Stadtbad Oderberger Strasse

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Stadtbad Oderberger Strasse
Cultural use in the Stadtbad 2005

Cultural use in the Stadtbad 2005

Data
place Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg
builder Ludwig Hoffmann
Construction year 1899-1902
Coordinates 52 ° 32 '17 "  N , 13 ° 24' 38"  E Coordinates: 52 ° 32 '17 "  N , 13 ° 24' 38"  E
particularities
Reopened after renovation

The Stadtbad Oderberger Straße (also called Stadtbad Prenzlauer Berg ) is a bathing establishment first opened in 1902 on Oderberger Straße in the Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg . At the end of 1986 a closure for security reasons resulted in a vacancy for several years, until 2010 the institution served primarily as an event location. After a change of ownership and extensive renovation work, it has been used again as a bathing establishment since autumn 2016. The complex is a listed building .

history

From the construction of the bath to its closure

After the Prenzlauer Berg area had grown rapidly by the beginning of the Wilhelminian era , the city reconsidered at the end of the 1870s and began building public facilities. The Central Vieh- und Schlachthof , a market hall and a hospital were built between 1870 and 1880, and public bathing establishments were added at the end of the 1890s for mostly hygienic reasons .

In 1897, the then town planning officer Ludwig Hoffmann provided specific building plans for a public swimming pool on Oderberger Strasse, and construction work began in 1899. The building in neo -renaissance style was opened on February 1, 1902. All ornaments and sculptures were made based on templates by the sculptor Otto Lessing .

1936 made some structural changes: designed by Hoffmann halos have now been built over lack of space. The building survived the war without major damage. It was still used as a public bath in the GDR , and in 1977 it was also given a sauna . The swimming pool was an important social point of reference for the people in the area - many had learned to swim here and in the first decades of the 20th century, public showers were also extremely important for hygiene.

To improve the heating system, the complex received a chimney extension made of concrete. This changed the statics so much that cracks appeared in the pool floor and in the ceiling vaults. The bath had to be closed on December 11, 1986 for security reasons. The redevelopment and reconstruction plans that had now been developed, however, could no longer be implemented by the turn of the century . The tub and shower rooms and the sauna were still in operation for some time, but were also closed in 1994 and 1997.

Planning and change of ownership after the closure

1990 to 2002

The GDR's plans for redevelopment were now history. In 1990 a citizens' initiative was founded , which demanded the renovation and renewed use as a bathing establishment. In 1991 the Senate of Berlin added the public swimming pool to its redevelopment list and earmarked 45 million DM for it. In 1994 this project was given up, probably for lack of money. In the following years, the citizens' initiative organized more cultural events in the basin. In 2000, the Stadtbad Oderberger Strasse cooperative with 20 founding members emerged from the citizens' initiative . The aim of this cooperative was to acquire the property and operate the pool. In 2002, the now 1000 members of the cooperative bought the Stadtbad.

2002 to 2006

The swimming pool was to be rebuilt and supplemented by a sauna area on the upper floor. Experts estimated the renovation sum to be at least 16.5 million euros . During the election campaign for the Bundestag , the Berlin Senate promised the project a grant of 5.1 million euros in August 2005, and the then Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse was also involved. Six million euros should be financed through loans, the rest of the money through a closed real estate fund . However, the timeframe for drawing up a financing plan, which the cooperative criticized in August as being too tight, was not sufficient and therefore the funding was not granted in November 2005.

2007 to 2008

In January 2007, the Berlin Monument Protection Foundation acquired the building from the cooperative for 100,000 euros. Now a structural renovation was planned again, after which the city pool was to be sold on to the Swiss company Kannewischer . The Swiss intended to reopen the bathroom after making some investments in equipment. The estimated total costs had now risen to 17 million euros. In June 2008 it became known that the Senate Department for Urban Development would not provide promised funding of 2.5 million euros, which again delayed the renovation. The bathroom was initially used again for cultural purposes to cover the running costs of the building.

Refurbishment by the GLS language school

In July 2008 the adjoining language school (GLS Language Center; owned by entrepreneur Barbara Jaeschke) announced its interest in taking over the building. The swimming pool was to be refurbished and integrated into the school's leisure area, but some of it was also to be publicly accessible. The rest of the building has been converted into hotel rooms. The district assembly gave its approval to this concept in September 2011, two further concepts from other interested parties were rejected. Following this decision, the Berlin Monument Protection Foundation sold the bathroom to the GLS Language School in December 2011.

The first preliminary investigations began in 2011 in order to determine the structural condition, the materials and the sequence of the work. It was decided to have the (second) concrete chimney removed as the first measure in autumn 2012. Taking into account the nearby buildings, blasting had to be avoided; instead, it was removed piece by piece from January 2013. In addition, all subsequent fixtures were removed and vast amounts of rubble and garbage were removed. At the same time, the technology was checked, partially revised or completely renewed. The actual swimming pool area continued to be used for cultural purposes until the renovation work started in autumn 2012.

