Germany Bouldering Gym Opens Complementary Location in Dresden

Mandala Boulderhalle Postplatz
Dresden, Germany

Specs: Mandala Boulderhalle Postplatz, a bouldering gym in the middle of the Baroque Old Town of Dresden, opened in November 2024 with Robert Leistner, Gunter Gäbel and Element Boulders at the helm. “In 2008, Robert started searching for a suitable location and bold, motivated partners,” said Mayte Leistner, head of marketing and yoga teacher at Mandala Boulderhalle, about the business’s prior gym build. “Then, in [May] 2016, the grand opening took place with our good friends from Chemnitz (Element Boulders). The goal was to build the most awesome bouldering gym in the world.” Eight years later, in November 2024, the Mandala Boulderhalle team opened its second location, the “Postplatz” location in Dresden.

Mayte attributed part of the motivation behind the expansion to “excellent feedback from our customers, expansion of our concept (more beginner-friendly, stronger focus on high-performance sports), stability of the company and securing jobs, and a strong drive for further development.” She added, “The best approach is when demand drives supply. We made a decision that feels great—for the company, our employees and our customers. Those are great reasons to move forward!” Dresden is the hometown of both Robert and Gäbel, which Mayte described as a very active city with many young families, “located near a massive climbing area, the Elbe Sandstone Mountains.” In the Postplatz square, the team found a building that originally was supposed to be a supermarket, situated “a few steps from the Postplatz Tram stop,” their website details. “Suitable vacant spaces in downtown Dresden are scarce, so there weren’t many options to choose from,” Mayte added.

The new gym features about 600 square meters (6,458 square feet) of climbing wall surface on walls reaching 4.5 meters (14.7 feet). The gym’s eight climbing walls—designed by Robert and installed by Blocz—are covered in colorful boulders graded 1 to 8, following a change from a color system to a scale that was chosen in part “to give all Mandala visitors the opportunity to experience all types of holds,” the website explains. Mandala Boulderhalle Postplatz was largely designed to complement the nearby Zeitenströmung facility, Mandala Boulderhalle’s first gym located just five kilometers away. The Postplatz gym features three Kilter Boards—while the Zeitenströmung gym has a MoonBoard—as well as a 100-square-meter (1,076-square-foot) fitness area inside the gym’s middle boulder, depicted here. The lounge and counter space, designed by Gäbel, includes a pool table, regional handmade organic products, fair trade coffee, and room to relax and watch the bouldering while grabbing food from the bistro.

Walls: Blocz.de
Flooring: Blocz.de
Website: boulderhalle-dresden.de/start.html
Instagram: @Mandala_Boulderhalle_Dresden

In Their Words: “A place like this hasn’t existed in the city center until now. Here, you can push your limits, forget everyday stress, meet friends, make new ones, enjoy incredibly good coffee, and gain new experiences.” – Mayte Leistner, Marketing and Yoga at Mandala Boulderhalle