Swimming Opera (Wuppertal)

Swimming pool from the southeast

Swimming pool at dusk

The Wuppertal Swimming Opera is a municipal bathing establishment in Wuppertal . It was built until 1957 and entered the city's list of historical monuments in 1995.

history

The Wuppertal swimming opera was built by the Dyckerhoff & Widmann company between 1955 and 1957 according to plans by Friedrich Hetzelt . The construction management had master builder Johannes Krieger from Remscheid. To build it, 22,000 m³ of earth were moved, 5,100 m³ of reinforced concrete , 30,600 pieces of cement, 510 t of reinforcement steel , 51 t of special prestressing steel and 6,200 m³ of gravel were used.

The topping-out ceremony took place on January 26, 1956 in the drifting snow. The official celebration had to be canceled due to the weather and then took place in the stock exchange room of the slaughterhouse and cattle yard.

Until 2019, the swimming opera was officially called Stadtbad . It got its popular name from discussions after the war about whether the destroyed opera house in Barmen should be rebuilt or a new opera house for Wuppertal should be built on the Johannisberg - the current location of the swimming opera (the decision was then made in favor of the swimming pool). The auditorium, which is visible from the outside and emphasizes the function of the Stadtbad as a competition hall, is said to have inspired the name. Facing the historical backdrop of the Elberfeld town hall , the swimming opera is an essential part of Wuppertal's architectural history. Its striking exterior, the curved lines and the many glass surfaces make the building appear very transparent and light despite its obvious size. In August 2019, the nickname finally became official.

From 1959 to 1966 and from 2010 to 2017 the sculpture Die Sitzende was placed in front of the swimming opera.

On September 21, 1995, the building was recognized as a monument and entered in the list of monuments of the city of Wuppertal.

Redevelopment

In July 2007 the renovation of the swimming opera began and lasted until spring 2010. During this time the swimming pool was closed. The investment for this measure amounted to 16.6 million euros, in which the state of North Rhine-Westphalia contributed 1.5 million. The official reopening took place on March 25, 2010 with 1,500 invited guests as well as club swimmers from Wuppertal. The opening was carried out by the then mayor of the city of Wuppertal, Peter Jung (CDU). This was followed by a speech by the sports officer of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and a water polo game, while all invited guests and club swimmers had the opportunity to examine the new design of the swimming opera. The following day, the swimming opera was made accessible to interested visitors with an open day .

Swimming pool after renovation

There were several structural changes. The old entrance area was completely demolished and rebuilt. Where there used to be a planted inner courtyard, the entrance building has now been extended to the rear and top to three floors. There is an elevator that can be used to reach all levels. Great attention was paid to the preservation of historical monuments during the renovation . For example, some of the original mosaic tiles have been preserved in the large swimming pool. The stairwells were also kept true to the original, although they are only used by associations, as a new staircase was built for public use in the extended entrance area, which is equipped with automatic turnstiles for access control to the individual areas.

The bathroom now has a fitness area and a new sauna area with one 65 ° C and two 95 ° C saunas, one steam and one salt grotto , as well as a bar and a secluded outdoor area. The teaching pool was equipped with color-changing LED lighting and a wheelchair lift.

The biggest change is the lap pool, which was originally not exactly 25 m long because it was measured without tiles. The diving platform , which was also not exactly 10 m high, was removed. The main swimming direction was rotated by 90 ° and a turning bridge was installed in the jump pit, which can now be lowered into the 2.10 m deep pool floor, so that now ten competition lanes are parallel to the audience and the audience can better follow the runs from the stands. For small children, a circular play pool with a diameter of about two meters was built next to the non-swimmer pool. The bathroom is now fully accessible for the disabled. For this purpose, for example, the lockers in the changing rooms have been provided with numbers in Braille , and a path made of tiles leads from the changing rooms to the basin, the showers and toilets, which is very different in color, tile size and surface from the surrounding tiles, so that the visually impaired can feel it with their feet and the rest of the sight can see the strong contrast.

Events

Since 2010 the German Short Course Swimming Championships have been held regularly in the swimming opera. The 2010 championship also served as qualification for the 2010 European Short Course Championships in Eindhoven, the 2011 championship as a qualification for the 2011 European Short Course Championships in Szczecin, the 2012 championship as a qualification for the 2012 World Short Course Championships in Turkey and the 2013 championship as a qualification for the 2013 European Short Course Championships in Herning .

On March 2, 2013, the final of the largest bouldering team competition took place in the swimming opera , for the purpose of which climbing walls were built over the swimming pool. 1600 spectators saw the competition of the 29 international teams in the sold out arena.