It doesn’t look like it at the moment when you look out the window, but the outdoor pool season starts in Munich next week. On May 2nd, the Schyrenbad in Untergiesing opens its doors, traditionally the first of the local outdoor pools. From mid-May onwards, visitors can also splash around in the Dantebad, Michaeli-Bad, Maria Einsiedel natural pool, Prinzregenten-, Ungerer- and Westbad.
Just in time for the first jump into the cold water, there is good news for children under the age of twelve as well as owners of Munich or holiday passes: They can also use the city’s seven outdoor pools for free this summer. The city council voted unanimously on Wednesday.
Originally, the underlying proposal from the CSU/Free Voters faction and the economic department’s draft resolution were supposed to be discussed in the technical committee last week, but after the meeting was canceled at short notice, the topic was put directly on the agenda of the general assembly. And there, after the consistently positive experiences of the previous year, further discussion was considered unnecessary.
In 2023, children under twelve accepted the offer around 158,000 times. But Munich Pass holders in particular used it “well beyond the expected admissions,” as the draft resolution says, namely 43,650 times. That was almost double compared to 2o22, when someone came to the outdoor pool with a Munich pass 23,877 times. The offer was also becoming increasingly popular among children and young people, but not to this extent: in 2022, 146,186 free entries were counted. Overall, Stadtwerke, as the operator of Munich’s outdoor pools, registered 1.055 million visitors last summer, an increase of 100,000 compared to the previous year.
With a regular admission price of six euros for adults and 3.80 euros for children and young people up to their 15th birthday, the municipal utilities lost revenue of just over three-quarters of a million euros by granting free access, namely 768,390.40 . This sum was paid from the city’s budget. In the future, 800,000 euros will be made available annually for the measure. Since last year, 600,000 have been permanently planned for this at the Department for Labor and Economic Affairs. Now 200,000 euros from the budget of the social department are being added for voluntary transfer payments. This money is essentially reallocated to finance free access to the pools for Munich Pass holders.
The background to free entry to the swimming pool is, on the one hand, to enable citizens with low incomes to participate in social and community events. On the other hand, families in particular should be relieved in view of the general price increases for the cost of living. Another not unimportant aspect: promoting the swimming ability of children and young people. So that they can stay afloat when they later go swimming with their friends at Flaucher.