Is it possible to be a Flâneur these days and is it possible to slip into this role in Chemnitz?
Nowadays it is almost impossible to be a flâneur in the proper sense, which means as Walter Benjamin described it. The arcades, which were presented as the playground of the flâneur, are no more (Bauman 1994, 148). Where they still exist, they are often deserted. And if there are no people, there is also no crowd in which the traditional flâneur could hide (Bauman 1994, 141). The original home of the flâneur, the arcades of Paris changed and transformed over time (Bauman 1994, 147). The arcades are no longer the space where the action is because people do not want to be on the streets any more. They just pass from one place to the next as fast as possible (Bauman 1994, 148). In fact, individualism is much more important today than it was at times of the original flâneur. And the more individual you are, the more you distance yourself from other people. This makes it on the one hand very hard for the flâneur to practice flâneurie in Chemnitz. On the other hand, with regard to these developments, the city of Chemnitz offers great and possibilities to practice flâneurie. Because it is the city of individualism, thKarl Marx monumente flâneur can discover unique impressions. Chemnitz is not as busy as Berlin but as colourful, it is also not as romantic as Paris but as lovely and at night, the streets of Chemnitz are not as enlightened as the streets of New York but as subcultural.
As I mentioned in the subsection ‘People in the City’, almost everybody in Chemnitz wants to express his or her personality. However, due to the fact that modern life is more dangerous, people search for secure ways to practice their individualism. Put differently, being on the streets is dangerous. Zygmunt Bauman described the streets as dead space (Bauman 1994, 148). This is not only the case because the streets are deserted but because you can also lose your life on the dangerous streets (Bauman 1994, 148). As has already been mentioned in the subsections, the shopping malls function as compromise of inside and outside, where it is inviting, clean and secure (Bauman 1994, 149). According to Bauman (1994), the streets are no longer the hunting ground of the flâneur (149). Today, for the flâneur the inside is what was in former times the outside. In Chemnitz, the city center offers numerous opportunities to enjoy the pleasure of flâneurie inside; especially the space of the Galerie Roter Turm and around is always crowded. Needless to point out that it imitates the former arcades. Plants make the visitors feel as if the nature is not entirely excluded. The streets of the Chemnitz city center are animated by the fact that people pass from one shopping mall to the next, for instance from the Galerie Roter Turm to the Peek & Cloppenburg or the Galeria Kaufhof. The latter two are sprawling buildings which are shrouded off from the surroundings just by glass facades, which additionally conveys a sense of being close to nature and to the outside. Furthermore, by this time, there are numerous of administrative bodies as well as sports facilities, bars cafés and restaurants in the city center, which also helps to fill the streets with life. It seems as if the buildings were life rafts, where the people seek refuge in just to attempt to escape the open space of the streets. This offers the opportunity to practice flâneurie inside as well as outside.
The mixing of inside and outside is an interesting concept, because for the flâneur, the whole city turns to be a countryside ( Benjamin 1999, M3,2). Cityscape and nature meld and flâneurie transforms the city into one great interior. As a symbol for this transformation I want to point to the picture of the giant chair on the tree in the 'Landscape vs. Cityscape' subsection. It represents the landscape that is at the same time cityscape and, figuratively speaking, can be regarded as interior. The city becomes the home of the flâneur.
An other very interesting concept is that of Andreas Mahler (1999). According to him, the city is a discourse and it functions like a language (11). Of course, this is a very abstract approach, where the city talks to its inhabitants and the inhabitants speak the city Mahler 1999, 11). Indeed, the inhabitants of Chemnitz speak the city of Chemnitz. They crated their own code, for instance how to talk about their landmarks, the Nischel and the Wolkenmaschine which slowly becomes the Zuckerstange. Sometimes it is not easy to follow a Chemnitz conversation, however it is always nice to listen. However, when wandering through the city of Chemnitz and approaching flâneurie consciously, it is very easy to recognize the semiotic of the city. Chemnitz offers a readily identifiably structure of character combination for people's guidance. Due to the socialistic urban development and planning, the structure of the city of Chemnitz is very clear. Symbols that everyone individually dedicates to special relevance make it easy to orient oneself. I like to present just a few examples in order to understand this abstract approach better. The Roter Turm and the Karl Marx monument mark the city center as well as the shopping mall Galerie Roter Turm. The rail station marks the foot of the Sonnenberg district. And the colourful Neues Hörsalgebäude which is also called Orangerie marks the University.
