© 2022
The New Town, which was to make Strasbourg a showcase of Prussian power, is characterized by impressive squares and wide tree-lined avenues, a perfect combination of monumental proportions and a strong sense of landscape. This remarkable post-Haussmann district is characterized by architectural extravagance, where Italian neo-Renaissance, neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau are cheerfully mixed.
In this part of the city, the Public Swimming Pool, now a listed building, was built between 1904 and 1911 by the architect Fritz Beblo. The unique swimming pool complex in neoclassical and neo-baroque style has two pools, showers and Roman baths in a magnificent setting. The use of marble and copper, the stained glass windows and the decoration inspired by antiquity offer the visitor an extraordinary experience.
The City Baths of Strasbourg is a place of life and opens its doors wide again to visitors after renovation. Although opened in 1908, the building of Fritz Beblo, undoubtedly a jewel of the New Town, has benefited from a respectful and ambitious renovation that does justice to this now exceptional place. It is a place accessible to all and sundry.
Welcome to a world of total relaxation!
In the wellness area, the bath offers the amenities of Roman baths. They are a very special cultural heritage and testify to the German hygiene tradition at the beginning of the 20th century.
On the second floor a new modern offer, a sauna, salt cave and whirlpool. These are moments of absolute relaxation. Outside the walls this new offer continues, with a beautiful Nordic Balneo pool and outdoor sauna. A cool garden completes this relaxation area.
History
The founding of the municipal baths was due to a strong civic will when Strasbourg was German from 1870 to 1918. - A first project was presented as early as 1879, when a private citizen offered his land. The mayor Otto Back (1873-1906) gave a hygienic impulse with this new facility. In order to build such a project, long studies were conducted. Experts looked for models in Germany and surveyed the people of Strasbourg to determine their needs. A first version is created, then a second. In 1902, the military barracks were destroyed and in 1904 a third design was selected, which was built by 1908.
The building is decidedly innovative by its functions, but it is also the artistic achievement that makes it stand out in its beauty. The team led by the city architect Fritz Beblo designed the entire bathroom, down to the door handles. Each piece is unique, sometimes with purely decorative interest. The choice is made for marble and English ceramics, which are considered more resistant than those from Germany. There is an obsession for the light. There are allusions to antiquity, the Baroque, the Renaissance or the International, with a reference to the wave of Hokusai in one of the stained glass windows. For Fritz Beblo, the baths represent a total work of art.
From 2019 to 2021, the baths underwent a subtle but ambitious renovation that respected the heritage and its history. Today, the baths are perfectly adapted to today's standards and requirements and remain more than ever a place open to all.
