Swimming paradise Jena triumphs: won the Public Value Award 2025!

Swimming paradise Jena triumphs: won the Public Value Award 2025!

What's happening in the swimming world? On November 4, 2025, the swimming paradise in Jena was awarded the coveted Public Value Award 2025. The prize, which is awarded every two years by the German Bathing Society, highlights those pools that go beyond sport and dedicate themselves to the common good. The swimming paradise won the indoor swimming pool category.

The people in charge of the Jenaer Bädergesellschaft, Bernhard Dengel (managing director), Ulrich Klose (operations manager) and Maria Onken (marketing manager), accepted the award in Leipzig. It wasn't just about the sporting aspects, but also about promoting health, community and quality of everyday life, which particularly impressed the jury.

What sets the swimming paradise apart?

The swimming paradise's contribution to inclusive sports culture impressed the jury, who evaluated the pools in five dimensions: task fulfillment, quality of life, cohesion, morale and economic efficiency. Prof. Dr. Timo Meynhardt, the chairman of the jury, particularly praised the well-thought-out structural design and the positive atmosphere of the pool. This award is intended to bring the social importance of public pools to the fore, according to the initiators dgfdb.de.

But that's not all: the Jenaer Bädergesellschaft was certified for its contribution to the common good in January 2024. This shows that the efforts to create a sustainable and socially balanced bathing culture in Jena are highly valued by those responsible.

Importance of public baths

Public pools are more than just places to swim. They promote coexistence between different generations and groups and thus make a decisive contribution to social and cultural life in cities. Unfortunately, many bathrooms are often viewed as undervalued. The initiative behind the award wants to counteract this tendency and better present the importance of the pools in order to illustrate their contribution to the common good [stadtwerke-jena.de].

The swimming paradise in Jena not only does good business, but also makes an important reference to the role of pools in modern society. Recognition by the Public Value Award is another step in the right direction to emphasize the importance of these social investments.