Lovers of cool water get their money’s worth in Munich in every respect, be it in one of the lakes, the Isar or the Eisbach. The city also offers countless outdoor and indoor swimming pools where you can let off steam whatever the weather. If you want a historical experience, visit the Müller’sche Volksbad, which is not only the oldest indoor pool in the city, but has even been used as a movie set several times. However, in the past there was another swimming pool in Munich where an absolute classic was filmed. Today it is a lost place, of which only a few remnants remain.
The swimming pool of an Olympian
Karl Kaltenbach competed as an athlete at the 1906 Olympic Intermediate Games in Athens and won the gold medal in the tug-of-war together with his team. Born in Munich, he lived with his wife in the Floriansmühle in Schwabing-Freimann on the edge of the Mühlbach. In 1932, the couple founded the “Floriansmühle” family baths of the same name here. It quickly became a popular meeting place in summer to cool off in the Mühlbach stream or one of the swimming pools. The stream never reached more than 21°C and was therefore only for the hardy who wanted to float in it.
Later, Kaltenbach’s daughter Anna and her husband Artur Doppelhamer took over the outdoor pool, which was particularly popular on hot days. Their son Claus, who still lives next to the site of the abandoned pool today, also had to lend a hand. He helped at the cash desk or sold sausages and homemade apple strudel at the kiosk to the paying guests. And what guests visited the Floriansmühlbad! Due to its proximity to the BR studio in Freimann, Schwabing celebrities were regularly seen here and even some scenes from “The Neverending Story” were filmed in the natural pool.
But despite its popularity, the Floriansmühlbad could not survive in the long term and so the Doppelhamer family sold it to the HypoVereinsbank, which has been unable to find a buyer ever since. In 1994, the Floriansmühlbad was finally closed and Munich lost one of its natural swimming pools.
New plans for the Floriansmühlbad
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After its closure, the Floriansmühlbad was left to its own devices. Over the decades, a small wood has developed and plants are growing in the former swimming pools. The ladders and signs are still there and are rusting away. The ticket booth, showers and changing rooms are also still standing. The site is inaccessible to the public.
The Floriansmühlbad has been a lost place for over 30 years, but that is set to change. In future, up to 600 apartments and a park could be built here. Daycare centers, a sports hall and a beer garden are also conceivable in the middle of the new district, so that the Mühlbach could once again become an attractive place with a local recreational character. A path is to be built along the stream so that people can at least dangle their feet in the water again. However, it is not yet certain whether and when these plans will be implemented.