around Ehrenfeld station

Posted on September 9, 2026 by Mary C

The Ehrenfeld neighbourhood of Cologne is a “hotspot” for urban art of all sorts. This blogpost focuses on some of the murals and graffiti that I saw close to the train station. It is one of many posts featuring art in Arheneld.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Erheneld station,by Herakut, a girl and her dog. dog is wearing blue and white striped t shirt

below: By the German duo, Herakut, a girl and her dog in a blue and white striped shirt with words “Ohne dich würde ich mich nicht trauen” (Without you, I wouldn’t dare)

by Herakut, a girl and her dog. dog is wearing blue and white striped t shirt. text on mural says Ohne dich würde ich mich nicht trauen

below: This geometric creation by Zedz is beside the Lidl parking lot.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, geometric abstract by zedz on side of residential building

below: “Matriarchy” is a mural by Ukrainian street artist AEC Interesni Kazki (aka Aleksei Bordusov). There are two naked women – one black woman riding a tiger and one white-ish woman sitting under a red umbrella. That’s quite the platform that shes sitting on.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, "Matriarchy" by Ukrainian street artist AEC Interesni Kazki aka Aleksei Bordusov

below: SeiLeise (Tim Ossege)’s depiction of Cardinal Woelki’s as a Star Wars emperor wearing a dark habit and standing between two soldiers from the imperial guard of honour wearing red coverings and a fig leaf strategically placed.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, SeiLeise stencil, archbishop in black hooded robe, holding staff, accompanied by men draped in red so heads are hidden but fig leaf over groin

below: This European flag is also by SeiLeise, a flag where the gold stars are being methodically cut off and removed.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, stencil by SeiLeise, older man, seated, wearing suit cutting yellow stars off a European flag

below: “A Chinese Fairy Tale” was painted by Dabtar and A.Signl who are members of the street art crew Captain Borderline. Amnesty International and Colorrevoltion e.V. were also involved. Apparently the mural is a statement (or to raise awareness of?) the human rights situation in China. It dates from 2014.

restaurant patio in front of a wall with urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, A Chinese Fairy Tale" painted by the street art crew Captain Borderline, A.Signl and Dabtar, dragon puppet, panda mask,

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, A Chinese Fairy Tale" painted by the street art crew Captain Borderline, A.Signl and Dabtar, dragon puppet, panda mask,

below: This 3D large mosaic head is an earlier work of Captain Borderline (2011).

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, 3D mosaic head by Captain Borderline, big white eyes and nose, red lips, closed mouth, big ears, bald

3D mosaic head by Captain Borderline, close up of nose, red lips, closed mouth

below: Once again, another Captain Borderline painting – this time they collaborated with local artist, Rakaposhii (mural ‘Mystical Wall’, shown in 4 photos)

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, mystical wall mural by Captain Borderline and Rakaposhii,

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, part of mystical wall mural by Captain Borderline and Rakaposhii, two women, in black and white

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, part of mystical wall mural by Captain Borderline and Rakaposhii, building with balcony railing, black and white tiled roof

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, part of mystical wall mural by Captain Borderline and Rakaposhii,

below: This long wall was designed together by two street artists as part of the first City-Leaks Festival in 2011 – Swiss artist Smash137 and Dutch artist Zedz (see above mural). It’s title is “Musikalische Komposition”. Between when this picture was taken (October 2025) and now (September 2026) the building was demolished.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, mural by smash 137 and zedz

below: “Häusliche Gewalt” (Domestic Violence) was created by street artist RIPO (aka Max Rippon) in July 2014

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, Häusliche Gewalt (Domestic Violence) was created by street artist RIPO (aka Max Rippon)

below: Lichtstrasse with RIPO’s mural along with a couple of paintings higher up on the adjacent building.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, street scene, Häusliche Gewalt (Domestic Violence) was created by street artist RIPO (aka Max Rippon)

below: In accessible – murals painted on a wall that is now behind a fence…. one of the pitfalls of art on temporary structures.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station

below: Potted plants, and/or plants in colourful vases surround a person who seems to be removing an animal (leopard?) mask in a mural painted by Gaupo Sapo (composed of YuMu, Krashkid, and Alexander Isakov) in 2017.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, Potted plants, and/or plants in colourful vases surround a person who seems to be removing an animal (leopard?) mask in a mural painted by Gaupo Sapo

below: A very happy spray paint can admires its work?

