New playground in Hosterwitz: pump track for action-packed holidays!

New playground in Hosterwitz: pump track for action-packed holidays!

In Dresden-Hosterwitz, an old playground has developed into a new attraction for children and young people. On June 21, 2025, the place with the city's only mountain bike pump track was ceremoniously inaugurated, just in time for the start of the summer holidays. Present at this festive opening were the head of the office, Christian Barth, the social worker Andreas Gremm as well as Sascha Döll and Laura Mietzsch. The construction fence, which still covers a new seating area, gives hope for further improvements, while the pump track has already been put into operation.

The redesign of the playground is the result of a joint commitment by young people with pump track experience who actively participated in the development. Before the renovation, the area was primarily known as a meeting place for dirt bike specialists who maintained the area on a volunteer basis. This initiative illustrates how important low-threshold exercise options are for all age groups, a goal that is being pursued with this redesign Day24 reported.

A place to linger

The Office for Urban Greenery and Waste Management financed the project with around 52,000 euros in order to make the square attractive in the long term. The planning and construction of the pump track was carried out by the Konrad Willar Pumptrack company. In addition, table tennis tables and table football are planned, which will be set up by landscape gardening apprentices in order to further expand the leisure opportunities.

But that's not all. The social workers at “Straszenkreuzer*in” have the vision of creating a permanent anchor point for young people in the neighborhood. This should provide space for discussions and workshops. Laura Mietzsch emphasizes that there is a certain deficit in leisure activities for young people in Hosterwitz. They are determined to change this with the new facility and want to make the interests of young people visible.

Importance of open spaces for young people

The need for open spaces suitable for children and young people is becoming increasingly obvious. According to a publication by the Federal Institute for Building, Urban and Spatial Research, high-quality and networked open spaces are crucial for the healthy development of young people. These open spaces not only promote physical activity, but also provide places of refuge for children. Politics and administration are required to support planning that is suitable for children and young people, and the participation of young people should be an integral part of all planning processes BBSR explains.

The new offer in Hosterwitz shows how important and possible it is to make existing open spaces more creative and adapt them to the needs of young people. It is a step in the right direction and makes it clear that young people's participation should not only be heard, but actively encouraged. Also the advice from former users and the support from the German Initiative Mountainbike e.V. interest group. V. provided valuable impetus for the successful implementation of the project.

The old playground has come back to life with new ideas and commitment. It is now becoming a place that not only invites you to play, but also to linger - and that is entirely in the spirit of cross-generational open space planning.