DIVING IN: THE OPENING OF BERLIN'S MOST BEAUTIFUL INDOOR POOL AND BATHS
Today in Berlin: May 24, 1930
On this day in 1930 in Berlin Germany’s most modern baths and indoor swimming pool, Stadtbad Mitte opened in Gartenstraße 5-6 - after only 15.5 months of construction. It replaced old baths sponsored and opened for public use by a famous Berlin entrepreneur and art collector, James Simon (mind you, it was Simon who gave Berlin its most cherished ancient treasure, the bust of Egyptian queen and mesmerising beauty, Nefertiti).
Built on municipal land in the old Sophienpark, the new venue offered 300,000 residents of Mitte both hygiene (nearly 100 bath tubs and showers would have guaranteed that) and sport opportunities. The 50 x 15 metre swimming basin was a state of the art facility and the magnificent Bauhaus-inspired roof spanned 12 metres above it - the largest swimming pool hall in the whole of Europe.
Stadtbad Mitte also offered a sun deck on the roof (with real sand for that beach feeling), Russian steam baths, and even a hairdresser’s.
Back in the 1930s it was, however, so much more than just a spa and a great place for swimming: in 1936 only some 32% of Berlin flats had a bathroom or a bath tub as such. The facilities were available 310 days per year and on average 450,000 baths were taken there in that time.
The roof terrace became the favourite spot for sun-craving crowds. All this was in line with the philosophy rigorously followed in social building projects at the time: Licht, Luft und Sonne (Light, Fresh Air and Sunlight). The Stadtbad Mitte architects, Carlo Jelkmann and Heinrich Tessenow (better known in Berlin for his designs for residential estates of the 1920s) created a work of art which, miraculously, survived until today.
Stadtbad Mitte was and still remains a marvel of social architecture.
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Obsessed with these Berlin baths! Trying to get to the Neökolln marvel for months now.