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, mural behind a fence

below: Posters with messages like “We are all brainwashed” surrounded by winged phones and television emitting concentric waves. Another message from Vanessa Slagter is “Grow Women Power – Grow where you want. Not where they want to see you”.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, three posters by Vanessa Slagter

below: “Any Europeans should see behind the wall” by the artist Benten.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, large monotone mural, Any Europeans should see behind the wall" by the artist Benten, woman holding hands up in front of her face

below: “Believe Israeli women” and “Make street art great again”. The artist’s ‘signature’ looks like biebezvrfarbe.rise

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, green poster with image of woman holding a sign that says make street art great again, also a small sticker says believe israeli women as well as small round sticker saying all we need is peace

below: A man and his hair.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, older painting of a man on a wall where plants have grown over the top of the wall and look like his hair

below: Vincent was painted on his hair even though this is Sid Vicious (of the Sex Pistols). This stencil Sid with a can of Fanta in his hand is by Petit Agite. The pink heart is an add-on.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, black and white stencil, large, of Sid vicious from punk rock band Sex Pistols. he is holding a can of Fanta pop. other small slap graffiti around him

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, grey mannequin lying on ground outside door that is covered with graffiti, wall beside door is also covered

below: A guitar player – with legs doing some awkward things!

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, faded painting of a guitar player

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, pink rectangle, face with oval slitty eyes and rectangular mouth, black dots on cheeks and chin

below: Four little bits and pieces – A NanE popsicle with a goofy toothy expression. A black and white Bustr (?) who seems to be gaping wide mouthed at the tiny woman’s portrait. The latter was made by Henry Paulson who seems obsessed with three or four young woman whose very similar portraits can be seen in a LOT of places. Last, top right is Little Vandal Cube by Reth.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, Four little bits and pieces - A NanE popsicle with a goofy toothy expression. A black and white Bustr who seems to be gaping wide mouthed at the tiny woman's portrait. The latter was made by Henry Paulson who seems obsessed with three or four young woman whose very similar portraits can be seen in a LOT of places. Last, top right is Little Vandal Cube by Reth.

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, large paste up with blaw, blaw, blaw in a text bubble

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, collection of slaps

below: More Henry Paulson faces… some normal, some with big lips, some with mismatched eyes…

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, arrangement of stickers with woman's portrait, all byHenry Paulson, all rather similar black hair and blue eyes,

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, street scene

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, train bridge over a street with traffic, the words love and peace painted on the bridge

urban art, street art, in Cologne Germany, near Ehrenfeld station, sticker with a pigeon head, yellow beak, wearing a white shirt with a collar

Photos taken October 2025

Shalom Habibi, and other things seen in Nippes

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Mary C

Nippes is a neighbourhood in Cologne Germany.

below: Nippes has it’s own mural complete with city skyline on a red background – painted by Robin Von Gestern.

cars parked in front of a mural painted on a metal garage door, red background, the word nippes in calligraphy in blue and yellow by Robin Von Gestern

below: These little Kölner Heinzelmännchen can be seen on the side of a residential building. These helpful gnomes appear in German legends and folklore; they are rarely seen because they do their work at night and in secret.

little gnomes in pointy red caps in a mural

Goodlack Art has painted them falling down the stairs – Ooops, not so quiet tonight!

below: As part of Cologne’s City Leaks street art festival, this mural was painted by Danjer Mola.

large mural in Nippes Cologne, by Danjer Mola, of a female astronaut with either bare legs or brown skin tight leggings

below: This mural is Okik Momoe’s little bird on a branch… in a fishbowl?

mural by artist Okik Momoe of a little bird on a branch.

below: Preparing to paint a new mural by a community garden.

artist with ladder preparing a wall for mural painting, lines drawn on wall, a painting of a bird already exists beside the spot

below: Immediately above the new painting (above) is a large mural depicting daily life in years gone by.

part of a larger mural depicting daily life in the previous century, in Wilhelmplatz in Nippes

below: In fact, there is a matching mural on the other side of the garden lot.

white chair sits in front of a colourful mural, street art, outdoors,

below: Another gable mural, this one by Sat One.

below: A closer look at part of the mural

A closer look at part of mural by Sat One on a gable in Nippes Cologne

below: This cow, painted by The Kuhl Kid, is a common sight around Cologne. Here it is behind a fence

urban art on a brick wall, behind chainlink fence, one is a black and white cow by the kuhl kid

below: Even though most of the cow is missing, it is still recognizable as being the same as the one above. A little red heart glued into a jar lid seems perfectly placed between the cow’s ears.

remains of face of cow, with red heart in jar lid above its head, and a torn red poster over one eye

below: Cars, pipes, and other accessories on a brick wall

below: Cars and flames. Why are flames so often associated with fast cars?

mural of a car crashing through the wall of a building

mural with calligraphy and text — “Wo immer ich bin
vernehme ich deine stimme ihr sinn
Schwingt durch raum + zeit
in sussem einklang
Verbringen wir jede stunde”.
Translation: Wherever I am, I hear your voice, it’s meaning, it resonates through space and time In sweet harmony we spend every hour.

