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In August 2022, Kreuzberg’s former Heinrichplatz (originally named for Prince Henry (German: Heinrich) of Prussia) was renamed after the musician, and activist Rio Reiser (*1950–†1996). Reiser was an icon of the protest movements in West Germany in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the singer of the band Ton Steine Scherben, which captured the spirit of the era in their music (See: Rauch-Haus-Song ). After the band broke up, Reiser continued with a solo career. Reiser came out as gay in 1970, and was active in LGBT issues throughout his life.
On August 21, 2022, Rio-Reiser-Platz was formally inaugurated. Rio Reiser’s former bandmates were present and performed at the ceremony. The renaming had been delayed due to lawsuits by local residents. Concerns were raised about the “expense” of the renaming, and also about renaming a Berlin-Kreuzberg square after a male person. Despite the districts expressed goal to close the gender gap where the names of streets and squares are concerned, only approximately 10% of all streets and squares in the district are currently named after women.
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