Heinrich-Völker-Bad

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Heinrich-Völker-Bad front view

The Heinrich-Völker-Bad is a combined outdoor and indoor pool and the largest pool in the Rhineland-Palatinate city of Worms .

history

The bath was opened in 1965. The then chairman of the Southwest German Swimming Association, Karl Schubert, praised the building as "[...] the most modern [...] sports facility". The history of the Heinrich-Völker-Bad dates back to 1936, when an "indoor swimming pool construction association" was founded, but its plans were destroyed by the Second World War . However, the plans were not completely forgotten. The then Mayor of Worms, Heinrich Völker , who was Mayor of the city from 1949 to 1967 and who was particularly committed to its reconstruction after the war and whose name the pool bears today, started planning the construction of a municipal indoor pool in 1961 a. As a result, the bath was opened on November 20, 1965.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the Heinrich-Völker-Bad was adapted to the changing zeitgeist: The former school changing room in the basement was converted into a sauna. In 1991 the window front in the indoor pool was renewed. These renovations were not by chance, as the city had to contend with declining visitor numbers. In response to this, the range of offers for visitors was expanded between 1996 and 1998. Whirlpools, a wide slide, a flow channel, a solar landscape and a beach volleyball field in the outdoor area were added, and a diving pool with a ten-meter tower was built. The measures required an investment volume of around nine million euros. As a result, it was possible to increase the number of visitors to 130,000, which was a double that of 1998.

Further renovations were carried out in 2005. The interior of the “Stelzenbau”, which characterizes the cityscape and is located directly on Alzeyer Straße and thus on a main artery of the city of Worms, has undergone fundamental changes. With an investment volume of around 1.5 million euros, additional recreational opportunities were created. In 2007 the Heinrich-Völker-Bad underwent another fundamental change. With the decision to build an air dome annually over the 50 m sports pool, which is located in the open air area, over the winter time and thus to enable the schools in Worms to continue swimming lessons in the cold season, it was possible to maintain important educational measures otherwise it would no longer have been possible, as various schools in Worms could no longer maintain their own swimming operations.

Todays situation

Heinrich-Völker-Bad in Worms. Southwest view

The Heinrich-Völker-Bad is still the largest bath in Worms. In addition to its 25 m swimming pool with diving tower and non-swimmer area housed in the indoor swimming pool, it offers an outdoor area with a 50 m outdoor pool suitable for competitions, a baby pool, a 10 m diving tower and a warm outdoor pool. Despite the number of visitors of around 300,000 people per year, the pool cannot be operated economically, but it is still considered to be a sensible, supportive, cultural facility. In 2015, special attention was paid to possible savings potential in the area of ​​electricity consumption. As a result, the outdated lighting was brought up to date with the latest technology, which it is hoped will save up to 95% of the energy previously consumed. The investment costs of around 28,000 euros are expected to reduce CO 2 emissions by 240 t over the next 20 years.

The sauna facility in the basement that went into operation in the 1990s no longer met the required fire protection regulations and was opened for the last time on July 3, 2016.

Web links

Commons : Heinrich-Völker-Bad  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wormser Sports bathrooms - Henry Peoples bathroom. In: wormser-baeder.de. Retrieved March 3, 2016 .
  2. ↑ a b c 50 years of Heinrich-Völker-Bad Worms: From boring to wellness oasis. In: wormser-zeitung.de. Retrieved March 3, 2016 .
  3. ^ Heinrich-Völker-Bad relies on sustainability: Nibelungen Kurier - The newspaper for Worms and the Nibelungenland. In: nibelungen-kurier.de. Retrieved March 3, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Worms sports pools - sauna closes at the beginning of the maintenance period. In: wormser-baeder.de. March 21, 2016, accessed May 4, 2016 .

Coordinates: 49 ° 37 ′ 56.7 "  N , 8 ° 20 ′ 15.6"  E