Difficult not to notice the Ampel Man as you wait for the lights to change in East Berlin. Designed by Karl Pegalau in 1961, it was the first pedestrian sign in GDR Berlin, becoming a recognisable image of East Berlin.
The Ample Man quickly became popular, achieving the level of cult status. Once Germany was reunified in the 1990s many symbols from East Germany were abandoned. There was an attempt to standardise all pedestrian symbols throughout Germany and soon Ample Man disappeared. After a few years though, the public began to rebel and Ample Man was reintroduced.
There are gift shops devoted entirely to this mascot, and the first one we came across was at Hackersche Hoeffe.
The number of souvenirs bearing the figure of this mascot are mind boggling, ranging from
fridge magnets,
jelly beans,
pasta,
beach towels,
sponges,
soap,
flip flops.
We even saw a car decorated with the Ample Man.
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