Stadtbad Wedding

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Stadtbad Wedding
"Stattbad Wedding"
View of the main building, Richtstrasse 65

View of the main building, Richtstrasse 65

Data
place Berlin-Gesundbrunnen
architect Ludwig Hoffmann
Construction year 1907 / around 1960
Floor space 2000 m²
Coordinates 52 ° 32 '37.7 "  N , 13 ° 22' 21.5"  E Coordinates: 52 ° 32 '37.7 "  N , 13 ° 22' 21.5"  E
particularities
Closed as a bathing establishment in 2002

The Stadtbad Wedding was one of the public bathing establishments that were built in Berlin and its suburbs at the turn of the 20th century . It was in the Richtstrasse in the district of Gesundbrunnen . It was taken out of service as a swimming pool in 2002. After it was sold to a private investor , it traded under the name of Stattbad Wedding and served other cultural purposes. In 2016 the property was sold again, the new owner from Regensburg plans to build apartments on the area.

history

Construction and swimming

The building was erected at the beginning of the 20th century to offer swimming and sports facilities to the rapidly growing population. There were no showers or bathtubs in the tenement houses, which at that time were mainly built near the new factories for the workers and their families. The building plans for the Volksbad were provided by the architect and town planning officer Ludwig Hoffmann , who had also designed town baths and other municipal buildings in other communities and in old Berlin . The facility was inaugurated in 1907; Its main components were two swimming pools , which, according to their dimensions, were called the Small Hall and the Large Hall . The smaller one was only allowed to be used by women, the larger only by men. In addition, there was a purely bathing department and changing facilities. The original architecture was similar to the Stadtbad Oderberger Straße , which had already been built according to Hoffmann's plans.

  • Historical Pictures (1910)

  • Ground floor plan, 1st floor, 2nd floor, 3rd floor, view, details

  • Interior view of the men's pool, sections of the men's pool, women's pool, details

  • Court street entrance

  • View, view of central structure, details

Destruction and rebuilding

Shortly before the end of the Second World War , the main building ongerichtstrasse was destroyed.

Stadtbad Wedding with the Great Hall from Ravenéstraße; in 2010

In the late 1950s, the then Wedding District Office had the main building rebuilt while retaining the foundation walls and the dimensions in keeping with the spirit of the times . The facade was clad with red and gray panes of glass, and new technical installations were made. The small hall has now been set up as a children's pool and has, among other things, a slide in the shape of an elephant. The brick building section with the large swimming pool, which extends towards Ravenéstrasse, was preserved and could be made usable again after repairs and renovation work. - In 1956, the Stadtbad Wedding served as the backdrop for the film Die Halbstarken .

End of swimming pool operation and conversion

After decades of intensive use, the Stadtbad had to close in 2002 for structural and hygienic reasons. The facility initially stood empty for a few years while the Senate put it up for sale. The real estate developer Arne Piepgras finally acquired the bathroom and enabled short-term interim uses for cultural purposes from 2009. In 2011, he submitted a building application to the responsible district office in Mitte, according to which an 800-person concert hall should be built here. Approval was granted in March 2012.

When it was provisionally reopened in 2009, the facility was given the name Stattbad Wedding . Jochen Küpper, managing director of the operating association, and his team installed the opening exhibition No more sugar for the monkeys in the basin of the small hall and in the basement , which should serve as a guide for the programmatic direction of the house. The focus was on street and urban art. Afterwards, the Stattbad gained an international reputation through numerous exhibitions and projects and was considered an authentic representative of the scene among artists. The pool of the great hall was designed as a temporary skate track by the artist collective 3Eck in 2012 . In July 2012, the young artists redesigned the furnishings of the Stattbar in the entrance area. The artist David Johannson and the restaurateur Sylvio Schubert managed the facility as a day canteen , gallery and bar. As long-term tenants, around 70 artists had set up in studios and studios on the upper floors of the house, including musicians such as Jochen Diestelmeyer or Peaches as well as painters and Writer. From 2011 to 2015, a Berlin hackerspace , the space agency , was also housed in the building's former solarium.

The concept of the building was criticized by opponents of gentrification and district activists in Wedding . The investor Arne Piepgras relied on the upgrading of the district through cultural institutions, which among other things led to rising rents and the displacement of the original population. In addition, the former Stadtbad should be expanded extensively with a larger sum. The centerpiece was the large hall converted into a concert space. A permanent exhibition of street art and skater art was planned as well as the short-term rental of smaller rooms as work opportunities for creative people. The established artists should be able to stay.

Closure and decided demolition

Demolition October 2016

In May 2015, the building authority in Mitte had the Stattbad closed after the announced investments had not been made. The artists had to leave the building.

A buyer from the real estate sector, the Regensburg company Lambert, was found who wants to tear down all parts of the bath complex and build a residential complex on the area. The demolition permit is now available (as of October 2016), but a building application has not yet been submitted. A citizens' initiative campaigns for the preservation or at least for the involvement of the general public with regard to the future of the bathroom and formulates, among other things: "This petition calls for all political leaders in the Berlin House of Representatives and in the Senate Administration as well as the members of the Central District Council to be responsible City councilor Carsten Spallek and the district mayor Christian Hanke to exhaust all available possibilities to avert the destruction of this unique building ensemble. The future of the Stadtbad must be discussed in detail with the involvement of the public, the owner and the political decision-makers and thought long-term, with special attention to the needs of the residents, the neighborhood and the cultural workers in the district. "

Web links

Commons : Stattbad Wedding  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Information on the demolition and construction of apartments in the rbb evening show of October 15, 2016.
  2. ↑ Stadtbad Wedding. Unused event location ... ; P. 2 (see web links)
  3. ↑ a b Elmar Schütze: Dry, but lively. The Stattbad Wedding has developed into an adventure playground for adults. This was made possible by an investor with a sense for off-culture. In: Berliner Zeitung . on March 8, 2012; Retrieved August 24, 2012
  4. ↑ Renovation begins: Stadtbad Wedding becomes a cultural center. Green light for the renovation. Stadtbad Wedding will offer space for exhibitions and concerts in the future. In: BZ of March 9, 2012 ( online )
  5. ↑ Wirtschaftswunder: Interview with Arne Piepgras ( Memento from October 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ From the Stadtbad to the Stattbad in Wedding. Now the demolition is to come. on gruene-mitte.de; Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  7. ^ Rettet das Stadtbad Wedding , accessed on October 18, 2016.