Scala

Wuppertal, a city that spreads from a central valley up the surrounding hills, boasts around 500 public stairs. One of them is the “Holsteiner Treppe” in Wuppertal-Ostersbaum, which dissects a row of houses and whose 112 steps in nine sections going up Engelsberg connect the Gathe with Holsteiner Straße. In 2006, as part of the Montag-Stiftung’s “Lebendige Nachbarschaften” (Living Neighbourhoods) project, the artist Horst Gläsker transformed them into an initially temporary work of art. After the paint had been removed, however, a local initiative campaigned for the restoration of the work, which happened in 2008. It was renovated once more in 2016 as it had suffered over time.

Gläsker transforms the nondescript grey stairs into a high-coloured “Treppe der Gefühle” (Stairway of Emotions) by painting every step in a different colour and accentuating them with likewise coloured words in “Humanist” font. The words – verbs, adjectives, and nouns – are grouped by themes which in turn are assigned to the sections so that, in accordance with the artist’s design, every step of the stairs can trigger a chain of associations: “Colour and precise words set a poetical logic in motion that opens the senses and renews and enhances the whole situation. Mounting the stairs soon reveals one’s physical and mental constitution. The stairs thus become a metaphor of being human.”

The first four flights of stairs, each with 15 steps, are marked with words on “family”, “communication,” “exploring the world” and “discovering love,” citing both positive and negative emotions. The following section is dedicated to “communication.” The next, “exploring the world,” is followed by sections on “reflection-solution,” “society-state” and “insight.” The last section header is “wisdom of age.” This is where the wanderer, tired after more than 100 steps, finds calm, scope, meaning, freedom, faith, consideration, and gratitude. Finally, the top step is inscribed with the term courage.

“Scala” is very popular both with residents and tourists, who send it around the globe as a photo motif.

Link: boredpanda.com/most-beautiful-steps-stairs-street-art