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Flaming stone fire pits, wonky swings, lopsided wooden forts, stacks of hammers and saws, and even an abandoned automobile turned into a play den: Kolle 37 is not your usual kind of kids’ recreation space. This 4,000-square-meter, anarchic adventure playground in the heart of Berlin’s central Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood is like the love child of a Wes Anderson set designer and a steampunk doorman at the city’s infamous Berghain nightclub. Also known as the Adventurous Construction Playground Kolle 37, this unconventional educational space allows children to build — or, indeed, destroy — structures as they see fit. (Parents can enter only one day a week, on Saturdays.) “To a lot of people it looks like junk and dirt, and [they think] that it isn’t useful,” says Marcus Schmidt, who trained as a social worker before joining Kolle 37 in 2005. “But here you get prepared for your future life.” “I’ve made new friends and I don’t sit in front of the computer all day,” says one Kolle 37 regular. Credit: Peter Yeung. The idea is that “risky” adventure playgrounds like Kolle 37 permit and encourage children to contend with genuine challenges from a young age, setting them up to better deal with all kinds of obstacles in adulthood. Proponents say they offer an important riposte to the risk-averse model of learning and play that has become increasingly dominant in places like the U.S. and which critics say limits early development.  In practice, that means that the pro-risk Kolle 37 is home to great piles of wooden logs, half-built shacks and random structures, an impressive quantity of mud and dirt, and beautiful leafy trees dotted throughout. And it’s constantly changing. “You have to talk to your neighbors,” says Schmidt, who is one of a handful of full-time adult employees who oversee but do not interfere. “You share tools, work with others, practice problem solving, compromise. It’s the democratic process.” Weighed down by negative news? Our smart, bright, weekly newsletter is the uplift you’ve been looking for. [contact-form-7] Kolle 37, which started in 1990, is open to children between the ages of six and 16, and offers a rare space for unaccompanied play and so-called “free-range parenting” — moms and dads are asked to give a cell phone number and leave the site promptly. The playground, which receives funding from Berlin government authorities, also offers practical courses such as pottery, blacksmithery, archery and handicrafts, and has a space for music practice. In the depths of Berlin’s freezing winters, there might only be a dozen children present on any given day, but during the summer peak the number can exceed 100. Weekly meetings are held among the kids to discuss rules and problems, with a system of cards used for behavioral issues. Yellows serve as warnings and reds mean a child must leave for the day, for example if they hurt someone or stole something. “They run everything,” says Schmidt. “If the government or officials visit, the kids give the tour. There’s an equal relationship between children and adults here.” Kolle 37 encourages children to collaborate as they problem solve. Credit: Kolle 37. Encouraging children to engage in risk has a wide range of benefits, says Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter, associate professor at the Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education in Norway and co-author of the book Risky Play: An Ethical Challenge. “It’s good for physical development, motor skills and learning how to cope with fears,” she says. “We habituate them through risky play, self-confidence building, courage, learning how to navigate the environment and build social skills.” There’s already a body of research showing how risky play can set children up for life. One 2004 study found that children who took part in trained physical activities — like the archery and pottery offered at Kolle 37 — in kindergarten had a “significant improvement” of their motor skills and a reduced overall number of accidents. Meanwhile, a 2022 study co-authored by Sandseter concluded that the “thrilling emotions” involved in risky play help children mature and learn to deal with “complex psychosocial settings.” Last year, the Canadian Paediatric Society even set out a position statement encouraging non-hazardous risky play. Perhaps the ultimate sign of proof is that even insurance companies agree. In a 2020 report about playgrounds, the DGUV — the association of statutory accident insurers in Germany — stated that it is “particularly necessary” for children to practice taking risks in order to improve longer-term safety. “Allowing risks and daring is just as much a part of child-friendly safety promotion as regulating and prohibiting them,” it said. Adventure playgrounds are plainly a lot of fun, too. “It’s more joyful to be a child if you are allowed to do that,” says Sandseter. “It’s exhilarating to feel the sense of mastery of something they might be afraid of.” The tool library at Kolle 37. A growing body of research highlights the long-term benefits of risky play. Credit: Peter Yeung. Mitja, 13, has been coming to Kolle 37 almost every day for the past six years. “I’m usually around the campfire because there are a lot of other kids there,” says Mitja. “I can chat and chill there. But I also help with chopping wood and building huts. I’ve made new friends, and I don’t sit in front of the computer all day.” Despite the recent surge in support for adventure playgrounds, they are far from new, having been popularized in postwar Europe following the opening of Copenhagen’s Emdrup Junk Playground in the early 1940s. Danish architect Carl Theodor Sørensen tore up the traditional four S’s of play — swings, slides, sandpits and seesaws — and let children lead their own play, digging caves in the ground and assembling their own houses from junk they found. Since then, Germany has gone on to become arguably the “risky playground” capital of the world, and is home to about 400 sites out of an estimated 1,000 worldwide, notably also in Denmark, France and England, such as the Big Swing Adventure Playground in Bradford. Stateside, New York City’s Governors Island is home to The Yard, the city’s only adventure playground and one of only a few in the U.S. It has welcomed over 60,000 city kids since it opened in 2016 “for building, exploring, imagining and destroying.” “There is a movement in several countries right now,” says Sandseter. “Even though some remain really risk-averse, others have had some really good play advocates.” Kolle 37 is home to great piles of wooden logs and half-built shacks, sometimes with a child half way up them. Credit: Kolle 37. Nonetheless, even Berlin’s Kolle 37, despite decades of proven service, remains the subject of heated debate when it comes to safety, particularly as the surrounding neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg has gentrified over the years. The reality is there aren’t big accidents at Kolle 37, Schmidt says. Sometimes children step on a nail and occasionally there are broken arms. But Schmidt argues these accidents happen everywhere — and often when children aren’t being watched. In the same vein, Sandseter is at pains to distinguish between risks and hazards, the latter of which she argues is the responsibility of adults. Adventure playgrounds are about taking risks with intention, not going blindly into danger. “Hazards are things that we can’t expect children to identify,” she elaborates. “I’m not talking about pushing children into dangerous situations. A rotten pole in the swing sets, for example, that’s our responsibility as adults.” Wait, you're not a member yet? Join the Reasons to be Cheerful community by supporting our nonprofit publication and giving what you can. Join Cancel anytime Nonetheless, national contexts are also a massive factor in whether adventure playgrounds can flourish. Public space in Germany is not held hostage by liability lawsuits as can be the case in the U.S. Another aspect is the health system of a country. “The U.S. is a bit more difficult, it’s very risk-averse,” says Sandseter. “If a child climbs a tree, falls and breaks an arm, it’s completely free to be treated in some countries. While in the U.S., the family could go personally bankrupt.” But Kolle 37 and other advocates point to the child’s right to play, which is enshrined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. They say that with the global playground equipment market valued at more than $6 billion in 2024, it’s an important investment to get right. “This is a really, really special place,” says Schmidt. “It looks different every day. And the kids made it, not some engineer.” The post The Anarchic Playgrounds Where Putting Kids At Risk Is The Point appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.

