Terrace swimming pool (Bad Kissingen)

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The terrace swimming pool Bad Kissingen , built in 1954, is located on Finsterberg at Schwimmbadstraße 9 in the Bavarian spa town of Bad Kissingen in the Lower Franconian district of Bad Kissingen .

The outdoor pool is one of the Bad Kissingen architectural monuments and is registered in the Bavarian Monument List under the number D-6-72-114-351 .

history

When it became apparent that the previous municipal river bathing facility , built in Luitpoldpark in 1887 , no longer met the increased demands in terms of capacity and equipment, the Bad Kissingen city council under Mayor Hans Weiß decided in November 1952 to build a new bathing facility. The Sinnberg , the area near the saltworks and the one around the tournament hall in the Au were considered as locations; the previous location in Luitpoldpark was rejected as unsuitable from the start. The choice fell on the Finsterberg because of the ideal sunshine, an unobstructed view of the Rhön and the lack of danger from flooding . For the conception of the terrace swimming pool, the overall planning of which was commissioned by the Bad Kissingen architect Anton Koller, the swimming pools in Frankfurt, Wiesbaden and above all Baden-Baden served as models.

With the aim of opening the terrace swimming pool for the course season 1954, construction work began in February 1953. These took place with free support from the US soldiers stationed in the Bad Kissingen barracks, who leveled the area of ​​the new swimming pool. On March 24th, Lord Mayor Hans Weiß, in the presence of the commanders of the US pioneer unit in Kitzingen , Lieutenant Colonel Spurrier and Lieutenant Colonel Evans, broke ground and laid the foundation stone at the future location of the diving tower. The topping-out ceremony took place on May 30, 1953.

On August 15, 1953, the swimmer and non-swimmer pools went into operation. By the time the pool was finally opened in the 1954 season, the 4.5 hectare site had been planted with over 40,000 flowers such as polyantha roses , perennials and summer flowers. From April to June 1954, the pool was expanded to include a café pavilion before the grand opening party in August 1954. The construction costs for the bath of 1.2 million DM were slightly above the planned amount of 1 million DM.

The terrace swimming pool, which opened at Pentecost 1954, met with an extremely positive response. As early as September 4, 1954, the pool had 111,111 visitors. In 1969 alone, the pool recorded an unprecedented number of 195,000 bathers. On July 8, 1954, a report in the local " Main Post " praised the view and the lush vegetation; According to the newspaper, this system “ exceeds all expectations” . According to Lord Mayor Hans Weiß, the newly built terrace swimming pool was "probably the most modern pool in Europe" .

From August 22 to 24, 1954, the 66th German Swimming Championships in 1954 were held in the terrace swimming pool with more than 1,000 athletes. Four newsreels, the television studio and more than 60 foreign representatives from news and national newspapers reported on the event. In its reporting, the sports courier from Augsburg wrote :

“You have to have traveled far to find a comparison for such a beautiful terrace swimming pool from an international perspective [...] The location is incomparably impressive; over 10,000 roses and more than 22,000 perennials look like a huge botanical garden. ..] German swimming championships have never found a more modern setting than this year. "

- Sport-Kurier Augsburg : August 24, 1954

Over the decades, various other swimming competitions have been held in the terrace swimming pool. Among the prominent guests of the bath were Federal President Prof. Dr. Theodor Heuss , Federal President Heinrich Lübke , Princess Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiary , Big Band Leader Max Greger , actor Willy Millowitsch and the actress, singer and dancer Marika Rökk .

In 1969 a gas heating unit was installed in the filter house to keep the water temperature at a constant 24 degrees Celsius. In the same year the parking lot was expanded due to the number of visitors.

In 1983, the Bad Kissingen city council under Bad Kissingen's new mayor Georg Straus decided to carry out extensive renovations due to the age-related condition of the terrace swimming pool. For this purpose, the Kulmbach planning and research company presented a comprehensive concept in December 1984. This envisaged a renovation of the technology, a redesign of the swimmers 'and non-swimmers' pools, the addition of some attractions, the construction of a mother-child house and, in view of the future swimming competitions, a deepening of the diving pool and an elevation of the diving tower. Construction work began at the end of the 1986 bathing season, costing 8.2 million DM subsidized by the Free State of Bavaria and requiring an expansion of the swimming pool area by 0.3 hectares. The reopening of the terrace swimming pool took place on June 16, 1988.

A fundamental renovation of the entrance and the sanitary area took place in 1993. All toilets and showers were renewed, a heating system for the shower water was installed and the individual changing rooms for women and men were replaced by spacious collective changing rooms with cupboards. The total costs of the renovation measures amounted to 855,000 DM.

In 1994 the café pavilion, which was built in 1954 and called the “Weizenturm” by the residents of Bad Kissingen, was listed as a historical monument; two years later, the entire terrace swimming pool was entered in the list of historical monuments. Dr. In this context, Rembrant Fiedler from the Franconian branch of the State Office for Monument Protection in Bamberg described the terrace swimming pool as "an outstanding piece of reconstruction architecture" .

Since 1998, the supply of chlorine and flocculants to the non-swimmer's pool has been controlled by a computer system. In 2000 a new heating system was installed. Since 2002 a computer system for adapting the amount of water to be circulated to the number of guests and the water quality has had a positive effect on energy requirements. In 2004, the swimming pool was equipped with a computer-controlled control system.

The last general renovation of the terrace swimming pool so far took place in 2004.

literature

  • Bad Kissingen (ed.): Bad Kissingen terrace swimming pool 1954–2004. Bad Kissingen 2004.
  • Denis André Chevalley, Stefan Gerlach: City of Bad Kissingen (= Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation [Hrsg.]: Monuments in Bavaria . Volume VI.75 / 2 ). Karl M. Lipp Verlag, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-87490-577-2 , p. 94 .
  • Heike Paulus: Luxury on terraces - the terrace swimming pool. In: Thomas Ahnert, Peter Weidisch (eds.): 1200 years Bad Kissingen, 801–2001, facets of a city's history. (= Festschrift for the anniversary year and volume accompanying the exhibition of the same name / special publication from the Bad Kissingen City Archives). Verlag TA Schachenmayer, Bad Kissingen 2001, ISBN 3-929278-16-2 , pp. 393-394

Web links

Commons : Terrassenschwimmbad Bad Kissingen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter Weidisch, Birgit Schmalz: Bad Kissingen. Photographs around 1900. Sutton, Erfurt 2008, ISBN 978-3-86680-181-3 , p. 22.
  2. ^ "The terrace swimming pool needs a general renovation" - " Main Post " article from January 24, 2012

Coordinates: 50 ° 11 ′  N , 10 ° 5 ′  E