Freibad Bredenbeck

The former open-air pool Bredenbeck stands in the Deister hills on the edge of the village of Bredenbeck in the Wennigsen municipality. It occupies a small site beside a tributary of the Bredenbeck stream where flax was once stored for processing. The pool was created in 1919 by local pupils and run by the Gut Heil and Frei Heil clubs. The pool was enlarged in 1927 with a narrow tiled basin and a small diving tower. By the 1960s it no longer met hygiene standards and closed. Upstream a wading pool opened in 1971 and remained in use until 2013. In 1978 the abandoned site was declared a nature reserve because of its unusual wildlife. Visitors today find a quiet stretch of water surrounded by reeds and willow scrub. The old tiled edges of the pool are still visible beneath the vegetation. The reserve supports a rich variety of reptiles and amphibians that have recolonised the area. A postcard from 1966 shows the pool in its final years.