  Few French officers during the height of the French Revolutionary Wars in the mid-1790s were as famous, popular, and accomplished as Jean Victor Moreau. However, he would soon be eclipsed by a young general named Napoleon Bonaparte. Unlike some French revolutionary officers in the early 1790s, Moreau remained committed to the republican cause and became Napoleon’s friend and close associate. Nevertheless, Moreau’s relationship with Napoleon’s opponents ultimately resulted in his arrest and exile from France. After several years of exile in the US, Moreau returned to Europe to fight against Napoleon.   Jean Victor Moreau: A Revolutionary General General Jean Victor Moreau, by François Gérard, c. 1797. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Château de Versailles   Moreau was born in the region of Brittany in February 1763. His father was a prominent lawyer who insisted that his son pursue the same profession. Young Jean Victor studied law at the University of Rennes. However, Moreau longed to pursue a military career.   Fortunately for Moreau, the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 put his studies on hold and presented an opportunity to join the army. His firm republican attitudes and leadership abilities catapulted Moreau from a humble volunteer to a general by 1793.   Just as a young Napoleon would do a few years later, Moreau was rapidly promoted in the ranks of revolutionary France’s army. Indeed, by 1795, Moreau became the commander of France’s Army of the Rhine and Moselle.   As commander of the Army of the Rhine and Moselle, Moreau crossed the Rhine and fought the Austrians in Germany. According to historian Gregory Fremont-Barnes, Austria was revolutionary France’s most dangerous enemy. Indeed, France’s government, the Directory, focused their war aims in 1795-1796 on defeating Austria (2001, 9).   As a result, Moreau’s army was one of three French forces arrayed against Austria in the 1796 campaign. A young Napoleon received his first command as the head of the third and smallest of these French forces, the Army of Italy. As historian Gunther Rothenburg notes, although initially meant to be a sideshow, Napoleon’s Army of Italy won a series of legendary battles in 1796-1797 that dramatically changed the war against Austria (1999, 47).   Brumaire: Napoleon’s Rise to Power  Napoléon Bonaparte in the coup d’état of 18 Brumaire VIII (9 November 1799), by François Bouchot, 1840. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Château de Versailles   Moreau was transferred to command in Italy upon the renewal of hostilities with Austria in 1799. With Napoleon campaigning in Egypt, French forces in Italy were left to fight the Austrians and their Russian allies without the general who had won the brilliant campaign of 1796-1797.   Led by the brilliant Russian commander, Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov, the Russian and Austrian forces scored multiple victories over Moreau and other French commanders in Italy and Switzerland. Historian Christopher Duffy notes that Suvorov praised Moreau as a worthy opponent. Suvorov remarked, “To beat Moreau—that would be something worth doing” (1999, 70).   With little hope of victory after the loss of the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile and French reversals in Italy, Napoleon made a daring escape from Egypt to return to France in the fall of 1799. Napoleon and a group of conspirators orchestrated the Directory’s collapse in the so-called Brumaire Coup in November 1799. At first, some conspirators wanted Moreau to lead the new government, but the general declined.   Historian William Doyle notes that Brumaire dismantled the French revolutionary government and installed Napoleon as the country’s ruler. Indeed, Napoleon proclaimed to the French public that the Revolution had ended (2001, 98).   Andrew Roberts notes that Moreau played a role in Brumaire by arresting some of the Directory’s members (2014, 219-220).   At this point, Moreau was wealthy and popular with the French public and Napoleon. He married a friend of Napoleon’s wife, Josephine, Eugénie Hulot (1781-1821). This also brought Moreau closer to Napoleon’s circle.   Moreau’s Finest Hour: The Battle of Hohenlinden, December 1800  Battle of Hohenlinden, December 3, 1800, by Henri Frédéric Schopin, 1836. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Château de Versailles, Galerie des Batailles   Napoleon won a brilliant victory over an Austrian army in northern Italy at Marengo in June 1800. French forces recovered much of the territory in Italy lost to Austria during Suvorov’s Austro-Russian invasion of 1799. However, Austria had not yet been knocked out of the war against France. Indeed, negotiations between Austrian and French diplomats collapsed by mid-November.   