Stadtbad Mitte

Stadtbad Mitte stands in Berlin’s Mitte district as a public swimming pool shaped by Neues Bauen principles. Its four-storey structure combines a clinker-brick facade with four light courts, large windows and glass-block ceilings. An inscription reading “Stadtbad Mitte” marks the central section. The entrance hall brings together ochre ceramic tiles and a bronze sculpture by Ernst Hermann Grämer.

The swimming pool opened in 1930 on the site of an earlier bathhouse founded by the Berliner Verein für Volksbäder. James Henry Simon funded the construction, while Carlo Jelkmann, Rudolf Gleye and Heinrich Tessenow shaped its architecture and interior. Bomb damage during the Second World War led to partial reopening in June 1945. A thorough renovation followed the 1985 closure, and the building reopened in 1993 with later facade and technical upgrades.

The eastern wing contains a 50-metre pool whose floor slopes from 60 centimetres to three metres. Six starting blocks stand beside a non-swimmer area. A sauna, sports rooms and a rehabilitation centre extend the facilities beyond the swimming hall. Heinrich-Zille-Park lies nearby, while wheelchair access adds practical value to this protected architectural monument.