Stadtbad Leipzig

For the Open Monument Day 2021 I was able to visit the imposing historical rooms of the Leipzig city baths. The Stadtbad was built between 1913 and 1916 at the end of the historicist era - city planner Otto Wilhelm Scharenberg used elements of Art Nouveau and those of the Moorish style. It is the oldest indoor swimming pool in Leipzig and is particularly worthy of protection as a monument. But already when it opened in July 1916, the three-winged facility was a minor sensation and was one of the most modern indoor pools in Europe - not least because of the integrated wave pool in the 384 square meter men's hall in the north wing of the pool, which was the largest pool in the city at the time. There was a separate swimming pool for women in the south wing, and even dogs were given their pools. The Stadtbad also set standards for its time with the other offers. Bathtubs and sweat baths, galvanic and four-cell baths, an orthopedic gym, a medical tub department and an inhalatorium made a wide range of medical and therapeutic options possible. A highlight was undoubtedly the Moorish-style ladies' sauna on the upper floor. Columns, arches, gold decorations, arabesques and mosaics created a mood like the Arabian Nights.

In 2004 the bath had to be closed due to structural defects. However, investors with convincing concepts for commissioning could not be found. The fact that the building was not completely forgotten is largely thanks to the Leipziger Stadtbad Foundation, which has repeatedly brought events such as the Christmas dinner show to the former men's swimming pool in recent years.