Stadtbad Bochum

The Stadtbad Bochum was a municipal indoor swimming pool that was considered an outstanding example of post-war architecture .

history

Clemens Massenberg (1946–1954) commented on the decision to build a new swimming pool in downtown Bochum , which had been destroyed by the bombing war : “One should deliberately place the bathing establishment as an important public institution in the center of the city. Here the bath is located in the area of the largest traffic confluence, touched by local transport from all directions. For visitors and the large number of employees in the city center, the quickest way to get to the pool is on foot. ” Construction work began on December 7, 1950 . The bathroom was located on Bongardstrasse, which was designed as a wide boulevard as part of the urban reorganization plan, and in the immediate vicinity of the new Bochum central station , which was moved to the east .

When the pool opened in 1953 , the two-story building , which cost 6 million DM , presented itself as one of the most beautiful and modern indoor pools in Europe. Next to the entrance hall there were seven shops and the administration. In the basement of the 63 m long building there were two pools, each 15 by 25 m, one of which had a diving platform. The swimming area and changing rooms were separated from each other. There were glass portholes under the waterline to aid swimming training. There were black stripes on the pool floor for orientation for the swimmers. For major events there was a grandstand with 1,200 seats and an infrastructure for film and radio broadcasts. Among other things, it was the venue for the German Swimming Championships .

The pool, which was also used by many Bochum schools for swimming lessons, was closed in 1988 for economic reasons by decision of the city administration's sports committee. A joint initiative of monument conservationists and swimming athletes campaigned for the preservation of the pool.

The bath was listed on April 25, 1990 and Christoph Zöpel , Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Transport of North Rhine-Westphalia , provided 10 million DM for the renovation.

However, all renovation concepts were rejected by the town planning committee. The building has since been used as accommodation for asylum seekers and repatriates. On August 4, 1998, the demolition began. The city administration preferred the proposal of the real estate group Häusser-Bau to build a new shopping, office and service center with an investment volume of 60 million € "in the heart of Bochum with a connection to a new swimming pool."

The swimming athlete Ruth Fricke-Matzdorf, mother of the German champion Heli Matzdorf and the monument conservator Hans Hanke launched the first citizens' petition of a large city in North Rhine-Westphalia and received 44,000 signatures within a few weeks. The city of Bochum and the Arnsberg district government rejected the petition because of formal legal errors - the exact date of birth was allegedly missing, the year of birth was available. The administrative court of Gelsenkirchen and the data protection officer in North Rhine-Westphalia, however, saw the information as legally permissible. In view of the new building offer for a city pool, the initiative then gave up its efforts. The city pool was demolished in August 1998. The issues of monument protection were left out.

A new swimming pool was created in the basement of the Stadtbadgalerie , which opened in 2002, but it is unsuitable for sports training and competitions.

After a pipe burst at the end of July 2012, the swimming pool was closed and not reopened.