The mosaic was created using almost 11,000 tiles by the Spanish artist Josep Renau and measures 35 metres in height and seven metres in width. Completed in 1974, it covers the façade of a residential block.
The mosaic was one of the first major projects of its kind in the German Democratic Republic (in German: DDR), said a spokesperson for the Wüstenrot foundation, which helps preserve historical monuments. The foundation described it as part of the “DDR’s cultural heritage.”
There was a political-ideological idea for each residential complex in the new town of Halle-Neustadt that was to be expressed in artistic form, she said.
In 1968, East Germany commissioned Renau to create two works: “The Powers of Nature and Technology Mastered by Humankind” and “Unity of the Working Class and Founding of the GDR.”
The first was restored in 2005, while the second is currently showing damage and is to be repaired.
According to the foundation, murals by Renau (1907-1982) are among the most significant artworks dating to the the East German era. In Germany, they are preserved only in Halle and Erfurt. Via Reuters
