Theresienbad

The Theresienbad stands in Meidling, one of Vienna’s southern districts. It is a combined indoor and outdoor swimming complex with a sauna, a steam room, a diving platform and a summer pool. A heated paddling pool is set aside for children. The indoor pool hall contains two large ceramic mosaics by Carry Hauser, including Bather from 1964. The steam room displays mosaics by Paul Meissner and Rudolf Hausner, both dating from 1953. Scene of the Ancients Bathing is by Meissner, while Hausner contributed Triton Playing the Flute. At the entrance to the pool hall an early 20th-century bronze by Oskar Thiede serves as a monument to the baths’ history. Visitors find changing cabins, showers and seating areas around the indoor pool. The outdoor summer pool opens in warm weather and is surrounded by lawns and trees. The sauna block includes a steam bath and relaxation rooms. The mosaics and sculpture give the site an artistic character beyond its role as a public bath.