In August 2013 the language school received the building permit . The redevelopment and reconstruction was partially financed by a funding decision issued in December 2013 in the amount of 970,000 euros from the urban development funding  program for the protection of historical monuments . The German Foundation for Monument Protection provided a further funding amount of 25,000 euros in January 2014 specifically for the renovation of the roof. In total, the renovation of the public swimming pool, including its technical modernization, cost around 18 million euros.

The Jaeschke couple were awarded the Ferdinand von Quast Medal for their contribution to the preservation of Berlin monuments .

Reopening as a bathing, spa and event business

The reopening of the pool, originally planned for 2015, took place on September 29, 2016 with a performance by Berlin media artist Johanna Keimeyer . In addition to the reconstructed swimming pool in its original size, a small spa area with relaxation area, sauna, loungers and showers will be provided. The entrance fees are higher than those of the Berlin swimming pools . The swimming pool is closed two days a week and the building is available for events. For this purpose, the basin was given a lifting floor which , if necessary, can be raised to the level of the basin edge, the water remains in the basin underneath. This creates an event area that can accommodate up to 800 guests. The hotel with 70 rooms, five tower suites and two apartments , which was set up at the same time, was opened at the beginning of 2016. The rooms are partially furnished with historical components from the swimming pool area. In the guest rooms there are photos of hotel pools from all over the world, which Johanna Keimeyer also made. In addition, twenty meeting and conference rooms, a fireplace room and a bar have been created. In the late summer of 2016, the restaurant Der Oderberger started operations with 80 seats on three floors.

Description of the structure

Main entrance in Oderberger Straße in 2005

The building complex is a rectangular plastered brick building with the external dimensions (about) 61 meters long and 43 meters wide, the north-eastern narrow side of which forms the main facade and is integrated into the course of Oderberger Straße. The four-storey entrance building initially housed service apartments for rectors and teachers from the neighboring former community dual school on the upper floors. The lower floors contained a waiting area and bath tubs in individual rooms. The building is adorned with numerous architectural decorations on the subject of bathing, including a relief depiction of a bear bathed by water mermaids on the portal . Round-arched passages, initially separate for boys and girls, connect to the schoolhouse in Kastanienallee on both sides of the Stadtbad building. The rear part of the building contains the actual swimming pool in a northeast-southwest orientation with a 20 meter long and 12 meter wide pool. A circumferential barefoot corridor covered with tiles is followed by the two-story changing rooms on the longitudinal walls behind perforated partition walls. On the upper floor there is a circumferential spectator gallery . The entire room is closed off with a four-part groined vault . From sandstone crafted railings and pillars are richly ornamented .

literature

  • Volksbad in Oderberger Strasse, Berlin . In: Neubauten der Stadt Berlin , Vol. 2, 1903. (In the online archive of the Architekturmuseum der TU Berlin , contains interior, exterior and detailed views, floor plans and sectional drawings.)
  • Institute for Monument Preservation (Ed.): The architectural and art monuments of the GDR. Capital Berlin-II . Henschelverlag, Berlin 1984, p. 373 ff .

Web links

Commons : Stadtbad Oderberger Straße  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Berlin Online from June 17, 2008: Redevelopment of Stadtbad Oderberger Straße uncertain again ( Memento from June 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Language school wants to buy Stadtbad Oderberger Strasse , Berliner Morgenpost, July 22, 2008.
  3. ↑ GLS Language Center: Concept Oderberger Stadtbad ( Memento from July 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.8 MB)
  4. ↑ Prenzlauer Berg Nachrichten: BVV committees: GLS should get the city pool
  5. ^ Prenzlberg vote: Stadtbad Oderberger: Committees vote for GLS school
  6. ^ Prenzlauer Berg Nachrichten: Negotiation ended: Language school buys Stadtbad
  7. ^ Language school buys Stadtbad Oderberger Strasse , Berliner Morgenpost
  8. ↑ Stadtbad Oderberger Straße is finally being renovated. Berlin Week, November 18, 2012, accessed on January 18, 2013 . (accessed repeatedly: March 7, 2019.)
  9. ↑ HURRAY! The long-awaited building permit has finally been granted! In: Stadtbad Oderberger Baublog.
  10. ↑ Prenzlauer Berg Nachrichten: Land promotes Stadtbad
  11. ↑ Berlin Week of January 24, 2014: German Foundation for Monument Protection promotes Stadtbad  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.berliner-woche.de  
  12. ↑ a b Stefan Strauss: Bathing in autumn. In October, the Stadtbad Oderberger Straße will reopen after 30 years. In: Berliner Zeitung , August 5, 2016, p. 14.
  13. ↑ Auftauchen in Prenzlauer Berg , Berliner Morgenpost , No. 268, September 29, 2016, p. 12.
  14. ↑ Tagesspiegel: Stadtbad Oderberger Straße is being renovated
  15. ↑ Art by Johanna Keimeyer ; at www.hotel-oderberger.berlin.
  16. ↑ The architectural and art monuments ... , p. 374.
  17. ^ A model of the Stadtbad Oderberger Straße created by architecture students , accessed on May 11, 2012