Koenigstein spa

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Spa bath, side view
Spa, front view

The spa has been a listed building in Königstein im Taunus since 2013 . In 2011 it was counted among the most beautiful indoor swimming pools in Europe.

building

After many years of urban planning history, some of which were controversial, the spa was inaugurated on June 12, 1977 as the “House of Health”. The building stands on part of the area of ​​the "Taunusblick" hotel, which was demolished in 1933/34, on the bypass route for Bundesstraße 8 , which was completed in 1966 . The architects were Rudolf and Ingeborg Geier, in collaboration with the artist Otto Herbert Hajek .

In 1989 an outdoor pool was added. It is an asymmetrical building located on the outskirts of the city below the former "Höhenbach" (which goes back to medieval structures) on Klärchenweg, parallel to the slope. The higher the floors of the four-storey building, the smaller the surface area and thus create terraces of different sizes. The chimney and supply tower protrudes only slightly beyond the flat-roofed top floor; the overall result is a ship-like silhouette.

The surface treatment, colored fair-faced concrete in predominantly monumental, chiseled bulge shapes emphasizing the horizontal , corresponds to the time of architectural “ brutalism ”. Typical for Hajek is the color scheme in the complementary colors blue and orange, with which the building stands out clearly from the green of the surrounding forests and in the cityscape. The design characteristics, which also include the generous glazing, have also been consistently applied inside, down to the last detail. Blue and orange are also the house colors of the Nassau house , which relates to the history of Königstein. The main pool is 25 meters long. The mirrored ceiling, divided into five strips, is an eye-catcher. The construction costs amounted to 12.2 million DM.

In addition to the actual bathroom, a sauna area was created and expanded twice. There are also side rooms in which around 150 medical applications are administered per day.

meaning

Together with Königstein Castle and Villa Andreae , the spa is one of the three buildings that dominate the cityscape of Königstein im Taunus . The spa continues the tradition of the numerous architecturally sophisticated Königstein buildings that were built in connection with the introduction of the spa in Königstein from 1851. A few years later, the Leuze mineral bath, remodeled by the same architects and artists, is stylistically closely related .

Discussion about demolition or renovation in 2013

The spa, which initially counted over a thousand guests per day, lost market share due to increasing competition. The number of visitors fell to around 180,000 in 2013. At the same time, a renovation backlog arose. In 2013, the demolition of the building was therefore discussed in local politics. An investor had offered to buy the swimming pool, demolish it and replace it with a new building. In addition, residential buildings were to be built on the site. In autumn 2013 the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Hesse placed the spa under monument protection. Against the votes of the ALK electorate, the local parliament decided in April 2014 to renovate the building for 9.1 million euros. During the preparations for the "SOSBrutalism" exhibition, the spa was added to the organization's list in August 2017 as an endangered building. Strictly speaking, however, the spa cannot be counted as part of brutalism because of the coloring.

literature

  • Eva Rowedder: Hochtaunuskreis . Ed .: State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (=  monument topography Federal Republic of Germany , cultural monuments in Hessen ). Konrad Theiss Verlag, Darmstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-8062-2905-9 , pp. 252-253 .
  • Iris Meder: Bathing joy. A trip to the most extraordinary bathers in Central Europe. Metroverlag, Vienna 2011, ISBN 978-3-99300-051-6 .
  • Beate Großmann-Hofmann, Hans-Curt Köster: Königstein im Taunus: History and Art . (= The Blue Books). Verlag Langewiesche, Königstein 2010, ISBN 978-3-7845-0778-1 .
  • Gabriele Klempert, Hans-Curt Köster (ed.): Hajek's color bath in Königstein: A symbiosis of architecture and art by Geier + Geier with Otto Herbert Hajek at the Koenigstein i. Ts. Verlag Langewiesche , Königstein i. Ts. 2014, ISBN 978-3-7845-6306-0 .

Web links

Commons : Kurbad Königstein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ingeborg Riedel: The cure in Königstein . In: Ingrid Berg (Ed.): Heimat Hochtaunus . Frankfurt am Main 1988, ISBN 3-7829-0375-7 , p. 466
  2. ↑ Stefan Jung: Spa demolition as an option? , Taunuszeitung from January 3, 2013
  3. ↑ Götz Nawroth: The old spa is to be renovated , Frankfurter Rundschau of April 8, 2014
  4. ↑ http://www.sosbrutalism.org/cms/15802395#17686130

Coordinates: 50 ° 11 ′ 10.5 "  N , 8 ° 28 ′ 12.2"  E