Alpenstrandbad Semmering
| Alpenstrandbad and Hotel Panhans am Semmering: Panorama view. |
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| Postcard from 1936 |
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| Alpenstrandbad Semmering: View from SE. |
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| Postcard from 1933 |
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| Alpenstrandbad Semmering: swimming pool |
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| Postcard motif |
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| Alpenstrandbad Semmering: sunbathing area |
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| Postcard motif, 1932–1933 |
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| Alpenstrandbad Semmering: goldfish pool on the sunbathing lawn |
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| Filmarchiv Austria |
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The Alpenstrandbad Semmering was an indoor swimming pool in the group of the leisure facilities of the Hotel Panhans . It was considered a landmark of the modern age and was a tourist magnet in the Semmering area during the interwar period . After around 30 years of operation, it was shut down again and partially demolished in the course of the renovation of the hotel complex in the early 1980s.
history
The municipality of Semmering had been planning to build an indoor swimming pool on the Panhans grounds since 1928. On the Styrian side of the Semmering, new sources were used to supply water. In the end, however, the project could not be implemented due to lack of funds.
In 1930 the Estonian entrepreneur William D. Zimdin (1880–1951) acquired the Grand Hotel (Semmeringer Hotel- und Kuranstalt AG) and tried very successfully to revitalize the house over the next few years. This included the construction of the indoor swimming pool, which at the time was the first "Alpine" specimen to attract international attention, from 1934 the operation of a casino (so-called "Alpine Casino") and a rail bus connection to Vienna ("Schienobus") financed by Zimdin . The refrain of a specially composed "Panhans-Strandbad-Fox" by Josef Wolf was also coordinated with this advertising line. The swimming pool was obviously built to compete with the much smaller indoor swimming pool of the rival Südbahnhotel in 1932, in the record time of only eight weeks, according to the plans of the architects Anton Liebe and Ludwig Stigler. It was recognized as one of the attractions of the entire Semmering area, regardless of the hotel. B. under the catchphrase "Lido Alpin", and should once again make the old Semmering dream of being in the middle of a pristine landscape come true, but at the same time also being very comfortable. When it opened in July 1932, Zimdin was abroad; instead, the speech on behalf of Panhans AG was given in the presence of the local councilor Anton Purkarth, the hotel's long-time spa doctor, Dr. Max Siegel. The bath survived the Second World War and the subsequent Russian occupation without major damage and the baths could be maintained until the mid-1960s.
The final decline of the pool began with the takeover of the heavily loss-making Panhansgesellschaft by the German financial juggler Bruno Przetak in October 1968. In addition to the revitalization of the hotel, this promised a comprehensive renovation of the alpine pool. Instead, shortly before his arrest, he let u. a. tear down the inner hall ceiling to heat the hotel's ovens. In connection with its closure in 1969 and the decades-long vacancy of the hotel, the bathroom inventory was almost completely looted and its infrastructure, especially the glazing of the hall, was largely destroyed by vandalism. Finally, due to the long neglect of the supporting structures, the building became dilapidated and the superstructure of the bathing building had to be removed in the early 1980s as part of the revitalization measures on the hotel complex for safety reasons. Before the demolition, the sliding walls were dismantled and later put to a new use.
building
The entire area of the bathing facility was surrounded by a fence, the entrance of which was in the east, and a wooden ticket booth was also located here. The visitor parking lot was located in the southeast and is now used as a parking lot for the condominiums of the Panhans complex. The outdoor area also included a fountain house, a rose garden, a lawn and a sports field.
The longitudinal axis of the main building was oriented from NE to SW. Its superstructure was mainly a structure made of steel beams, wood and glass. The walls and ceilings of its substructure, i.e. H. Upper terrace, fitness room, technical area and swimming pool, consisted of concrete reinforced with steel.
The bathing building was entered in the east via the stairs of the large terrace or seating garden that surrounded the building complex in the east and south. From there another staircase led to the upper terrace. There was access to the east wing with the restaurant, toilets and washrooms as well as the entrance to the swimming pool. The one-story north wing of the hall housed the changing rooms and toilets of the women's department. In the hall itself was the large, 25-meter-long swimming pool with two access stairs at the east end, a sloping floor, circumferential handrail and a diving tower tube frame as well as brick starting platforms at the west end. At the east end of the hall there was also a small paddling pool for children. A wooden gallery on the north and east walls led to the changing rooms on the upper floor of the north wing. The technically most remarkable construction was the southern, 40-meter-long hall wall, which consisted of eight glazed steel frames hung on rails. It could be opened almost completely in the summer months by sliding one inside the other, thus giving bathers access to the upper terrace. A staircase in the NE of the hall led to the basement or the fitness area, which was equipped with various exercise machines. The frames of its eight circular windows can still be seen today. The functional rooms of the large basin (water and chlorine supply system) were accessed via an entrance in the northwest of the hall. The heating was a big problem from the start. The associated technology was located in the basement of the hotel building, the warm air produced there was directed to the bathroom and released into the hall by means of two electric fans . In the cold season, however, it was never possible (especially because of the uninsulated walls and windows) to bring the indoor temperature of the swimming pool to a level that was perceived as pleasant. The bath was therefore closed in winter. The exhaust air was blown out through five curved chimneys on the north side of the hall roof.
Two outside stairs lead from the upper terrace to the sunbathing lawn and the sports field in the south-west of the site. Directly under the stairs a small basin had been created in which goldfish were kept, a concrete block with a gargoyle designed as a two-finned fish was used as a supply line.
Hints
Today only the substructure with the upper terrace and the two swimming pools is left of the bathing building, but everything is now overgrown by dense vegetation. A large part of the railing of the upper terrace can also be seen with traces of color from the original, blue, paintwork, a notice board and the supply lines for the two outdoor showers at the exit to the lawn. The goldfish tank below is also still recognizable, the gargoyle has been knocked off. The two pillars of a fitness machine are still standing on the sports field. The well house in the west of the site is still completely preserved.
We strongly advise against entering the ruin, especially its upper areas, due to the high risk of falling and injury.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kos 1988, pp. 89, 99, 124, Strandbad-Fox: Text according to the house museum Hotel Panhans, undated, around 1933/34.
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↑
“I'm going up to the Semmering
In forest-green heights.
The new indoor pool attracts me.
Come on friend, you have to see that.
There the water is clear as silver,
the (sic!) Jazz is playing in the open-air
bar The Schinebus (sic!) Is already ready
Get in, it's high time! " - ↑ Kos 1988, p. 99, report Semmeringer Nachrichten, 1932.
literature
- Wolfgang Kos : The Panhans. From the life of a large hotel. Edition Atelier, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-9003-7926-2 .
- Wolfgang Kos: About the Semmering. Cultural history of a landscape , Vienna 1991 (2nd edition), Edition Tusch
- Eduard Aberham: Panhans - A hotel and its people, 2017, Kral Verlag, ISBN 9783990246818 .
Web links
- Advertising board: Visitez l'Autriche with photo of the “Lido alpin”, Semmering
- "Alpen-Hallenbad" ruin at Semmering YOU TUBE.
Coordinates: 47 ° 38 ′ 4.5 ″ N , 15 ° 49 ′ 30.6 ″ E