ABSTRACT
This chapter shows how murals have been used in Halle an der Saale (the largest city of the federal German Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt), which has a somewhat complex reputation for visitors (and residents), to persuade these to take on a set of certain positive views of it throughout time. Considering German Democratic Republic (GDR)-era murals and their function, it explains how this form of public art has been used in contemporary Halle in symbolic and key areas of the city, yet which are simultaneously in a state of disrepair. Via the optic of a rhetoric culture approach, the chapter also shows how murals become 'sticking plasters' on parts of the built environment that would otherwise be regarded as negative. To take up the combative metaphor of rhetoric suggested by Bailey, the area around the train station is a palaestral place in that strong rhetorical effort has been made to create a positive impression and to fight the negative.
