Berlin starts bathing season 2025: Cold water causes a dispute!

Berlin starts bathing season 2025: Cold water causes a dispute!

The summer bathroom season in Berlin started on May 8, 2025, but the water temperatures in some outdoor pools ensure mixed feelings among the visitors. The Berlin bathing companies (BBB) ​​are forced to take measures to reduce costs due to savings from the state budget. This means that many pools are not heated and instead only heated by solar radiation and outside temperature, which is not sufficient in the current cool season. As reports Berlin Live, the water in most outdoor pools is filled with a temperature of 12 degrees Celsius from the line, which is usually heated to 22 degrees. These austerity measures and the low temperatures trigger incomprehension among bathers.

Especially in the popular prince pool in Kreuzberg it shows how much the situation affects visitors. Anne, a regular guests, does not find the debate about the austerity measures understandable and says that it does not bother the cool water. Niklas, another regular bathing guest,, on the other hand, expresses that the water temperature of 22 degrees is more pleasant because water is too cold. Iris consciously chose a heated pool because the nightly temperatures are too cold. The BBB have announced that some pools are heated, but many bathrooms are affected by these measures.

security measures in the Prinzenbad

In the Prinzenbad, three security employees are available to ensure security. Every visitor must show his ID, otherwise the admission will be refused. Despite the uncomfortable temperatures, the start of the season has so far been calm and the security forces have little to do. The director of the BBB pointed out that a grant of 75 million euros from the state is available this year to maintain municipal general services, although there is a lack of funds that were originally planned for energy supply.

The saunas in the indoor pools remain closed between April 1 and October 31, 2025. The Wannsee lido also only opens at the beginning of May, after it is no longer available for Good Friday as usual. With the end of the Berlin summer season on September 7, 2025, it is expected that the problem with the water temperatures will lose importance in summer. The BBB also clarifies that most of their 14 outdoor pools, such as in Pankow, Mariendorf, Staaken-West, Kreuzberg and the Gropiusstadt and Seestraße combined, regenerative heat generation is used to reduce the costs and at the same time ensure certain comfort.

The situation in Berlin's outdoor pools is therefore complex and reflects the challenges that the operators have to deal with in times of austerity measures and increasing energy costs. Despite the cool temperatures and reduced heating, the demand for summer baths remains unbroken.