below: Joiny

paper paste up by Joiny of a woman saying Alaaf You, wearing a dress wth green and yellow flowers on it, peace sign nacklace

below: It’s now a little red and blue abstract painting.

below: A much more complex image than the one above, mechanical yet anatomical. Obviously a face but obviously not a living person.

graffiti, of a face but with mechanical or robotic parts

below: Remnants of a 2010 painting on a long low concrete fence.

concrete fence, low, with metal bars above, autumn leaves, old painting from 2010 on the concrete, red background,

below: Tags on the other side of the fence.

construction of new buildings behind a vacant lot, some graffiti tags on the wall

below: Two faced jester? Or two, back to back?

small painting on metal box cover, column or pillar with two jesters' heads on the top, back to back, graffiti

below: Graffiti stickers on metal poles.

Three graffiti stickers on metal poles, all three are monochromatic black and white

below: More graffiti sticker on a pole. Is that a lobster? or a monstrous creature?

sticker on a pole that seems to say dey hummey des schrecken but that doesn't translate into english

below: Owl on a box

Photos taken October 2025

peace, love, and harmony

Posted on December 19, 2025 by Mary C

below: A Seileise stencil of a young girl with a small green plant in her bucket.

below: In the Ehrenfeld neighbourhood, Venloerstrasse intersects with railway tracks and this is the graffiti that covered one side of the arch before the street passes under the railway bridge.

A closer look at most of it –

below: Her shoes match her glass of red wine as she sits in a comfy chair. The other woman is a portrait by DISH and she sports bananas in her ears.

slaps, stickers, and other pasteups on a wall Heliosstrasse in Cologne

below: Fishes Invasion dominates this section of the wall…. but it’s not just an ordinary fish, it’s Joker Fish.

below: Lisson One yellow face among an assortment of little graffiti artworks.

below: A bird with a long white neck sits above 3 mall lids – a heart for love, a symbol of peace, and a yellow smiling face to represent happiness (or harmony?)

below: Seen here – A yellow woodpecker, a green and pink turtle, and an excitable little duckling who is looking for love.

below: The words are very small, but they say, “No place for love, peace, & harmony in this world”. But another little sign proclaims that “the heartest drug is LOVE!

below: Sheeptown 1 euro stamp, Candy by cinnirelli, End gender racism by lille-illus

below: Fight 4 ur rights. Plus a very small “Aut of Order” where a rainbow flows out of his head as it is tied up by several tiny people.

below: Feel the vibe.

below: Swordplay

below: “Be Kind to your mind” and “Das leben ist schon (life is beautiful)”. Both are by bierdeckelstreetart whose artwork is mostly text based.

below: A platter with one puppy and one kitten, and the words “immigrants food service” written above. But further down the wall, a young white boy and a young black boy walk arm in arm.

below: Love without the O

Photos taken October 2025

barber shop wheatpaste

Posted on November 10, 2025 by Mary C

below: In the Belgian Quarter of Cologne, where the streets are named after Belgian cities, there is a barber shop (and hair salon) where the exterior wall is covered with paper.

below: Blue hair, purple hair, and a fat yellow bumble bee.

below: These are Angry Amily drawings on brown paper

angry amily long haired young girl with green hat, beside brown teddy bear character, another fat yellow bumble bee

below: Another section of the wall – The portrait, lower left, is probably about Sophie Scholl and the white rose movement. Scholl (1921-1943) was a German student who was active in the White Rose Movement, an anti-Nazi organization at the time of Hitler’s rule. She was executed on 22 Feb 1943.

below: Evyrein’s Elon Musk/Mask is in the middle. Notice the little Hitler mustache. Also, the placement of Elon’s body over the stiletto heels is marvelous! To the right of Elon is a little pink octopus hanging onto a red heart by 8arms2hug, a maker of octopus-themed street art.

below: Cats and rappers. Garfield is on his phone while under a three-eyed cat. The three men are Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell of the hip hop group RUN-DMC. The group was formed in 1983.

below: The images of people on cans of spray paint is the work of The Postman. Much of his art focuses on celebrities, many of whom, such as Grace Jones and Sid Vicious pictured here, have appeared on these spray paint cans. Tweet cat (now sporting a German fedora) sneaks into the photo too.

below: Many little things can be seen up near the top of the wall.

below: “The tide is high; my love is low” by Behind Green Eyes, is reminiscent of lyrics from song by Blondie, “The tide is high but I’m holdin’ on, I’m gonna be your number one.”

spam is the signature on blue graffiti, text graffiti by behind green eyes that says The tide is high my love is low but I'm hoping on, other text graffiti that says try before you die.

below: A series of cartoonish characters in various colours form a column beside a window. Lots of merde there too but I am not sure if that is part of the original drawings or if they were added after.

