Kirstin Gernath visits Berlin’s swimming pool in the Spree…

Badeschiff—literally ‘bathing ship’—opened in 2004 as a collaborative art project organized by Berlin’s Stadtkunstprojekte (City Art ProjectSociety), the AMP Architectos (Teneriffa), architect Gil Wilk and local artist Susanne Lorenz. The initial aim was to enliven city life along what was then a long-neglected stretch of the Spree, between the former Osthafen (East harbour) and Flutgraben, a small canal.

The pool is part of a complex of old industrial buildings that were built in the 1920s as a bus depot and slowly redesigned by the organisation Art Kombinat (now ARENA Berlin), from 1995 onwards. The 20,000 square-meter area today hosts an exhibition hall (Arena Halle) and venue (Glashaus) as well as the Arena club—a great example of Berlin’s industrial culture during the first half of the twentieth century.

Until Germany’s reunification in 1989, this area was only accessible for BVG (Berlin Transportation Company) members in possession of a special permit and DDR border soldiers. It was part of the Sperrgebiet (prohibited zone) between East and West Berlin, since the border ran along the Flutgraben and the Spree.

Underwater gate constructions made it impossible to use this area as a point to flee from the eastern district now called Friedrichshain to western Kreuzberg or Treptow. After the wall came down, the area slowly turned into a centre for art and entertainment.

From the buzzing Schlesische Straße in Kreuzberg, I took the pathway that follows the small canal and passes between two of Berlin’s great open air summer spots: the terrace restaurant/bar Freischwimmer and the techno-lovers bar Club der Visionäre.

Already plotting a cooling cocktail following my dip, I followed the signs to the Badeschiff, walked past the main hall, with its distinctive shed roof and huge windows, and the Glashaus next door (partly used for the Badeschiff facilities and as a venue in itself), until reac…