To sum up, becoming a flâneur was not easy, however, the city of Chemnitz helped to identify with this role as effectively as possible. This city offers great possibilities to be a flâneur and I definitely think that it is possible to be a Flâneur these days. Of course it needs some overcoming to leave the secure home for the streets. But shopping malls manage to build a world in between, which is a perfect world for the flâneur. And for me, it is not just possible to slip into the role of the flâneur in Chemnitz, I would also recommend it.
As I mentioned in the subsection ‘People in the City’, almost everybody in Chemnitz wants to express his or her personality. However, due to the fact that modern life is more dangerous, people search for secure ways to practice their individualism. Put differently, being on the streets is dangerous. Zygmunt Bauman described the streets as dead space (Bauman 1994, 148). This is not only the case because the streets are deserted but because you can also lose your life on the dangerous streets (Bauman 1994, 148). As has already been mentioned in the subsections, the shopping malls function as compromise of inside and outside, where it is inviting, clean and secure (Bauman 1994, 149). According to Bauman (1994), the streets are no longer the hunting ground of the flâneur (149). Today, for the flâneur the inside is what was in former times the outside. In Chemnitz, the city center offers numerous opportunities to enjoy the pleasure of flâneurie inside; especially the space of the Galerie Roter Turm and around is always crowded. Needless to point out that it imitates the former arcades. Plants make the visitors feel as if the nature is not entirely excluded. The streets of the Chemnitz city center are animated by the fact that people pass from one shopping mall to the next, for instance from the Galerie Roter Turm to the Peek & Cloppenburg or the Galeria Kaufhof. The latter two are sprawling buildings which are shrouded off from the surroundings just by glass facades, which additionally conveys a sense of being close to nature and to the outside. Furthermore, by this time, there are numerous of administrative bodies as well as sports facilities, bars cafés and restaurants in the city center, which also helps to fill the streets with life. It seems as if the buildings were life rafts, where the people seek refuge in just to attempt to escape the open space of the streets. This offers the opportunity to practice flâneurie inside as well as outside.
The mixing of inside and outside is an interesting concept, because for the flâneur, the whole city turns to be a countryside ( Benjamin 1999, M3,2). Cityscape and nature meld and flâneurie transforms the city into one great interior. As a symbol for this transformation I want to point to the picture of the giant chair on the tree in the 'Landscape vs. Cityscape' subsection. It represents the landscape that is at the same time cityscape and, figuratively speaking, can be regarded as interior. The city becomes the home of the flâneur.
An other very interesting concept is that of Andreas Mahler (1999). According to him, the city is a discourse and it functions like a language (11). Of course, this is a very abstract approach, where the city talks to its inhabitants and the inhabitants speak the city Mahler 1999, 11). Indeed, the inhabitants of Chemnitz speak the city of Chemnitz. They crated their own code, for instance how to talk about their landmarks, the Nischel and the Wolkenmaschine which slowly becomes the Zuckerstange. Sometimes it is not easy to follow a Chemnitz conversation, however it is always nice to listen. However, when wandering through the city of Chemnitz and approaching flâneurie consciously, it is very easy to recognize the semiotic of the city. Chemnitz offers a readily identifiably structure of character combination for people's guidance. Due to the socialistic urban development and planning, the structure of the city of Chemnitz is very clear. Symbols that everyone individually dedicates to special relevance make it easy to orient oneself. I like to present just a few examples in order to understand this abstract approach better. The Roter Turm and the Karl Marx monument mark the city center as well as the shopping mall Galerie Roter Turm. The rail station marks the foot of the Sonnenberg district. And the colourful Neues Hörsalgebäude which is also called Orangerie marks the University.
To sum up, becoming a flâneur was not easy, however, the city of Chemnitz helped to identify with this role as effectively as possible. This city offers great possibilities to be a flâneur and I definitely think that it is possible to be a Flâneur these days. Of course it needs some overcoming to leave the secure home for the streets. But shopping malls manage to build a world in between, which is a perfect world for the flâneur. And for me, it is not just possible to slip into the role of the flâneur in Chemnitz, I would also recommend it.
click the arcades of Chemnitz to see the References