Bains des Pâquis

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Partial view of the bathrooms
General view of the bathrooms

The Bains des Pâquis are a public bathing establishment and a monument on the shores of Lake Geneva . They are named after the Les Pâquis district in Geneva . An association of users, the “Association des usagers de Bains des Pâquis” (AUBP) is committed to maintaining the facility.

history

The first wooden baths were built in 1872 between the pier of the port, built in 1857, and the Pâquis bank on the Bay of Geneva, and in 1890 they were declared municipal baths. There was free entry on Sundays and public holidays; some hours were reserved exclusively for women. At the end of the pier, the old pier fire was removed in 1893/94 and replaced by the « Phare des Pâquis » lighthouse . In 1931 the "bains Henri" - Henri baths after the name of their owner at the time - were demolished and rebuilt the following year in the Bauhaus style using reinforced concrete and glass. The engineers were Louis Arnichard and the architect Henry Roche.

Due to progressive reinforcement corrosion , the baths were to be extensively renovated and rebuilt in a modern way at the end of the 1980s. As a result, users and residents started a protest campaign and founded an association, the AUBP, in February 1987. In a referendum held on September 25, 1988, 72 percent of voters rejected the proposed project. The association carried out its own damage investigations and had a counter-opinion drawn up. The result was that the damaged support pillars could be repaired individually.

The AUBP financed the renovation project with the support of artists, musicians and designers through events in the pools. In the course of restoration work between 1991 and 1995, the management of the facility was transferred to AUBP. This decided to open the bath all year round. The association created catering options until the evening hours. There is a sauna, Turkish bath, hammam and massage cabins. About 15 independent and qualified masseurs from the association "Mains des Bains" (hands of the baths) have been offering massages since 1994. In total, AUBP created around 15 year-round jobs and 25 in the summer season by 2017. Cultural activities such as festivals, concerts and exhibitions continue to be organized. The association publishes a free newspaper.

The Bains des Pâquis are entered in the Swiss inventory of cultural assets of regional importance (category B).

Web links

Commons : Bains des Pâquis  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Abigail Zoppetti: Trente ans d'utopia aux Bains des Pâquis. In: Le Courrier of August 29, 2017.
  2. ↑ KGS no .: 9030

Coordinates: 46 ° 12 ′ 37 "  N , 6 ° 9 ′ 15"  E ; CH1903:  500,873  /  118460