Berlin is most famously known for its graffiti-style street art, which used to cover not only its famous dividing wall from the Iron Curtain, but any urban surface all across the city. However, that is by far not the only type of murals you can find here. The other day I came across another wall painting that has a different kind of beauty.
Painted Plants in a Protected Nook
In the trendy neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg there is a beautiful end of a cul-de-sac street. Taking the Lychener Str. two blocks north from the Helmholtzplatz the street abruptly stops. There is no outlet, and past the wall there is only the Ringbahn, the train tracks running around the inner city. However, the residents of the surrounding buildings have turned what would normally be an unappealing end of the street into a beautiful residential corner. And the painting on the wall only underlines this.
On both sides of the street the houses are covered with a pretty floral design. It is especially noteworthy that it's the lower part of the facade that is painted in bright green leaves, colorful flowers, and a warm sunshine flooding the entire mural. - That's where the walls are most vulnerable to tags, but apparently they have been kept at bay successfully.
On each side there is a gorgeous lady standing above the painted garden, keeping a protective watch over the abundance of nature, which lovingly climbs up to embrace them, then on and on to the windows on the top floor.
I bet the inhabitants of these houses enjoy looking out at the neighboring building, where the abundant growth keeps shining in vivid green throughout the coldest Winter. Only now that Spring is coming, can we expect the trees to add their own blossoms and foliage to their painted counterparts.
This post is my entry to the weekly CCC's Street Art Contest. This week it's their 137th issue. Visit them to find cool street art from around the world, and if you have any of your own, submit it for a chance to win cool prizes very week! To see more murals from Berlin, check out my Walls of Berlin series.