As a result, Fremont-Barnes explains that French and Austrian forces prepared to face off along the Rhine in Germany. Moreau commanded French troops in the region, while Archduke John led the Austrian army. The two armies met amid the Hohenlinden forest, about 20 miles outside the Bavarian capital of Munich (2001, 92).   Between December 2-3, 1800, Archduke John launched an attack on Moreau’s center, commanded by future Napoleonic marshal Michel Ney. Meanwhile, French troops attacked and routed the Austrian left. As a result, Archduke John was forced to retreat at the cost of roughly 18,000 casualties.   Although Archduke Charles assumed command of Austrian forces, Vienna had little enthusiasm to continue fighting. Before the year’s end, the Austrians agreed to an armistice and prepared for peace with France.   Hohenlinden proved to be Moreau’s most significant victory. Fremont-Barnes points out it was also the last major land battle of the French Revolutionary Wars (2001, 92). Andrew Roberts notes that Napoleon wrote to Moreau shortly after receiving news of the French victory. A proud Napoleon told Moreau the “wretched Austrians…were not yet acquainted with you. I salute you affectionately” (2014, 286).   Jean Victor Moreau: Anti-Napoleonic Conspirator? The Arrest of Georges Cadoudal, artist unknown, 19th century. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Gallica Digital Library   While Napoleon applauded Moreau’s victory, the hero of Hohenlinden would soon become a potential political rival.   Now firmly in power as First Consul, Napoleon distanced himself from some of the Revolution’s changes to French society. For example, Napoleon reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church in an arrangement with the Pope, the Concordat, in 1801.   The Concordat was deeply unpopular within the French military. For instance, Andrew Roberts notes that Moreau disobeyed Napoleon’s order to attend the first mass since the French Revolution at Notre Dame. Instead, Roberts says Moreau stood on a terrace at the Tuileries Palace smoking a cigar (2014, 274). By this point, Moreau had reservations about Napoleon’s power and increasing conservatism.   Moreau’s accomplished career and popularity kept his name in circulation as a possible replacement for Napoleon. Indeed, several plots and conspiracies were directed against Napoleon as he assumed greater power, including the title of emperor in 1804.   The most famous of these plots against Napoleon is known as the Cadoudal conspiracy. This plot is also remembered for the roles of French generals, including Moreau and Charles Pichegru. French royalists like Georges Cadoudal and Pichegru worked with British intelligence on a plot to kidnap Napoleon in 1803.   In January 1804, British forces landed Pichegru and several conspirators in France. Pichegru met Moreau and attempted to enlist his support to topple Napoleon. Andrew Roberts points out that although Moreau did not actively support the plot, his failure to alert Napoleon and the authorities made him complicit (2014, 336).   Exile in America: Moreau the Celebrity  Jean-Victor Moreau, drawing by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin, c. 1806-1811. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York   The main conspirators were arrested by February 1804. Moreau was also arrested that month and sent to the notorious Temple Prison in Paris.   Moreau skillfully professed his innocence during his trial. Indeed, as Andrew Roberts notes, the evidence against Moreau was circumstantial and based on hearsay, as he did not write down anything compromising (2014, 346). While Moreau initially received a jail sentence, Napoleon altered the punishment to exile in the United States. Cadoudal and several other conspirators were executed in June 1804.   The Duc D’Enghien, a cousin of the ill-fated King Louis XVI, was also less fortunate than Moreau. Indeed, Napoleon controversially had the French royal abducted from his home in the neutral German state of Baden and imprisoned in France.   D’Enghien’s only crime was to be a prominent member of France’s royal family who lived close enough to Paris to be plausibly involved with a plot against Napoleon’s life. Andrew Roberts points out that D’Enghien’s execution shocked the courts of Europe and angered many in France, who considered it an example of Napoleon’s abuse of power (2014, 338).   Moreau traveled to New York and soon purchased a home in the Philadelphia area. He soon settled into life as a celebrity in the United States. Indeed, many pamphlets and books appeared touting the exploits of the famous republican military hero who helped save the French Revolution.   