Stadtbad Mitte

The Stadtbad Mitte “James Simon” stands in Berlin’s Mitte district, its entrance built flush with the surrounding apartment blocks in Gartenstraße. Completed in 1930, the four-storey brick building replaced an earlier 1880s Volksbad and was funded by the merchant James Henry Simon. The architect Carlo Jelkmann designed the exterior while Heinrich Tessenow shaped the interiors, creating a structure praised for its light, air and sun. A bronze statue of a girl with a towel, made by Ernst Hermann Grämer, greets visitors in the entrance hall. The building bears the inscription “Stadtbad Mitte” above its nine-bay centrepiece. The modernist complex once housed thousands of daily visitors, with 5 000 people using the pools and showers by late 1945. In 1951 it hosted the first national swimming festival of the GDR, and after wartime damage repairs it reopened fully in 1993. The reconstruction added a sauna, sports room and medical baths, including a Russian-Roman bath with stained glass by Max Pechstein. A rehabilitation centre now occupies part of the western wing, while the eastern wing remains the main swimming hall. Inside, the 50-metre pool is surrounded by tall window bands that flood the space with daylight. A sloping floor and six starting blocks serve competitive swimmers, while a chain can separate a shallow area for non-swimmers. Heated benches line the tiled surrounds, and a gallery on the second floor offers views down into the hall. The entrance hall’s original milk-glass and brass light fittings have been restored, and sculptures by August Kraus stand in the stairwell. Outside, the Heinrich-Zille-Park provides a green neighbour just across the street.