Between tower blocks and picnic blankets – exploring Cologne Sülz with Moritz Adam Schmitt

Bright, playful colours and comic-inspired characters are the hallmark of Moritz Adam Schmitt’s work. But if you take a closer look there’s more beneath the surface. Hidden behind the bold colours are reflections on social change, human relationships and the contradictions of modern life. His paintings encourage viewers to look beyond first impressions and question what at first seems familiar.

Originally, Moritz’s career was heading in a different direction. After studying media design, he worked as an illustrator. During the pandemic, he turned to painting as a creative escape from hours spent staring at a screen. What began as a personal outlet gradually became a profession in its own right.

Today, Moritz stages his own exhibitions and sells prints through his online shop. More than 100,000 people follow him on Instagram, where bold colours and playful characters bring his stories to life. Alongside commissions for international clients, he is increasingly focusing on his own artistic practice, exploring the issues that matter most to him.

On our stroll through Cologne Sülz, Moritz shares the places that mean the most to him – the corners of a neighbourhood he’s called home since the age of two and never wanted to leave.

Inside Moritz’s home: life among canvases

I’ve been living and working in this top-floor flat in the heart of Sülz, just off Sülzburgstrasse, for the past eight years. Work and private life are pretty much impossible to separate here, which suits me fine. Creativity and art take up so much space in my life that the boundaries between work, passion and everyday life naturally blur. Besides, “the commute” couldn’t be any shorter.

My home studio actually started out as nothing more than an office. For illustration work, you don’t need much space – a desk is usually enough. Since I started painting, though, things have become a little cramped. Canvases, paints and art supplies tend to take up quite a bit of room. For some projects, I simply don’t have the space anymore. At some point, I’ll probably move into a studio outside my own four walls – ideally somewhere else in Sülz.

Uni-Center – a landmark called home

With its 45 storeys, the Uni-Center is one of the largest residential buildings in Europe. For many people, it’s simply one of Cologne’s most recognisable high-rises. For me, it’s a landmark that always points the way home.

I’ve lived in Sülz since I was two years old, so I guess you could say I’ve been here all my life. No matter where I’m coming from, the Uni-Center eventually appears on the horizon. Whenever I return from a holiday and spot it in the distance, I know I’ve made it home.

For me, the Uni-Center marks one end of the neighbourhood. We’ll reach the other end later on. Everything I love about Sülz lies somewhere in between. When I was younger, I always imagined I’d end up living in Ehrenfeld. Back then, it was the neighbourhood everyone wanted to be in. But somehow, Sülz never let me go. I simply like it too much here.

Impact Café – where new ideas take shape

Whenever my top-floor flat turns into an oven and temperatures climb above 40°C in summer, this is where I escape to. Since I don’t have a balcony, the Impact Café has become something of an outdoor office for me. It’s where I develop ideas, answer emails and work on new projects. It also hosted my very first exhibition, so it’s a place that means a lot to me. In many ways, it reflects what is happening in Sülz right now: the neighbourhood is getting younger, with new ideas, concepts and meeting places popping up all over the place.

There’s always something new happening at Impact Café: speed dating, magic shows, spritz evenings – the programme is incredibly varied. At “Play & Connect”, you can meet new people, while “Drink, Play, Draw” brings people together to get creative. The food is entirely vegetarian, with plenty of vegan options. The all-you-can-eat pancakes are particularly popular. For a fair price, guests get unlimited vegan pancake batter, which they can cook themselves at the table and top with a wide selection of sweet and savoury ingredients. This is a place that isn’t afraid to try new things, while staying approachable and down-to-earth at the same time. I’m friends with the owners and several members of the team. Every now and then, I even get to try dishes before they make it onto the menu.

I also really admire the values behind the café. The people running it are also behind the social enterprise Plastic2Beans, which uses fairly traded coffee to support social and environmental projects in Ethiopia. That sense of genuine human connection is something I’d like to see more of in the world.

Weisshaus – behind closed gates

Some places are known to everyone, even though few people have ever set foot inside. For me, Weisshaus is one of them. Hidden behind its ornate gates are a small castle, a lake and an expansive park.

From the street, you occasionally catch a glimpse of the gardeners at work or the geese wandering across the lawns. But that’s about all you get to see. Naturally, it makes you wonder what lies behind the walls. Last year, there was an open day with guided tours, but unfortunately demand was so high that I didn’t manage to get a place.

Maybe that’s exactly what makes it so appealing. Weisshaus is somehow part of the neighbourhood, yet it still feels like a well-kept secret.

Weisshaus Kino – small cinema, big personality

Whenever I go to the cinema, this is where I go. Weisshaus Kino is a real Sülz institution. It’s smaller, more personal and somehow more relaxed than the big multiplexes. The programme offers a great mix of arthouse films and mainstream blockbusters. That’s exactly what I like about it.

I don’t go to the cinema nearly as often as I did before the pandemic, but I still make a conscious effort to support places like this. I know from experience how challenging it can be for small businesses and independent entrepreneurs to hold their own. That’s why I’m always happy to support places with character that continue to stand their ground alongside the big chains.

Berrenrather and Luxemburger Strasse – the neighbourhood’s main artery

If you really want to understand Sülz, all you have to do is take a walk along Berrenrather Strasse. This is where people meet, do their shopping, grab a bite to eat or stop for a coffee on a whim. Together with Sülzburgstrasse, it forms the beating heart of the neighbourhood. Luxemburger Strasse is just as important. Many people see it as little more than a busy thoroughfare, but for me it connects the different sides of Sülz.

Long-established businesses sit alongside new concepts, students mingle with families, and regulars share cafés with people who have only recently moved to the neighbourhood. A lot has changed here in recent years. New bar concepts have emerged, younger people have moved to Sülz and local events have grown. Yet the neighbourhood has never lost its original character. That’s what I appreciate most. Sülz continues to evolve without completely reinventing itself.

Beethovenpark and Pilzberg – Sülz at its greenest

If the Uni-Center represents the urban side of Sülz, Beethovenpark represents the exact opposite. This is where my Sülz ends.

In summer, the lawns fill with people. Picnic blankets dot the grass, children kick footballs around and groups of friends linger well into the evening.

Just before you reach the park, you’ll find Tom am Platz, an inclusive café where people with disabilities work. In summer, it’s a wonderful spot for breakfast on the terrace.

And then there’s Pilzberg, of course. Whenever it snowed when I was a child, this was where everyone came to go sledging. The hill would turn into a little winter sports resort. Sadly, we rarely get enough snow for that these days. Even so, this place still means a great deal to me. Between the Uni-Center that always points the way home and the hill where I spent so many winter afternoons sledging as a child, there are only a few minutes’ walk. Maybe that’s what makes Sülz so special: city life and neighbourhood spirit, change and familiarity, all exist side by side here