Moreau Against Napoleon: The Campaign of 1813 in Germany  Portrait of Imperator Alexander I of Russia, by Stepan Shchukin, 1808. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Pavlovsk Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia   Napoleon’s disastrous 1812 campaign in Russia galvanized France’s rivals to form a new coalition. Bankrolled by Britain, the Sixth Coalition included Austria, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, and several small German and Italian states.   News of Napoleon’s defeat in Russia prompted Moreau to leave the United States and return to Europe. Tsar Alexander I invited Moreau to join his staff as an advisor in the Imperial Russian army. Although Moreau had been offered a position in the US army, he accepted Tsar Alexander’s offer and joined the war against Napoleonic France.   Despite France’s staggering losses in Russia, Napoleon quickly replenished his forces to meet the forces of the Sixth Coalition. Historian Digby Smith points out that the rapid reconstruction of the French army reflected Napoleon’s excellent organizational skills and that France could rely on considerable numbers of troops conscripted from across its satellite states in Europe (2010, 10).   This reorganized French force would take the field against the Sixth Coalition during the summer and fall of 1813 in Germany.   The Battle of Dresden, 1813 Battle of Dresden colored lithograph, by Antoine Charles Horace Vernet (called Carle Vernet) and Jacques François Swebach, c. early 19th century. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Historian Peter Hofschroer points out that Dresden was Napoleon’s lone great victory of the 1813 campaign in Germany. Moreover, it was one of his final significant victories as a battlefield commander (1993, 44).   The Allied army of the Sixth Coalition led by the Austrian general Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg fought Napoleon’s troops over two bloody days in late August 1813 at Dresden.   During the battle’s second day on August 27, 1813, Tsar Alexander asked Moreau’s advice as they surveyed the battlefield from Racknitz Heights. Moreau suggested a plan of attack, and Alexander ordered a courier to send orders to Russian commanders.   However, historian J.P. Riley notes that Napoleon ordered French artillery to concentrate their fire on a group of riders on Racknitz Heights (2001, 140). The riders happened to include Tsar Alexander and Moreau. The first shot of French artillery struck Moreau in the legs. Alexander’s surgeon quickly amputated Moreau’s legs, but the wound proved fatal. Moreau died five days later at the age of 50. Riley points out that Moreau’s mortal wounding sapped Tsar Alexander’s will to continue the fight. As a result, he lobbied fellow Allied commanders to retreat (2001, 143).   Despite heavy losses, the Allied army managed to retreat into Bohemia to fight another day. As Hofschroer explains, Dresden had been a significant victory but not a total victory for Napoleon (1993, 51). Napoleon would suffer one of his worst defeats in October 1813 at the Battle of Leipzig.   Jean Victor Moreau’s Legacy  Commemorative Medal depicting Jean-Victor Moreau, by François Augustin Caunois, 1819. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Musée Carnavalet, Histoire de Paris, Paris   Moreau was buried in the Catholic Church of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg. However, his heart was later buried next to his wife in Bordeaux.   While Moreau was mortally wounded fighting against France at the 1813 Battle of Dresden, he is remembered as an accomplished French general.   Indeed, many historians regard his victory at Hohenlinden as one of the most important of revolutionary France’s triumphs during the French Revolutionary Wars.   Despite his republican sympathies, Moreau’s hostility to Napoleon and victories were enough to earn the posthumous rank of Marshal of France from King Louis XVIII.   References and Further Reading     Doyle, W. (2001). The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.   Duffy, C. (1999). Eagles Over the Alps: Suvorov in Italy and Switzerland. Emperor’s Press.   Fremont-Barnes, G. (2001). The French Revolutionary Wars. Osprey.   Hofschroer, P. (1993). Leipzig 1813: The Battle of the Nations. Osprey.   Riley, J.P. (2001). Napoleon and the World War of 1813: Lessons in Coalition Warfighting. Cass.   Roberts, A. (2014). Napoleon the Great. Penguin.   Rothenburg, G. (1999). The Napoleonic Wars. Cassell.   Smith, D. (2010). Armies of 1812. Spellmount.