Wasserwelt

The Wasserwelt is the leisure bath (Freizeitbad) of Braunschweig in Lower Saxony, on the Schuetzenplatz at Am Schuetzenplatz 1. It is one of six baths run by Stadtbad Braunschweig Sport und Freizeit GmbH, alongside two further indoor baths and three outdoor baths. German Wikipedia records that the bath was opened on 14 July 2014, that it was designed by KSP Juergen Engel Architekten and that it is dimensioned for 500,000 visitors a year. It is not a thermal or mineral bath: a search of the operator's pages for Thermalwasser, Heilwasser, Sole, Mineralwasser, Quelle and "staatlich anerkannt" returns nothing, and the published water temperatures are those of a heated leisure pool. The house is organised into named sections - Badewelt, Sportwelt, Saunawelt, Wellnesswelt and a Kids Club.

Swimming is split between a 25-metre sport pool at 28 degrees Celsius with six lanes, used on weekdays largely by schools and clubs, and a leisure pool with four lanes at 30 degrees; an additional activity pool at 30 degrees runs at weekends. The sport area reaches from 1.35 to 3.80 metres deep and is served by a diving installation with one-metre and three-metre platforms whose opening depends on visitor numbers. In the leisure area, floor bubblers, cascade showers, air bubble loungers and massage jets work at a depth of 1.35 metres, and large whirlpools are held at 34 degrees. Children have a separate section with a toddler slide, a boat channel, water jets and a water cannon; the paddling pool is kept at at least 33 degrees. Outdoors, an unheated pool of more than 100 square metres with floor bubblers and massage jets can be reached by swimming out from inside, and a beach volleyball court and sun loungers adjoin it.

Two slides run from the leisure level: an 88-metre tube slide, on which the rider can select between pieces of music during the descent, and a 50-metre turbo slide. Minimum ages are eight years for the tube slide and ten for the turbo slide. A textile sauna is included in all day tickets for the Badewelt, and use of the Badewelt is in turn included in a Saunawelt ticket. Between 07:00 and 08:00 only the sport pool is available, and from Monday to Thursday the sport pool is withdrawn from public use from 15:00; a published lane occupancy plan sets out the details.

The Saunawelt has five sweat rooms spanning 42 to 90 degrees, each carrying a compound name: the infusion sauna TannenHarzGluehen at 90 degrees, the saunarium HeideSalzLeuchten at 60 degrees, the steam bath BergKristallNebel at 42 degrees, and two panorama saunas set in the garden, HainHolzKnistern at 90 degrees and SeeBlickSchimmern at 85 degrees. Cooling and bathing are provided by the EisSeeRauschen cold plunge pool, a warm bubble pool with air seats, a Kneipp basin and, outdoors, an unchlorinated bathing pond of 500 square metres filled with naturally filtered water from the Harz. The outdoor grounds cover 5,000 square metres and include a rest house with a sun deck; several indoor rest rooms adjoin the cabins. Tuesdays are reserved for women all day, other days are mixed. The adjoining Wellnesswelt sells massages and therapeutic treatments. The bath has 276 free parking spaces, including seven for disabled visitors, and 17 motorhome pitches, and is served by bus and tram at the Gesundheitsamt stop.