Community, culture and concrete: Ebertplatz reloaded

People are almost always on the move at Ebertplatz. Heading for the underground. Towards Eigelstein. Towards Agnesviertel. Through the passage. Quickly moving on. Cologne in motion – and right in the middle of it all, a brutalist expanse of concrete, a square you don’t necessarily have to find beautiful at first glance. But on this Wednesday evening, a few people stop.

Watering cans are filled at the fountain. A large trolley full of gardening supplies is ready to go. Then they get to work. The volunteers from AG Begrünung, the group responsible for making the square greener, head to the flowerbeds to water, weed and cut back the plants. All around them, city traffic rushes past and bikes roll by – Ebertplatz simply carries on.

“You have to take a closer look,” says Hannah from the citizens’ initiative EBI e.V. Anyone hurrying through is likely to see what has defined Ebertplatz in the city’s collective memory for years: a grey transit space with a bad reputation. Take a closer look, though, and a different story emerges. Flowers and trees, art and food – and, above all, Cologne locals making this place their own.

The association EBI e.V. brings together the people and organisations helping to shape Ebertplatz: local residents, artists and people working in arts and culture, regular visitors, as well as associations, initiatives, art spaces and local businesses. By the end of 2025, the association had around 40 members.

EBI e.V. at Ebertplatz: one association for the whole square

Community involvement at Ebertplatz, however, goes back much further than the founding of EBI e.V. in late 2025. The city has been supporting the temporary use of the square since 2018, but artists based in the passage had already been committed to improving the square’s image before then. EBI now provides a framework for the different people and groups involved. The association wants to be a bridge between local politics and the wider community – a place where ideas for Ebertplatz come together.

And now it matters more than ever: with the city facing budget constraints, funding to continue the programme at Ebertplatz has been cut to around €260,000 a year, including staffing costs, which is less than half the previous budget. More expensive events such as the large EbertPlatz and EbertPänz concerts will no longer take place.

Smaller, lower-cost activities can still go ahead: flea markets, activities for children, games and exercise, concerts with unamplified music and quizzes. EBI is increasingly relying on community involvement, new partnerships and external funding. At the same time, the association has launched a petition calling for the Ebertplatz programme to be preserved.

Ebertplatz events: salsa on concrete

Because the programme breathes life into the square and also acts as a kind of social glue, bringing people together. You can see it at a salsa evening, for example, when the concrete square turns into a dance floor. Music plays, couples spin around and people try out their steps. Meanwhile, passers-by stop and sway to the beat. Salsa at Ebertplatz might sound like an unusual combination at first, but take a closer look and it makes perfect sense.

Because Ebertplatz basically is a stage: Dance battles and singalong concerts are just as much a part of the programme as cinema screenings, concerts, flea markets, round-the-table ping-pong, workshops, children’s activities and open events where anyone can join in. Meanwhile, FriesTV transforms the concrete frieze along the Ebertplatz passage into a 55-metre LED screen for video art. There are also guided tours, including one about the “Silent Heroes of Ebertplatz”, its 26 species of trees, as well as events such as EBIgames, a team sports tournament. Much of it is free. And if you’d rather watch than join in, there’s a place for you too.

Art where you least expect it

For example, Ebertplatz is home to four galleries with a changing programme of exhibitions. Here, art isn’t confined to a museum – it’s part of everyday life. You might simply be on your way to the underground and suddenly find yourself in the middle of an exhibition.

Artist Marc Müller describes Ebertplatz as a place for contemporary art right in the heart of the city. The concrete itself has a story to tell, too. Some people find Brutalist architecture challenging; for others, it is a piece of the city’s history worth preserving. Müller believes we shouldn’t give up on things too quickly. After all, we might just end up finding them beautiful one day.

Giving the square a makeover is a collective effort. When the Containercafé needed a fresh coat of paint, artists pitched in. Today, it shines in “Brückengrün”, the distinctive shade of green found on Cologne’s bridges. It’s a small gesture that perfectly sums up how this place works.

Ebertplatz: Cologne’s living room

Ebertplatz is at its liveliest when the concrete square becomes a stage. At karaoke evenings, lyrics are projected onto its walls. People stop, grab a microphone and sing along – sometimes confidently, sometimes off-key, but mostly together. For one evening, Ebertplatz becomes one big living room.

The container café is an important hub during events like these. It serves food and drinks, while also bringing the different activities around the square together. If you’re coming to dance or listen to music, you can stop by for a drink first. And if you were only planning to pass through, the atmosphere might just tempt you to stay.

All of this makes Ebertplatz an unusual kind of public space. Its story is still being written – and everyone can add something of their own.

Stop and stay a while

By the time the last watering cans are packed back into the trolley, it is almost dark. A few people are still sitting outside the container café. The traffic is the same as before. So is the concrete. But between the bold lines of the square, small traces remain: freshly watered flowerbeds, light spilling from the galleries, voices, music and the gentle ping-pong of a ball on the table-tennis table.