Municipal Baths in Siemianowice Śląskie

The former municipal bathhouse on Śniadeckiego Street in Siemianowice Śląskie, popularly called Badyhala, now operates as a municipal swimming pool. It is one of the oldest operating indoor swimming pools in Poland. It was built in 1907-1908 for the workers of the “Laura” steelworks.

From bathhouse to swimming pool

The building was funded by the Joint-Stock Company of the United Royal and Laura Steelworks, and the construction design was prepared by Emil Twrdy of Pszczelnik. The facility was meant to improve hygiene, because at the beginning of the 20th century many tenement houses and workers' colonies had no bathrooms. It was a bathing house with a small pool, and over time it served all the residents. The pool tank was originally 16 by 8 m and was divided into a part for swimmers and a part for learners. The tank is closed by a false vault on an iron truss with a skylight in the middle.

At the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, or in the 1970s, the pool was lengthened to 25 m and the individual bathrooms were removed, which made sports competitions possible. In the early 1990s the owner, the “Jedność” steelworks, closed the facility, and in 1994 or 1995 the town took it over and it was reopened after renovation. In 1997 the building together with the adjoining Hutnik park was entered in the heritage register.

Rescue and renewal

After the closure in 2016 because of a damaged tank, residents collected about 8,000 signatures under an appeal to save the facility. In 2017-2019 a renovation was carried out: the tank was sealed, the ventilation replaced, the skylight and façade renovated, and the main entrance adapted for people with disabilities. The modernisation received the Rom-Dom Award in the “Modernisation of the Year” competition, a distinction in the General Conservator of Monuments' “Well-Kept Monument” competition in the category of technical monuments, and the Marshal of the Voivodeship's Award in the competition for the Best Public Space.

Nearby

Nearby lies Silesian Park, and by the swimming pool the Hutnik park mentioned above.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Jana Śniadeckiego 11, Siemianowice Śląskie.
• The swimming pool operates like an ordinary sports facility, so check the rules of entry, opening hours and offer on the municipal swimming pool's website.