Grugabad
The Grugabad , built in 1964, is the largest outdoor pool in the city of Essen with a total area of around 58,000 square meters . In the Rüttenscheid district , south of downtown Essen , it forms part of the Gruga complex, which includes the Grugapark , the Grugahalle and the exhibition halls of Messe Essen .
history
Architecture and equipment
The architect Gerd Lichtenhahn planned the Grugabad on behalf of the city of Essen and as part of the planned Federal Horticultural Show in 1965 . The construction costs amounted to 19 million Deutschmarks . After three years of construction, it was opened on June 17, 1964.
All four large swimming pools are on two different levels higher than the surrounding area, which makes maintenance easier and reduces noise levels on the entire area.
On the upper level there is a heated sports pool suitable for competitions with ten lanes and a size of 25 by 50 meters. Next to it is a 4.50 meter deep and 20 by 20 meter large diving pool with a ten meter diving platform that is reminiscent of a winding tower .
In the lower platform there is a 22 by 63 meter heated wave pool, which was built in 1964 as one of the first wave pools. In addition, on this level there is a 25 by 80 meter non-heated pool for non-swimmers with the so-called elephant slide, which looks like a sculpture. At a kiosk on this level, you can see through glass panes below the surface of the water into the higher-lying diving pool. The two levels are centrally connected by a spacious spiral staircase, in the immediate vicinity of which the lifeguard's viewing platform is located.
The bathroom is equipped with a 700-seat grandstand and offers around 25,000 square meters of lounging space. There are children's playgrounds on a total of around 1500 square meters and a round paddling pool with a diameter of 20 meters. The green areas in the Grugabad include two beach volleyball fields.
In the first years of operation, up to 350,000 visitors per season were counted. To date, the number has decreased to 124,000 bathers per season (as of 2015). In terms of visitor numbers, the Grugabad ranks second out of all 49 pools in the Ruhr Regional Association .
In 2012 the Grugabad received a new chlorination plant. The old Grugabad heating system is now out of operation, as the bath has been connected to the Grugapark's biomass heating plant since mid-2012. Nevertheless, a renovation backlog in the tens of millions was reported for the bathing facility from the 1960s in September 2012.
Reconstruction of the former Grugabad restaurant
A restaurant was built for the Grugabad in the 1960s, which was later closed and was mostly empty for several years. A few rooms have meanwhile been used by the traffic watch.
In August 2009, a day-care center for 50 children was opened in the building, which was completely renovated for 2.3 million euros . It is operated by the Kinderschutzbund . The conversion was made possible by the Essen Consensus labor market project , a network that uses long-term unemployed people to tackle social and charitable projects. This also made it possible to expand in 2012, so that a second day care center of the DKSB now offers space for a total of 80 children. To do this, the traffic watch moved out.
Between June 2010 and May 2013, the upper floor housed the Gaseum , an E.ON Ruhrgas AG exhibition on the world of gas and energy .
On July 17, 2018, the Grugabad was named a Big Beautiful Building , an award from the state initiative StadtBauKultur NRW .
future
The Rhenish Office for the Preservation of Monuments has drawn up an expert opinion and thus submitted an application to the City of Essen on September 10, 2014 to include the Grugabad and its outdoor facilities in the list of monuments. The city of Essen did not implement the project.
In the summer of 2017, workshops and discussion forums between the city of Essen and the citizens on the future of the bathroom took place on three dates. The results should be worked out and developed as part of a feasibility study in a development and renovation concept. Three scenarios are pursued: 1. Preservation of the status quo with necessary structural renovation measures; 2. Seasonally operated outdoor pool with a contemporary concept and 3. Year-round pool / combined pool. As a result, the administration was commissioned at the beginning of 2019 to carry out a Europe-wide tender for a feasibility study for the future of Grugabad . However, only one offer was received that did not correspond to the target price range. The tender was therefore withdrawn at the beginning of 2020 for economic reasons. A new assignment with an adapted specification of services is being considered.
Sports events (excerpt)
From September 8th to 15th, 2002 the fifth canoe polo world championship took place in Grugabad , and on September 17th and 18th, 2005 the German canoe polo championship took place.
The first German splash diving championship was held here on May 16 and 17, 2009 , followed by the fourth splash diving world championship on August 15 and 16, 2009.
Transport links
The Grugabad has paid parking spaces that can be reached directly from the A 52 , among other places . With the transport in food that may underground line U11 and bus route be used 142nd
Trivia
In 2007, the ProSieben report Rimini im Ruhrpott - the largest open-air swimming pool in the area - was filmed about the Grugabad .
literature
- Nadja Fröhlich: The Grugabad in Essen. An incunable of modern outdoor swimming pools. In: Preservation of monuments in the Rhineland. No. 3, 2014, ISSN 0177-2619 , pp. 154-160.
Web links
- Essen Baths - Grugabad
- Entry on Grugabad in the " KuLaDig " database of the Rhineland Regional Association
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b The Grugabad in the online architecture guide Ruhrgebiet ( Memento of the original from February 20, 2005 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. ; Retrieved April 2, 2014, offline
- ↑ Frank Stenglein: Grugabad receives award for good architecture quality ; In: Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung of July 21, 2018
- ↑ a b DerWesten.de of May 2, 2013: The renovation backlog in the Grugabad in Essen has grown to 13.6 million euros ; accessed on February 10, 2020
- ↑ A day care center on the starting block ; in: Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung of June 29, 2009
- ↑ Press release of the city of Essen from July 18, 2018; accessed on February 10, 2020
- ↑ Press release of the city of Essen from February 6, 2020: Call for tenders for the feasibility study Zukunft Grugabad is canceled - new award procedure with an adapted catalog of services is sought
Coordinates: 51 ° 25 ′ 28 ″ N , 6 ° 59 ′ 17 ″ E