below: A large blue cat by Metraeda prowls beneath a portrait in shades of brown.

below: Pope with a gun. Pope Benedict XVI in fact. The hat in this picture is the same as the hat worn by Benedict XVI in the picture used by Wikipedia. It is an image of Jesus holding a cross while he sits with two sheep.

below: Zoologne, aka Marcel Kreutzer is the creator of the small round sticker with the oval yellow happy face standing beside a plant. There are quite a few similar stickers all over Cologne. As for the fiddler, I have no idea who produced that image.

below: The signature seems to be RUDE and might be your opinion of the image as well.

below: An unhappy green bomb with a microphone. Or at least it looks like a comic drawing of a bomb – that way I can say that it’s unhappy because it’s bombing on stage.

below: Reading cross-legged on the floor.

paste up by angry amily, black drawing on brown paper.

below: Bee nice or buzz off, as well as Support your local Antifa.

slaps and wheatpaste on a wall in the Belgian quarter of Cologne

below: Diskettenlaufwerk is actaully the name of an Ultimate Frisbee team. NanE (or Nanelife)

below: Clint Eastwood is portrayed as The Savior in this paste-up. Actually there is quite a bit here – a very small pink Ghostcat, a yellow smiley face, a NanE slice of bread, “Love knows no conditions” text by BehindGreenEyes, as well as a pink and black portrait by Pixmen… and more

stickers and pasteups on a wall in Cologne or Koln, urban art, Clint Eastwood as the savior, loves knows no conditions, a yellow happy face,

below: A cute little girl and an even cuter little red block with googly eyes.

pasteups on a wall in Cologne, little girl in orange dress, beer de froo, small red block with googly eyes

below: More paper.

below: Skulls and more

below: It looks like a chicken in orange and blue as well as an anatomical heart with slight modifications. Perhaps that’s where his heart lies, or where it longs to be.

below: A big hug for Mopsy! Lots of love for an amazing character!

below: Encouraging words by Luna in a white circle with an Australian themed sticker by Tweet below it (kangaroo, emu and balloons!). On the other pipe are two creatures. The one on the bottom is a collaboration between MyCuteCreatures and Joiny.

“Sei doch mal – Nicht so streng mit dir – Du hast die wahl – immer, jetzt und hier” br> Don’t be so hard on yourself. You have a choice, always, now and here.

Photos taken November 2025

trouble makers

Posted on November 1, 2025 by Mary C

below: Trouble Makers on Heliosstrasse in Cologne. There was a Paste Up Festival in August of 2025 here that was organized by Street Art Against Hate. Although that was a couple of months ago, lots remain here on this wall and many other walls on the street.

paper paste-ups graffiti on a wall in cologne, along with words trouble maker in black paint

below: Some of the paste-ups found on the “Trouble Makers” wall.

paper paste-ups graffiti on a wall in cologne

below: On the left is a cross-eyed orange Pummel Fee Fart Fair (and I wish I knew what words were in the thought bubble above his head!). On the right is a MyCuteCreatures little cat with two even smaller friends between her ears.

below: One of these dogs has a peach coloured sweat shirt adorned with eyelashes and lips, by Miss GlueInverse (she calls her work analog collages). To the left of that dog is a woman cutting her long hair with a pair of blue scissors by Kalaa Baar.

below: An interesting phone conversation? And a bearded man in sunglasses and a bear (cat?) suit.

below: At the bottom, a pink Nadroschka pretends to be modest.

below: Another MyCuteCreatures and a second Mopsi. This time Mopsi has a bat on his neck and the words read, “Good boy, Bat habits”.

below: “I love Cologne” – but that cat seems too excited! So Schoen Immer Wieder is a German street artist who is responsible for the paste-ups of her pug ‘Mopsi’, most of which have cute/interesting words. In this case, the words are “easy, peasy, lemon squeezy”. The little blue dog also comes with words (same artist? I don’t know). It’s sign says, “You did so well today”.

below: On the right is a black and white drawing by SheepArt Cologne (aka Klaus Schaefer) while sleeping in the bottom left corner is a small drawing by French artist Balaet Balaets (viens, on rêve). A very full purple trash can sits in the middle. Is that a yellow balloon in the garbage?

below: Tweet cat (seen in Melbourne!) has teamed up with Mario while a little furry nose pokes his nose over the wall.

below: “Wer mit Dreck wirft verliert am Boden” which Google translates to “Those who throw dirt lose on the ground” which, by the sounds of it, may not be precise!

Photos taken October 2025

Eyes on the Streets

and feets on the ground. Graffiti, street art and murals seen while wandering the streets and alleys of our colourful world.

Category Archives: Cologne

around Ehrenfeld station

Shalom Habibi, and other things seen in Nippes

peace, love, and harmony

barber shop wheatpaste

trouble makers