Drachenspielplatz

A 37-meter-long dragon made of shotcrete

The Dragon Playground on Zerbster Straße in Hellersdorf-Nord is the city’s most unusual water feature because here, technology was not built into a square, but rather a sculpture carries the technology. A 37-meter-long dragon sculpture extends over approximately 2,000 square meters of open space. Its body consists of about 80 cubic meters of shotcrete, and its head reaches up to 3.80 meters in height. It was designed by sculptor Reiner Uhl, financed with 500,000 Euros from the “Stadtumbau Ost” (Urban Restructuring East) program, and realized between 2009 and 2010. A small mythical creature engages in a playful dialogue with the dragon, distributing the play between two figures. Children from the neighborhood participated: a nearby daycare center contributed ideas for the design, and during a spray-painting event, children painted the dragon themselves. Lying and play meadows surround the water spray field.

Fog, fan jets, and a water curtain from the wing arch

The water technology operates in three variations, and the variety is the main attraction of the facility. The dragon emits moist fog, sprays fan jets, and lets a water curtain trickle from its wing arch, under which one can walk. This is triggered partly by pressing a button, partly by a random generator and a timer, so it’s never entirely predictable from which direction the water will come next. The sculpture also serves as play equipment: it can be climbed and used for balancing, which makes the place interesting even for children who have outgrown splashing. Sun protection and seating were added in 2011 at the initiative of the neighborhood management and the parks department. The Marzahn-Hellersdorf Street and Green Spaces Department is responsible for control, maintenance, water quality testing, and turning the facilities on and off; the district spends approximately 160,000 Euros annually on the upkeep of all its water playgrounds and paddling pools combined. There is no entrance fee for the playground, and the surrounding meadows are sufficient for a blanket and a picnic, as there is no kiosk on the premises.