Frankenbad (Bonn)

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Main entrance with forecourt (2011)

The Frankenbad is one of three public indoor pools in Bonn . The building stands as a 1996 monument under monument protection . It is located at Adolfstraße 45 in the Nordstadt district .

Location, construction and social environment

Water fountains and public bookcase on the forecourt (2012)

The property on which the building was erected (a former fairground, called Frankenplatz ) fills a square that is framed by the streets of Vorgebirgsstraße, Adolfstraße, Am Frankenbad and Hochstadenring . As a result of an architecture competition carried out in 1959, the design by the local architect Hans Spoelgen (garden design: Heinrich Raderschall ) only took second place; he was nevertheless commissioned with the construction. Work began in 1960; the inauguration took place on June 22, 1963. The ensemble includes an inner courtyard (30 × 40 m) surrounded by the four-winged building and has a spacious forecourt. This square (also called Frankenbadplatz ), which is furnished with water fountains, benches and play equipment for children, is often used by the residents and is perceived as a kind of “marketplace” for the surrounding residential area.

"The opening of the entrance hall to the square and green areas and the connection between the swimming pool and the atrium, which can be used as a sunbathing area, show the successful combination of architecture and nature that the architects aimed at."

- Andreas Denk (1997)

Sports facilities

The Frankenbad has a short-course sports pool, a multi-purpose pool and a teaching pool. It became known in professional swimmers' circles through the ten-year duration of the arena swimming meeting in the 1980s. The Frankenbad is predestined for sporting competitions, as it has a terrace-shaped visitor stand with up to 400 seats and the appropriate technology (e.g. for making and broadcasting underwater images). Every year from 1989 to 2017 the German Open of synchronized swimmers took place there, from 2018 there will be no new edition of the event. The sports pool (heated to 26 ° C) has six lanes and measures 25 × 15 m with a water depth of 2.50 to 3.80 m. The multi-purpose pool (28 ° C) covers an area of ​​25 × 12.5 m and was built for a water depth of 1.25 to 3.60 m. In addition, a teaching pool (30 ° C) is available in the basement that is 12 × 8 m in size and 0.6 to 1.10 m deep. A diving system with a five-meter diving tower and a one- and three-meter diving board has been installed, but only the one and three-meter diving board can be used by the public; Starting blocks are available.

In addition to public use by residents and visitors of Bonn, the pool is also used on weekdays by groups from the University of Bonn , school classes and swimming clubs. The bathroom used to be used for personal hygiene; the bath tubs and showers in the basement used for this purpose are no longer in use. In the early years, the offer also included a milk bar ; this has not existed for decades.

Closure of the bath

Further indoor swimming pools in Bonn are located in Beuel ( Beueler Bütt , Goetheallee) and in Duisdorf ( Hardtbergbad / indoor and outdoor pools , In der Dehlen). Pure outdoor pools can be found in the following districts: Castell ( Römerbad ), Poppelsdorf ( Melbbad ), Rüngsdorf ( Panoramabad ), Friesdorf ( Friesdorf outdoor pool ) and Beuel ( Ennertbad ). For many years there has been a dispute in local politics about a pool concept that is supposed to reduce costs for the city of Bonn. For this purpose, a 300-page report on the ´Perspective reorganization of the Bonn pool landscape´ was prepared by external experts in 2012 . Different variants of closure plans (also for the Frankenbad), modernizations and new buildings have already been discussed. In many sports facilities only the most necessary repairs are carried out; there is a renovation backlog. For the indoor swimming pools alone, the City Sports Association estimates over EUR 40 million in April 2016. In May 2010 the Viktoriabad in the city of Bonn was closed, in May 2016 the Kurfürstenbad in Bad Godesberg . The swimming pools that are still in existence can only be operated with the support of sponsoring associations and the associated voluntary commitment of its visitors. The indoor swimming pool in the city's North Sports Park has been leased to a local club ( Swimming and Sportfreunde Bonn 1905 ) since 1970 . The contract runs until 2027. As early as the early 2000s, this largest sports club in Bonn offered the city to run the Frankenbad as well. A concept for this was presented in 2009; this was refused. On September 22, 2016, the Bonn city council decided to close the Frankenbad. The time was not yet certain; the resolution specifies the date when a new pool was put into operation that was to be built on the Wasserland site in Kessenich . This was planned for 2020. With a referendum in August 2018, the planning for the so-called "Wasserlandbad" was stopped. The bathroom is not being built. This majority decision by Bonn's citizens is binding for the city administration for two years. An urban development competition is to be announced for the further use of the municipal Frankenbad and the forecourt (also owned by the city of Bonn) .

literature

Web links

Commons : Frankenbad  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ List of monuments of the city of Bonn (as of March 15, 2019), number A 3226
  2. ↑ Workshop Baukultur Bonn: 50 Years of Frankenbad-A Birthday Party ( Memento of the original from April 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Online magazine rheinraum online, June 18, 2013; Retrieved April 24, 2016  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rheinraum-online.de
  3. ↑ private blog meine-altstadt-bonn.de: Der Platz am Frankenbad - about the importance of a place ( memento of the original from April 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , February 15, 2015; Retrieved April 24, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / Meine-altstadt-bonn.de
  4. ^ Andreas Denk, Ingeborg Flagge: Architekturführer Bonn .
  5. ↑ The pain of parting in the Viktoriabad ; General-Anzeiger Bonn from May 18, 2010; Retrieved April 24, 2016
  6. ^ Godesberger Kurfürstenbad close ; Express Online May 30, 2016; accessed on September 23, 2016
  7. ↑ Example: Förderverein Unser Melbbad e. V.
  8. ↑ After the referendum - what happens next in Bonn's bathing landscape? General-Anzeiger Online August 7, 2018; accessed on August 7, 2018
  9. ↑ Concept for the transfer of the Frankenbad from the city of Bonn to the Swimming and Sportfreunde Bonn 1905 e. V. (with photos) from 2009; Retrieved April 24, 2016
  10. ^ Swimming pool in Dottendorf; Planning committee decides to build a new swimming pool General-Anzeiger Bonn Online, September 2, 2016; accessed on September 23, 2016
  11. ^ Decision in the Bonn City Council; Politicians approve new swimming pool in Wasserland General-Anzeiger Bonn Online, 23 September 2016; accessed on September 23, 2016
  12. ↑ Result of the referendum - 55,000 Bonn residents vote to stop construction of the Wasserlandbad General-Anzeiger Online August 5, 2018; accessed on August 7, 2018


Coordinates: 50 ° 44 ′ 20.8 ″  N , 7 ° 5 ′ 19.3 ″  E