The Ampelmann: How a Traffic Light Became Berlin's Most Beloved Symbol

If you spend even five minutes walking around central Berlin, you'll notice something unusual about the pedestrian traffic lights. Instead of the standard stick-figure symbol used in most of Europe, Berlin's crossings feature a cheerful little man in a hat — striding confidently when the light is green, standing with arms outstretched when it's red.

This is the Ampelmännchen — literally "little traffic light man" — and he's one of the most unlikely cultural icons in Europe. Created by a traffic psychologist in communist East Germany, nearly destroyed after reunification, and saved by a West German designer who turned him into a multimillion-euro brand.

Here's the full story — and why he matters more than you'd think.

Who Created the Ampelmann?

The Ampelmann was created in 1961 by Karl Peglau, a traffic psychologist working for the East German transportation system. Peglau had a problem: pedestrian traffic lights in Berlin were being ignored. The signals were too small, too dim, and too generic to compete with shop signs and sunlight.

Peglau's insight was simple but brilliant: if you want people to notice a traffic light — especially children, the elderly, and those with visual impairments — make the symbol bigger, bolder, and more human. He designed a plump, friendly figure with a distinctive wide-brimmed hat. The hat wasn't decoration. It increased the visible light area, making the signal easier to see from a distance.

On 13 October 1961, Peglau officially submitted his designs. It took eight years of testing — including behavioural studies and demo installations at the crossing of Unter den Linden and Friedrichstraße — before the Ampelmännchen was formally introduced to East Berlin's streets in 1969.

The design was an instant success. Peglau nicknamed his two figures "Stoppi" (the red one, arms outstretched) and "Galoppo" (the green one, mid-stride). Within years, they spread to traffic lights across all of East Germany.

The Ampelmann Becomes a Star

What happened next was unusual for a traffic sign: the Ampelmännchen became a genuine cultural figure in East Germany.

By the early 1980s, Stoppi and Galoppo appeared in children's road safety education programmes, comic strips, radio broadcasts, and even a monthly segment on Sandmännchen — East Germany's beloved bedtime television show, which had one of the largest audiences in the country. Animated episodes called "Stiefelchen und Kompaßkalle" taught children traffic safety and won international awards, including prizes at a Czech road safety film festival in 1984.

For East Germans who grew up with the Ampelmännchen, he wasn't just a traffic symbol — he was part of childhood. That emotional connection is what made the fight to save him so powerful later.

How He Nearly Disappeared

After German reunification in 1990, the new unified government began standardising everything — including traffic signs. East German street signs were systematically replaced with West German versions. The Ampelmännchen, along with most other GDR-era symbols, was scheduled for removal.

One by one, the distinctive East German traffic lights were being taken down and replaced. For many East Germans, this felt like more than a bureaucratic decision — it felt like their identity was being erased. The Trabant cars were already gone. The shops had changed. The street names were different. Now even their traffic lights were disappearing.

This sense of cultural loss has a name in German: Ostalgie — nostalgia for the East. The Ampelmännchen became one of its most powerful symbols.

How a West German Designer Saved Him

The twist in the story is that the Ampelmann was saved by a West German.

Markus Heckhausen, a graphic designer from Tübingen in southern Germany, had first noticed the Ampelmännchen during visits to East Berlin in the 1980s. When he moved to Berlin in 1995, he watched in dismay as workers dismantled Ampelmann traffic lights on Rosenthaler Platz — just steps from where our walking tour ends at Hackescher Markt.

Heckhausen asked the workers if he could have the discarded glass diffusion discs. He took them to his rooftop apartment on Auguststraße and built the first Ampelmann product: a lamp made from repurposed traffic light glass.

He then teamed up with Karl Peglau, the original creator, to launch the "Rescue Committee for the Ampelmann." They lobbied politicians, published a biography of the Ampelmännchen, and campaigned for the symbol to be preserved on Berlin's streets.

It worked. In 2005, Berlin officials passed a resolution to start replacing outdated West Berlin traffic lights with the Eastern Ampelmännchen. The East German design didn't just survive — it conquered the West.

