The bathing season is open! Dive headfirst into the bathing fun of times gone by
Traditionally, outdoor pools start the new season at the beginning of the merry month. If the weather plays ball, the sunbathing lawns and water areas offer a choice of cooling off, swimming, bathing fun or relaxation. However, Radebeul has not always had this type of public bathing facility, if only because the Elbe meanders along its doorstep.
At the end of the 19th century, the growing population, the onset of tourism and an increasing awareness and need for hygiene led to the establishment of various 'bathing establishments' in Lößnitz. The oldest of these was the former "Badhotel" or "Badschlösschen" guest accommodation (Burgstraße 2) in Niederlößnitz, to which a so-called public bath was added for the first time 150 years ago in 1865. This early form of general bathing culture was fed by a tunnel specially dug into the mountainside to tap into the spring-rich hinterland.
Ten years later, the Oberlößnitz municipal councillor Friedrich Wilhelm Schönert submitted a building application for a similar bathing establishment to the Dresden royal authorities, which was to consist of three single chambers, a double cabin, a changing room and a roof terrace. The later spa and convalescent homes "Wilhelmsbad" (1894, Lößnitzstraße 10) and "Nizzabad" (1908, Maxim-Gorki-Straße 21) also had their beginnings in such baths
The well-known Radebeul master builder Friedrich Wilhelm Eisold at least delighted his family with the first paved open-air swimming pool when he built a seasonal bathing area in the Elbe in Serkowitz in 1878. Only a little later, Adolf Hultsch opened a similar facility in Kötzschenbroda, but this time for the general public. Thanks to his successor, this is also known as the "Kleinertsche Badeanstalt".
In 1890, the ferryman August Görlitz took over the Eisoldsche Bad and made it open to the public. Only then was it forbidden to bathe in the Elbe elsewhere. As they were wooden structures, they were not immune to fire damage despite their position. The entire Serkowitz facility burned down in both 1902 and 1913 and was completely closed in 1920, while in Kötzschenbroda the extremely deteriorating water quality put a final end to bathing in 1928.
In 1905, the opening of the Bilz "Licht-Luft-Bad" (Bilz Light and Air Baths") gave a broader public access to summer bathing fun, in line with the holistic concept of natural healing, which included spa baths, sporting exercise in light clothing in the open air and water therapy. The wave pool has been in existence since 1912.
However, it was thanks to a sudden groundwater collapse that the 12 metre deep pit, from which clay and then sand and gravel were dug, was acquired by the town of Radebeul in 1949 and converted into a natural outdoor pool. Thanks to many volunteers, refreshment and relaxation have been available at the Lößnitzbad since 1951.
But instead of diving in, you can also ride in the water. Nowadays completely out of fashion and replaced by hard-shell boats, the idea of a folding boat as a leisure activity was still completely new in 1914, and its use in the Elbe river was a minor sensation. The Kötzschenbrodaer Generalanzeiger newspaper in May 1914 reported: "The collapsible "folding boats", which are built in a similar way to the kayaks of the Greenlanders, represent a new and quite unique construction of this type of craft. A few days ago, two such boats were assembled at the steamboat landing stage in Kötzschenbroda, where a large number of spectators had gathered for the occasion. Two "water sports enthusiasts" had come from Dresden, whose only luggage consisted of a rucksack and handbag in which the boat was stored. The necessary pieces were quickly put together and they got straight down to work - which is not really work at all - because putting together a boat like this is child's play. A light-coloured canvas cover is pulled over the resulting skeleton - consisting of wooden rods with steel bracing and screw fasteners - and the little boat is ready. The boats were now effortlessly launched [] Then it was a quick trip down the Elbe to Gauernitz [] These kayaks can definitely be described as ideal for water tours in the Dresden area, as well as for inland waters in general."
Whether swimming, jumping in head first or paddling - let's hope for a summer that doesn't just let us enjoy the water from above.
Maren Gündel, City Archive
Published in: Official Gazette May 2015