Dusseldorf Brawls and tumults in swimming pools are making headlines and a political debate about criminal consequences these days. Swimming pools in Germany have long had completely different problems. The VuMA survey, which has been published annually since 2014, shows that the number of Germans who go swimming regularly is steadily decreasing. More and more children and young people cannot swim at all, in 2022 this affected every fifth child aged six to ten years. At the same time, the number of swimming pools in Germany has been falling since the turn of the millennium.
The German swimming pools are in a multi-crisis. According to the pool alliance Germany, there is a multi-billion dollar refurbishment backlog for the pools. In addition, the energy-intensive swimming pools are being hit by the energy crisis. And the baths are also suffering from the shortage of skilled workers: the pool alliance announced at the end of June that there were currently at least 2,500 skilled workers in the bathing industry.
Can Germany still afford its bathing landscape? Are swimming pools in Germany profitable? How high are the municipal subsidies for swimming pools? And where is it currently most expensive to go to the outdoor pool?
How many swimming pools are there in Germany?
How many swimming pools there are in Germany has not yet been recorded exactly. However, there are two platforms that are intended to help close this data gap: One of them is baederleben.de, founded in 2020 by the Koblenz University of Applied Sciences. The data is based on reports from the population according to the Wikipedia principle and comparisons with health authorities.
Since 2016, the bath atlas of the German Bathing Society has also been continuously updated. According to the website, there are currently 6009 outdoor and indoor pools and 579 natural pools in Germany.
There are an average of 7.2 swimming pools per 100,000 inhabitants in Germany. Thuringia, Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony have the highest density of swimming pools. The city states of Berlin and Hamburg have the fewest swimming pools per capita.
The “dying spas” in Germany – myth or reality?
It is disputed whether there is a “bath dying” in Germany. A total of around 7,800 swimming pools were listed in the sports facility statistics of the 2000 conference of interior ministers, significantly more than the pool atlas currently lists. The German Life Saving Society (DLRG) therefore calculates that around 70 to 80 swimming pools would close in Germany every year and calls for a fight against the “bath dying”.
The German Society for Bathing (DGfdB) defends itself against this term. The fact that individual pools are closing is not a dramatically progressive process, and the data situation is “very subjective”. Some baths would only close temporarily for renovation work. In addition, the DGfdB writes, “not every pool closure is bad”.
In fact, many municipalities built their own swimming pools in the 1960s and 1970s – possibly too many. Therefore, “cleaning up the pool landscape with the closure of old dilapidated pools” and new modern offers “could be quite helpful”.
Whether there is a “swimming pool” in Germany is controversial.
(Photo: dpa)
DLRG President Ute Vogt replies: “No one will dispute that we have hundreds of pools less in Germany than 20 years ago.” Formation of suitable water areas”.
How much does admission to the outdoor pools currently cost?
Swimming pool visits are becoming more and more expensive. According to the consumer price index of the Federal Statistical Office, the entrance fee for swimming pools in Germany has risen by 8.4 percent since 2020.
In the current outdoor pool season, admission to Germany’s largest cities costs an average of 4.80 euros, according to an analysis by the Handelsblatt. 159 outdoor pools in the 50 most populous cities in the country were examined. The cheapest outdoor pool tickets from this analysis are in the small Eiderbad Hammer in Kiel. Admission for adults there costs 2.50 euros. In the Opelbad in Wiesbaden, on the other hand, 12 euros are due at the checkout – the highest price analyzed.
Most municipalities have uniformly adjusted the admission prices for the public outdoor pools: in Essen and Münster, admission to the outdoor pool costs 4 euros, in Stuttgart 4.50 euros, in Frankfurt am Main 5 euros, in Berlin 5.50 euros and in Munich 6 euros.
Are the entrance fees enough to finance the swimming pools?
No. Swimming pools in Germany do not cover their costs. In view of rising energy costs, urgently needed investments in infrastructure and falling visitor numbers, this is hardly surprising. The Reconstruction Loan Corporation emphasizes that swimming pools are among the most expensive sports facilities. And the DGfdB points out that operas and theaters also have to be subsidized by the state in order to be able to survive economically.
The current swimming pool indicators of the DGfdB show which swimming pools have the lowest degree of cost recovery and are therefore the most unprofitable.
However, the DGfdB reminds that in addition to the costs, swimming pools also have a social benefit “as an important part of the social infrastructure and services of general interest” – similar to theaters.
How much does the bathroom need to be renovated?
There is a renovation backlog in Germany’s swimming pools. The pool operators know that too. The level of demand is not currently being ascertained. The pool alliance Germany relies on figures from 2016: At that time, the renovation backlog for German swimming pools was estimated at 4.5 billion euros. The KfW development bank published new figures in 2022 that summarize the need for renovation of all sports facilities and municipal swimming pools: According to this, 8.5 billion euros are needed here. According to the KfW, a third of the municipalities expect an increasing investment backlog.
At least 2,500 specialists, such as lifeguards, are currently missing in German swimming pools.
(Photo: dpa)
In a study by the DGfdB and the Bergische Universität Wuppertal from 2019, almost 14 percent of the swimming pools reported a “serious investment backlog”, in one third of the pools the investment backlog was “significant”. In view of the high costs, according to the study, there is a debate about the closure of every tenth swimming pool.
DLRG President Vogt demands from the Handelsblatt: “Both the federal states and the federal government should contribute significantly more financially to the maintenance and development of the pool landscape.” It is clear that the municipalities cannot solve the renovation backlog in the short term on their own. And according to KfW, a good five percent of total municipal investment is already going into swimming pools and sports facilities – and the trend is rising.
How high are the municipal subsidies for swimming pools?
The increase in municipal investments is partly due to the corona pandemic. Overall, however, investments here have increased by more than 80 percent since 2017, according to KfW. With the shortage of skilled workers, the energy crisis and the renovation backlog, German swimming pools are facing a multi-crisis.
The climate goals of the Federal Republic of Germany make things even more difficult: in 2021, an average of almost 36 kilowatt hours of energy was consumed per visit to the swimming pool, most of it heat and heating energy. The transformation of the industry to become more climate-friendly will be one of the major challenges of the coming years.
In view of the costs and other possible crises, it is questionable whether there will continue to be more than 6,000 outdoor and indoor swimming pools in Germany in the coming years. Even if swimming pools in the region are seen as part of the social infrastructure, it will hardly be possible for the municipalities to lead all pools through the multi-crisis.
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