than fact.

In 1284, a mysterious man came to Hamelin and promised the town superiors he could rid the area of a rat infestation. The Pied Piper only had to blow on his pipe and all the rodents came crawling out from the houses. When the Pied Piper was refused his payment, he also banished the children with his pipe. The world renowned myth of the Pied Piper of Hamelin is commemorated as a traffic light man.

"The Town Musicians of Bremen" is one of the beloved Brothers Grimm fairytales. A chicken, cat, dog and donkey leave the farm where they were mistreated. Trading their mundane pastoral lives for a life of music and performance, the quartet battle against robbers to become the town's musicians. These musical creatures have since become the city’s emblem — and traffic light symbol.

This traffic light man is the recognizable German socialist whose leftist theory is still referenced today in the fight against capitalism. To celebrate Karl Marx's 200th birthday in 2018, the Mayor of Trier — Marx's hometown in far western Germany — inaugurated this traffic light in March in honor of the author of "Das Kapital." The red Marx pictured does also turn green.

Novelty pedestrian lights abound throughout Germany. In Mainz, for instance, the beloved "Mainzelmännchen" (Mainz little man) have taken charge of pedestrian traffic. The six characters (Anton, Berti, Conni, Det, Edi and Fritzchen) have been gracing lights in the center of the Rhineland-Palatinate capital since late 2016, with more little men planned to feature at intersections across the city.

The popular puppet character Kasper appears on traffic lights in the Bavarian city of Augsburg, but only when green — it remains a conventional red stop light for safety reasons. Indeed, the 17th century character remains one of the most popular performers at the Augsburger Puppenkiste, a local puppet theater for children.

Former German capital Bonn is the birthplace of Beethoven, and in 2020 the city celebrates the 250th birthday of the master composer. But the fanfare has already begun, with Beethoven's portrait now featured on a traffic light at Bertha von Suttner Platz, not far from his birthplace. But again, it only comes in green. Karl Stieler's famous painting from 1819 inspired the traffic light portrait.

Beethoven is not the only musician who has been immortalized as a traffic light man in Germany. The “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll", Elvis Presley was stationed at Friedberg, Hesse, as a young soldier from 1958-1960. His legacy and his trademark “The Pelvis” thrust live on.

Not only famous people and culture icons make it onto traffic lights. For the Christopher Street Day season in 2015, the city of Frankfurt celebrated gay and lesbian couples on traffic lights in the city center — since 2018 they have been permanently visible. But it wasn't the first time. Same-sex traffic lights were installed outside the Wiener Stadthalle concert venue in May 2015 (pictured).

In March 2017, ten female pedestrian crossing signals replaced male traffic light symbols in the center of the city of Melbourne in Australia to further debate about gender and sexual discrimination — if only for a twelve month period. The traffic light project initiated by a charitable organization particularly aimed to address unconscious gender bias.

Germany's best-known pedestrian traffic light symbol is surely Berlin's iconic Ampelmann, who can not only be found on street intersections, but also on key rings and t-shirts. The figure was invented by Karl Peglau, who was not a designer but a traffic psychologist in the GDR. In 1969, the first Ampelmann shone in East Berlin's Friedrichstrasse. Peglau once called them "real citizens of Berlin".

Duisburg was the first city in the Ruhr Valley in 2018 to commemorate its mining history with a traffic light man. Many cities soon followed suit. Shortly after the official end of Germany’s mining industry, the traffic light miner symbol celebrates Duisburg's long tradition of coal and steel mining: the traffic light man wears a helmet and holds a mining lamp in his hands.