From Traffic Light to Brand Empire

Heckhausen founded Ampelmann GmbH in 1999, with Peglau retaining creative involvement and receiving licensing fees until his death in 2009 at the age of 82.

The first Ampelmann shop opened in 2001 in Courtyard 5 of the Hackesche Höfe — right at Hackescher Markt, which is the final stop on our walking tour. Back then, the shop sold about 20 products, mostly lamp variations.

Today, the brand has six shops across Berlin selling over 600 products — from the classic red and green gummy bears to t-shirts, mugs, umbrellas, footballs, children's clothing, personalised keychains, and even Ampelmann pasta. The flagship store on Unter den Linden includes a café and a permanent exhibition with over 30 sets of traffic lights from around the world.

Why the Ampelmann Matters

The Ampelmann story captures something essential about Berlin's identity: the tension between East and West, the question of what's worth preserving from a failed state, and the city's ability to reinvent even the most ordinary objects.

There's also a scientific reason the Eastern design won. A study by Dr. Claudia Peschke at Jacobs University in Bremen found that the East German Ampelmännchen are more visually effective than their Western counterparts. The plump figure lets more light through, making it genuinely easier to see. Karl Peglau's design wasn't just charming — it was objectively better at its job.

It's one of the rare cases where something from East Germany didn't just survive reunification — it was adopted by the whole country. As graphic designer Fons Hickmann put it: the Ampelmann's appeal lies in his lovable imperfection. The back leg is slightly too long, the front one too short, and the whole figure is wonderfully bulky. A "body-positive symbol" before the term even existed.

Where to Find Ampelmann Shops in Berlin

There are six Ampelmann shops in Berlin, all open 7 days a week:

Hackesche Höfe (the original) — Rosenthaler Straße 40-41, Courtyard 5. Open since 2001. Right at our tour's final stop, Hackescher Markt.

Flagship Store Unter den Linden — Unter den Linden 35, corner of Friedrichstraße. The largest shop, with a café and exhibition. This is exactly where the first Ampelmann traffic lights were installed in the 1960s.

DomAquarée — Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 5. Between the Berliner Dom, TV Tower, and Rotes Rathaus — all stops on our tour route.

Other locations: Oranienburger Straße (at Tacheles), Berlin Hauptbahnhof, and Kurfürstendamm.

Official website: ampelmann.de

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Ampelmann in Berlin?

The Ampelmann (or Ampelmännchen) is the distinctive hat-wearing pedestrian traffic light figure originally designed for East Berlin in 1961 by traffic psychologist Karl Peglau. After reunification, he became one of Berlin's most beloved cultural symbols and a popular souvenir brand.

Why does the Ampelmann wear a hat?

The hat isn't just decorative — it increases the visible light area of the signal, making it easier to see from a distance. The plump body serves the same purpose. Studies have confirmed that the East German design is more visually effective than the standard Western figure.

Where is the best Ampelmann shop in Berlin?

The flagship store at Unter den Linden 35 is the largest, with over 600 products, a café, and an exhibition of traffic lights from around the world. For atmosphere, the original shop in Hackesche Höfe (Courtyard 5) is charming and located right at Hackescher Markt.

Is the Ampelmann only in East Berlin?

Not anymore. In 2005, Berlin passed a resolution to install the East German Ampelmännchen across West Berlin too. Today you can find him at crossings throughout the entire city — one of the rare cases where an East German symbol was adopted by the whole of Germany.

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See Where It All Started on Our Walking Tour

Our free walking tour ends at Hackescher Markt (Stop 12) — right next to the Hackesche Höfe, where the very first Ampelmann shop opened in 2001. It's the perfect place to pick up a souvenir after the tour.

And throughout the tour, you'll cross streets using the very traffic lights this story is about. Once you know the history, you'll never look at a Berlin crosswalk the same way.

For more hidden Berlin stories like this, check out our guide to Cold War Berlin in 5 Key Locations and the Berlin TV Tower Construction story.

📍 Our free walking tour meets at Alexanderplatz, World Clock

🎫 Book your free spot at berlinwalk.com

From Alexanderplatz to Hackescher Markt — 800 years of history, ending right where the Ampelmann story began.