The Swimming Pool Weggis – from a Disgrace to the Lido-Hallenbad Weggis

24 September 2024

The period after World War I (1914-1918) also saw many changes in Switzerland’s politics, art, and society.

For example, the Kurverein of Weggis opened the open-air swimming pool Weggis Lido in 1919. It was the first facility in Switzerland where men and women bathed together on the open beach, i.e., not separated in their strictly separated areas.

The new bath was a great success and became a model for other baths in Lucerne, Geneva, Fürigen at the foot of the Bürgenstock, Wesen on Lake Walen, Zurich, Stansstad, Flüelen, Gersau, Vitznau, and Buochs.

Of course, opponents (‘a disgraceful activity’, ‘the disgraceful bath’) also attracted attention in newspapers and (local) politics.

There were also satirical noises: ‘In the past, it would have been bad for morale, but nowadays beach baths are everywhere. It started in Weggis, and then Lucerne (the Lido) joined in…’

Or the melancholic: ‘Those were still the days of “poetry”, when people walked around in swimming costumes and secretly peered through the cracks and chinks from both sides …’ (Der Nebelspalter, 8 August 1922).

The Lido swimming pool in Weggis still exists and has been considerably expanded since 1919. However, the concept and location have not changed.