Did you know there\u2019s currently a whole swimming pool in front of Berlin\u2019s Volksb\u00fchne? An actual 25-metre lane, right in the middle of Mitte. It sounds a little ridiculous, but there are literally lifeguards, changing rooms, fries and, yes, you can swim in it. For free. VOLKSBAD is the first big move under the theatre\u2019s new artistic director, Matthias Lilienthal. And he\u2019s making a big statement with it. Why?<\/p>\n
Because the Volksb\u00fchne wants to stretch the idea of what theatre can be, while the actual stage doesn\u2019t have to stop at the building\u2019s doors. For eight weeks, the street outside becomes part pool, part meeting spot and, importantly, part performance. That means you can come to swim laps, hang out with your neighbours or do absolutely nothing. What feels long overdue, especially in a city where so much public life comes with a price tag, even hanging around without buying anything starts to feel kind of radical.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":131141,"id":131141,"title":"hdhoededfbeiuhfeiu","filename":"hdhoededfbeiuhfeiu.jpg","filesize":503909,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/hdhoededfbeiuhfeiu.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/why-the-hell-did-volksbuhne-build-a-swimming-pool\/hdhoededfbeiuhfeiu\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"hdhoededfbeiuhfeiu","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":131125,"date":"2026-08-13 16:49:25","modified":"2026-08-13 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You know, Berlin in summer and swimming pools have a complicated relationship. One time, after a SLEEK production, we drove back to the office, but what we noticed from inside the car was the insanely long queue in front of a Freibad. Restless teenagers and parents with long faces because their kids have been whining outside in the heat for hours. And once again, we realized that despite its size, Berlin somehow has only a tiny number of places to spend your free time.<\/p>\n
And, whenever we planned a trip to the lake, we already factored in the crowds and the struggle of finding somewhere to squeeze ourselves in. Everyone wants in, space is limited, and years of neglected public infrastructure don\u2019t exactly help. And now VOLKSBAD becomes a response to a city where infrastructure has been systematically dismantled and public spaces are increasingly commercialised and controlled. Even swimming programmes at educational institutions, which are already financially stretched, currently have to pay enormously high prices.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","text":"This is (\u2026) a political statement against the crumbling infrastructure of this city.\u201d","source":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
\u201cWe\u2019re helping primary school children learn how to swim, and we\u2019re putting a swimming pool here”, Matthias Lilienthal, artistic director of Volksb\u00fchne Berlin, says.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why VOLKSBAD also gives clubs the opportunity to hold their courses there. Yesterday, for example, it was reserved from Each One Teach One<\/em>, a Black-led education and empowerment organisation. Mind you, it was just a temporary POC-Only Space. Out of nowhere, the six-hour slot sparked criticism online, though, including from a TikTok creator who called the decision discriminatory and argued for a world where skin colour simply doesn\u2019t matter. But the problem is that we don\u2019t live in that world yet, and that\u2019s not the reality at all.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":131135,"id":131135,"title":"volksbad","filename":"volksbad.jpg","filesize":354597,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/volksbad.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/why-the-hell-did-volksbuhne-build-a-swimming-pool\/volksbad\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"volksbad","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":131125,"date":"2026-08-13 16:39:47","modified":"2026-08-13 16:39:47","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/volksbad.jpg","thumbnail-width":128,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/volksbad.jpg","medium-width":1920,"medium-height":1440,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/volksbad.jpg","medium_large-width":1920,"medium_large-height":1440,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/volksbad.jpg","large-width":1920,"large-height":1440,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/volksbad-1536x1152.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/volksbad.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/volksbad-16x12.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":16,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/volksbad.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1920,"wpvr_mobile-height":1440}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":" In that context, there\u2019s also some heavy history sitting behind this conversation. It reminded us of segregated US, where Black people were excluded among public swimming pools. Back in 1964, civil rights protesters even entered the whites-only pool at the Monson Motor Lodge in St. Augustine, Florida. And the manager responded by pouring muriatic acid into the water as cameras watched. So when access, race and swimming pools meet, there\u2019s historical baggage in the water too.<\/p>\n Because \u201ceveryone\u201d doesn\u2019t always experience the same city in the same way. Skin colour, background, gender, money and who we\u2019re perceived to be can still shape where we feel welcome and what opportunities we get. Creating a temporary safer space by Volksb\u00fchne gives one group a few hours in a space designed around their experience. And that sits pretty naturally within the theater\u2019s programme that also works with queer, feminist and other communities around the city.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s something we like about the word Freibad<\/em>. Technically, it just means an outdoor swimming pool in German. But split it in two and you get frei<\/em> and Bad<\/em>: free and bath. And maybe that\u2019s a nice way to rethink what a public pool can be. You see, a place where being \u201cfree\u201d means more than free entry. Rather free from having to buy something. Free from being moved along. Free, even just for a few laps, from a city increasingly shaped by control and commerce. We are convinced that that\u2019s exactly what public space should give us: room to breathe, to meet, to belong. And, for once, to just swim our worries away. This seems to work out and going down well with the visitors too:<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","text":"\u201cAn older lady walked past me and said, \u2018You\u2019re completely nuts.\u2019 (...) I thanked her for the compliment, and then she said she was really looking forward to the pool.\u201d\r\n\r\n- Matthias Lilienthal, artistic director of Volksb\u00fchne Berlin","source":""}],"sleek_card_focus":"mid"},"yoast_head":"\n