Ampelmännchen

thumb|East German

(; literally 'little traffic light man', diminutive of ) is the symbol shown on pedestrian signals in Germany. Prior to German reunification in 1990, the two German states had different forms of the pedestrian traffic lights, with a generic human figure in West Germany, and a generally "male" figure wearing a hat in the East.

The is a beloved symbol in former East Germany, At that time, traffic lights were the same for cars, bicycles and pedestrians. The East Berlin was created in 1961 by traffic psychologist Karl Peglau (1927–2009) as part of a proposal for a new traffic lights layout. Peglau criticised the fact that the standard colours of the traffic lights (red, yellow, green) did not provide for road users who were unable to differentiate between colours (ten percent of the total population), and that the lights themselves were too small and too weak when competing against luminous advertising and sunlight. Peglau proposed retaining the three colours while introducing intuitive shapes for each coloured light. This idea received strong support from many sides, but Peglau's plans were doomed by the high costs involved in replacing existing traffic light infrastructure.

Peglau's secretary Anneliese Wegner drew the per his suggestions. The initial concept envisioned the to have fingers, but this idea was dropped due to technical difficulties with the illumination. However, the man's "perky", "cheerful" and potentially "petit bourgeois" hat – inspired by a summer photo of Erich Honecker in a straw hat – was retained, to Peglau's surprise. The prototypes of the traffic lights were built at the VEB-Leuchtenbau Berlin.

Decades later, Daniel Meuren of the weekly German newsmagazine described the as uniting "beauty with efficiency, charm with utility, [and] sociability with fulfilment of duties". The reminded others of a childlike figure with big head and short legs, or a religious leader.

The proved so popular that it became part of road safety education for children in the early 1980s. Partly animated Ampelmännchen stories with the name were broadcast once a month as part of the East German children's bedtime television programme Sandmännchen, which had one of the largest viewing audiences in East Germany.

History after reunification

Following the German reunification in 1990, there were attempts to standardise all traffic signs to the West German forms. East German street signs and traffic signs were dismantled and replaced because of differing fonts in the former two German countries. The East German education programmes featuring the vanished. This led to calls to save the East German as a part of the East German culture. The first solidarity campaigns for the took place in Berlin in early 1995.

Markus Heckhausen, a graphic designer from the West German city of Tübingen and founder of in Berlin,</blockquote>

The became a virtual mascot for the East German nostalgia movement, known as . and Heidelberg

File:Ampelmaennchen Pan.jpg|Pan-German in Chemnitz

File:Ampelmaenchen Berlin.jpg| in Berlin

File:East Berlin traffic lights3.jpg|Tourist souvenirs featuring the East German traffic lights

File:Ampelmaennchen for sale in Hagi Japan 1.jpg| souvenirs for sale in Hagi, Japan, twin town of the German Ühlingen-Birkendorf

File:Ampelmaennchen for sale in Hagi Japan 2.jpg|Explanations for the at a shop in Hagi, Japan

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Variations

There are three variations in modern-day Germany – the old East German version, the old West German version, and the pan-German introduced in 1992. Each German state holds the right to determine the version used. East Germans have changed the look of Ampelmännchen traffic lights as a joke since the early 1980s; this turned into media-effective efforts to call attention to the vanishing East German in the 1990s. The on several traffic lights in Erfurt were changed by modifying the template, showing carrying backpacks or cameras.

In 2004, Joachim Rossberg invented the female counterpart to the , the , which was installed on some traffic lights in Zwickau, Dresden and Fürstenwalde. The Ampelfrau also appears at some traffic lights in Reykjavik, Iceland.

In 2019, Fulda, a strongly Catholic city in Hesse, adopted Ampelmännchen designed to look like Saint Boniface, on the occasion of 1275th anniversary of the foundation of Fulda princely abbey.

Since December 2025, several traffic lights in Coburg's city center have been showing an holding a in his hand during the green phase.

Art collective Ztohoven

Roman Tic (a pseudonym playing with "romantic") of the art collective Ztohoven ("(The way) Out of shit") changed some pedestrian traffic lights in the daylight hours of 8 April 2007 in five hours work, with a ladder and wearing red overalls. He used different motifs, including men and women (e.g. drinking, urinating).

In Austria

On 11 May 2015, before the Life Ball and the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, the city changed some traffic lights to ""; these are designs with homo- and heterosexual couples, hugging or holding hands. In June 2015, Salzburg (at Staatsbrücke) and Linz (at Mozartkreuzung) followed suit with the same designs. However, in December 2015, a city traffic minister of the party FPÖ dismounted the privately sponsored faceplates, deeming them unnecessary.

File:Ampelmädchen - Dresden.jpg|The Ampelfrau

File:Ampelmännchen mit Regenschirm.JPG|Ampelmännchen with umbrella

File:Ampelmaennchen Ost Fahrrad.jpg|Ampelmännchen with bicycle

File:Ampelmaennchen Ost Warnlicht.jpg|Ampelmännchen as warning light

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Tribute

On 13 October 2017, Google celebrated the 56th anniversary of the Traffic Light Man with a Google Doodle.

References

External links

Original Ampelmann Company which manufactured them originally
Ampelmann at ampelmann.de