Frankfurt indoor pool remains closed: repairs are still ten weeks!

Frankfurt indoor pool remains closed: repairs are still ten weeks!

In Frankfurt (Oder), the city's only indoor pool remains closed. The city administration announced this in a current message. Originally, a reopening after the summer holidays, specifically on September 8, was planned. However, extensive repair work has become necessary due to dissolved tiles in the swimming pool.

The city has commissioned a specialist company to carry out the repairs that should be completed this week. However, it turned out during the work that the originally planned pelvic seal could not be implemented as intended. In order to fix the defects sustainably, not only the loose tiles, but also the tile mortar below must be completely removed. The city has examined various repair variants in cooperation with specialist companies and consultants to solve the situation as best as possible.

Necessary steps for repairs

The planned work requires several coating steps, during which rest and drying times must always be observed. The indoor swimming pool is therefore expected to be closed for another ten weeks. The city is trying to make the pool usable again for school swimming, the public and local clubs. The need for renovation of the indoor pool is not new, as the pool had to be closed for several weeks in 2023 due to similar problems.

An additional aspect of the situation is the financing question. In May 2024, the city applied for a comprehensive renovation and pelvic renewal at the state, but the approval is still pending. Many municipalities in Germany have to deal with similar financial challenges, as a current survey by the Association of Local Company (VKU) shows. More than half of the German indoor pools are classified as ailing, and 83 percent of the operators concerned consider the available funding to be inadequate.

General situation of indoor swimming pools in Germany

The survey shows that 52 percent of indoor swimming pools are in need of extensive renovation. Only 18 percent can look back on recent renovations. The need for renovation of changing rooms, facades and technology is also alarming, while 71 percent of operators report increased interest rates and 79 percent report high construction costs. This situation means that swimming offers are declining. According to the German Life Saving Society (DLRG), around 80 swimming pools in Germany have to close every year.

The closure of the indoor swimming pool in Frankfurt (Oder) is part of a larger problem that affects many cities. A decline in children's swimming skills and increasing demand for school swimming are just some of the challenges resulting from a lack of remediation measures. The city and its citizens hope that a solution for the indoor swimming pool will be found quickly so that the important leisure and sports facilities can be available again soon.

For more information on the ongoing repair work in the indoor pool and the city's renovation means, you can use the current reports rbb24 and frankfurt-oder.de read. There is also a survey Zeit.de Important insights into the general location of the indoor pools in Germany.