Essen Süd railway stop marks the entrance of Essen’s south side, which gives the building at Rellinghauser Straße 117 the importance of a boundary stone. This may be the reason why this wall is in the focus of the graffiti scene; I never have seen it untagged since I have started to observe my surroundings with regard to the changes, except for a brief period from August 2017, when the owner of that building  decided to restore the facade of the building. When the scaffolding was dismantled, it was only a question of time for the writers to occupy the facade again. It was the gong for the next round in the contest to find out the top dogs of Essen’s south side. The first pictures of Rellinghauser Str. 177 date from 09/2014 and I do not know how old the tag was at that time. Fact is: 134 was not the first tag at that wall.

LOOP et al.; Bahnhof Süd

134.; Bahnhof Süd

BIG.F LOOP (08/2015) & 134 (12/2015)

(08/2017) & 134 (03/2019)

Oh – and by the way – who would like to know, how to protect a wall from tagging: Take a tram 107 to Gelsenkirchen and alight the tram at „Am Freistein“. You’ll find a very good example for graffiti protection by graffiti there. A number of artists, based in Essen, are well experienced to handle big walls and deliver eyecatchers regularly.