Theresienbad
The Theresienbad is a municipal indoor and summer outdoor pool of the municipality of Vienna at Hufelandgasse 3 in Vienna - Meidling .
The Theresienbad includes an indoor pool with sauna , steam bath , bathtub, shower bath (as in the past in public baths ) and diving tower, as well as a summer pool with preheated water, sports pool and children's pool. In the swimming pool there are two monumental ceramic mosaics by Carry Hauser on the subject of bathers from 1964, Rudolf Hausner created a ceramic mosaic with an ancient bathing scene in the steam bath in 1953, Paul Meissner also blowing a tritone on a flute in 1953 . In front of the entrance to the bath there is a bronze sculpture by Oskar Thiede depicting a swimmer, behind it a memorial stone with the history of the bath.
History of the bath
The Theresienbad is probably the oldest existing bath in Vienna. Its origins go back to Roman times, when a sulfur spring was already known at this point. Later forgotten, there was an estate here, the so-called "Niederhoff am Bache", which was destroyed during the first (1529) and second Turkish sieges of Vienna (1683). A mansion was then probably built by Alexander von Augustin de Grandi on the now empty site. Between 1693 and 1699, the Italian master builder Domenico Martinelli built a palace complex for the subsequent owner, Marchese degli Obizzi, which existed until 1902: the Meidlinger Schloss . This building was bought by Maria Theresa in 1764 and given to her chamberlain Adam von Mayer, who, together with the Linz factory director Franz Paul von Stegner, built a woolen factory with a sheep farm . This enterprise was unsuccessful and was shut down again in 1772, only the bath continued to operate. The bent building of the former castle and later company stretched from Meidlinger Hauptstrasse to today's, then non-existent Ruckergasse and is still visible today along the Hufelandgasse. The rumor that Emperor Joseph I had a hunting lodge built on the edge of the game-rich forest known as Gatterhölzl in 1705 can neither be proven nor assumed by sources, since his father, Emperor Leopold I, began building the nearby Schönbrunn Palace in 1695 . After a few changes of ownership by a new owner, the Abbé Pohl, sulphurous water had been discovered in the garden fountain in 1755. Archduchess Maria Theresia bought the property from Pohl and set up a bathroom in the palace building exclusively for the imperial family who lived not far from here in Schönbrunn. In 1782 a second spring was discovered that contained water containing iron. The spa was now also accessible to the Viennese, and the spa soon enjoyed great popularity among them.
In 1822 the owner at the time, Josef Michael Freiherr von Ehrenfels , who, by the way, had also made a great contribution to bee and sheep breeding, had the bathroom completely renovated. The old well was deepened and a new bathing establishment was built in the park to the south behind the castle, which was massively expanded in the first two decades of the 20th century due to the enormous demand and existed until it was destroyed in World War II. In memory of the former owner, Ehrenfels named the bathing and drinking cure institution Theresienbad . This was done in order to differentiate itself from the new competition, the Pfannschen Bad , which opened nearby in 1821 and which also used sulfur-containing springs, because until then the Theresienbad was only known as the "sulfur bath in Meidling". The Meidlinger Theater was also located in the complex .
After the place Meidling had been divided into Ober- and Untermeidling , the Theresienbad belonged to Untermeidling. In 1890, the originally independent suburban communities were incorporated into the City of Vienna. As a result, the Theresienbad, which had previously belonged to Untermeidling, came into municipal ownership. In 1902 the castle was demolished. To everyone's surprise, there were dungeon-like vaults in the cellars of the castle, reminiscent of medieval dungeons. In the same year, a new swimming pool was built east of the bathhouse, which was no longer fed by the sulfur spring , but by drinking water from the first Viennese spring water pipeline . There have also been steam baths and tubs here since 1910. This second Theresienbad was completely destroyed by bombs on August 23 and September 10, 1944. The summer pool, which opened in 1902, could still be used with a sunbathing lawn geared towards the future construction of the pool. Reconstruction began in 1952 and in 1955 a warm bath was reopened, followed by a summer bath in 1956 according to plans by the architect Theodor Schöll. 1963-65 built a hall over the summer pool so that year-round use of the swimming pool was possible. The facility was expanded in 1976 with an additional summer pool.
Meidlinger Theater
After Archduchess Maria Theresa took over the property, in 1765 the kk woolen factory was housed as a reformatory for girls and women in the castle, for which a large number of stables were built for the sheep that supplied the wool. The factory soon moved to Linz for seven years . Parts of the stables were demolished, the rest of the bathing facilities were created after the sulfur springs were reconsidered around 1775. Before 1806, however, a theater was built into the central building of the palace. In the knight's hall of the castle, which was richly painted with frescoes, boxes and two galleries were built, creating a theater hall for around 600 visitors. This theater was initially only used for occasional amateur performances in front of an invited audience.
When the new Theresienbad was built in 1822, the theater was also included in the area and converted into a public summer theater. In 1833 the actor Louis Groll took over the stage and led it to great success. Audience favorites such as Ferdinand Raimund , Johann Nestroy , Ludwig Anzengruber , Antonie Mansfeld , Josef Matras and others performed in front of an enthusiastic audience in the Meidlinger Theater. During this time, Meidling had developed into a popular excursion destination for the Viennese due to the close proximity of the Theresienbad, the Meidlinger Theater and the Tivoli entertainment establishment .
But the times of the economy changed again, and in 1874 the last theater performance took place in the Meidlinger Theater. In 1884 the part of the building that housed the theater was demolished, which finally allowed a representative entrance to the Theresienbad behind it to be built.
Theresienbadpark
In front of the Theresienbad there is a small park in which there is a memorial stone for the former owner of the bath and pioneer of beekeeping, Josef Michael Freiherr von Ehrenfels. In addition, the Meidlinger artist memorial stone by Fritz Hänlein was erected in the park in 1926 , an obelisk that honors four well-known artists from Meidling with picture medallions on each of the four sides of the obelisk. It depicts the painter Anton Hlavaček , the musician Franz Josef Zierer and the writers Oskar Pach and Fritz Stüber-Gunther .
Theresienbadgasse in Vienna-Meidling was named after Theresienbad in 1884.
See also
literature
- Karl Hilscher: History of the Theresienbad . 1902
- Karl Hilscher: The Theresienbad in the 12th district . 1915
- Ludwig Varga: The history of the Theresienbad from Roman times to today , sheets of the Meidlinger Bezirksmuseum, Vienna 2010, issue 73.
- Hans Werner Bousska: The Meidlinger Theater in Theresienbad , in: Blätter des Meidlinger Bezirksmuseum, Vienna 1990, issue 25/26
- Rosemarie Kaufmann: Theater im Theresienbad , in: Blätter des Meidlinger Bezirksmuseum, Vienna 1979, issue 12
- Josef Mentschl: The Meidling "Filial-Wollenzeugfabrik" , in: Blätter des Meidlinger Bezirksmuseum, Vienna 1968, issue 1
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Herrmann Kastner: From Meidlinger Schloss to Theresienbad. In: Viennese history sheets . Edited by the Association for the History of the City of Vienna . 70th year. Issue 3/2015. ISSN 0043-5317 ZDB -ID 2245-7 . Pp. 241-261.
Coordinates: 48 ° 10 ′ 54 ″ N , 16 ° 19 ′ 41 ″ E