Gera.Jetzt · Project 02 · At the Hofwiesen
Nobody is building
us a pool.
So we'll do it ourselves.
Gera hasn't had an outdoor pool in town since 2005. If everyone in Gera chips in €45 once, we'll swim again.
- 1864
- The summer pool opens at the Hofwiesen.
- approx. €0m
- Estimated cost: building it the way you build today, plus a cushion for running it.
1Memories & history
Remember?
Chips at the kiosk, wet towels on the lawn, the first jump into cold water. For generations of people in Gera, the summer pool at the Hofwiesen was summer.
Today the pool lies under grass. Only the old lifeguard hut reminds you that people once swam here.
If you want to swim on a hot day, you drive out to Kaimberg, to Aga or out of town altogether.
Nobody will come. We are the ones we've been waiting for.
Frei·bad German noun
An outdoor pool, literally a “free bath”. Open to everyone who comes. Often the place where a whole city spends its summer.
That's exactly what we want back. A pool that belongs to everyone. Free, because we build it ourselves.
Where it all began
From the first jump in 1924 to today. Swipe or use the arrows.
- 1924
On 20 July the summer pool at the Hofwiesen opens. Gera has a large, central outdoor pool.
- GDR
Generations learn to swim here. On the best summer days up to 5,000 people come.
- 2005
The worn-out facility closes. There's no money for repairs; a new pool on the same site is promised.
- 2007
The site becomes part of the Federal Garden Show. The new pool doesn't come; a plan with a private investor fails.
- 2011
The city council decides: by 2013 Gera will have an outdoor pool in the Hofwiesenpark.
- 2014
The old pool is filled in. There is no new one.
- 2017
28 sites are reviewed, four are put to the council. None is built.
- 2023
A city beach opens on the old site. You can't swim there.
- Now
We, the people of Gera, pool our money.
Everything has been tried.
A new pool on the old site was promised and planned into the Federal Garden Show. A private investor was supposed to fix it. The council decided on a new pool, 28 sites were reviewed, the outdoor pool is in every urban development plan.
Nothing was built. Today the city says: there will be no new outdoor pool in the medium term. In the end, it comes down to us.
2The plan
A thought experiment
That's the whole calculation.
€45 is a family trip to a leisure pool out of town. Once. After that Gera has a pool again that belongs to everyone. Not to an investor. To us.
Build it and run it.
An outdoor pool costs more today than in 2005. With €100 we can build it properly and have a cushion for water, staff and maintenance. On top come grants for sports facilities. With thousands of people from Gera behind us, the chances are better.
€0 are on my neck
I put it in up front, so the first pledges are safe.
€0.000,500 still to goof €9m
Fun fact
If 17,999 people do the same as me and give €500, the pool is paid for. At €45 per person it takes 199,989, at €100 89,995. Every extra euro gets us closer.
Based on the 2005 estimate; today's costs are unknown. Nobody pays anything now. We'll only collect money once the association exists and everything is legally sound.
To be honest: This is all still just an idea.
There is no association, no money, no site. There is a city without an outdoor pool and people who won't accept that any longer.
Where the new pool goes is still open. The city has reviewed sites, such as the meadow at the Gessenbach or the Hofwiesenpark. We don't want another review. We want it built.
If you're already working on something: join us, we're happy to pull together. This page asks just one thing: Are you in?
From today to the open door
Eight steps from the first “I'm in” to the first jump into the water. Every step needs people, not money.
All dates are goals, not promises. We'll adjust them when life gets in the way.
- Oct 2026
Here we goNow
This page goes online. Everyone who says “I'm in” lays down a towel.
- Winter 2026
Find allies
Swimming clubs, schools, parents, lifeguards. Everyone at one table.
- Spring 2027
Settle the site
Talks with the city: which plot, on what terms? No land, no pool.
- Summer 2027
Test swim
A campaign day with a pop-up pool. So everyone sees how many we are.
- 2027
Plan
A pool planner works out pools, costs and operation. Grants are applied for.
- 2028
Collecting money
Set up properly, with a notary or a cooperative, so every euro is safe.
- 2029
Ground-breaking
If everything works out: the diggers roll in. This time we dig instead of filling in.
- Someday
First swim
The pool opens. For everyone in Gera, every summer.
3I'm in
Lay down your towel
Let's be honest: everyone in Gera wants an outdoor pool again. Saying yes is easy. That's why we ask differently.
You pay nothing today.
Only your word counts. Nobody pays until the association exists and everything is legally sound.
Are you willing to give €45 once, when it gets serious? Or even €100, so we can build it properly? You pay nothing today. But whoever says “I'm in” here is counting on it. Only then do we know whether the numbers add up.
Every spot by the pool is one of us. With everyone who says “I'm in”, a spot turns gold. Once the pool is full, we move on to the next stage, until all of Gera is in.
Click a free spot and lay down your towel.
GFirst goal
5,000
A summer like before
That's how many people came to the summer pool on the hottest days. That's where we want to get back to: a pool in the middle of town that's full, loud and smells of sun cream.
What the pool looks like and where it goes, we all decide together. The final count happens once we have a site.
GIdeas to dream about
What we could do
No decisions, just ideas. If you like one, submit it to the committee as a proposal.
For swimming clubs, schools and everyone who wants to swim lengths.
One, three, five metres. The first dare of the summer.
Big trees, plenty of room for blankets and picnics.
For the little ones, in view of the parents.
Chips, ice cream, fizzy drinks. Like back then, at prices like back then.
Swimming lessons for every child in Gera. So nobody grows up unable to swim.
Summer evenings with films under the open sky, feet in the water.
Beach volleyball and sand are already there. All that's missing is the water.
Ice rink or sauna in winter, so the site never stands empty.
Once a year, on the hottest night of summer, the pool stays open until midnight. Fairy lights, music, all of Gera in the water.
The roll of honour · an idea for later
Your name. Forever.
When the pool is full again, a roll of honour will hang in the summer pool with the names of everyone who was part of it. So Gera never goes 21 years without an outdoor pool again, but it stays in Gera's hands forever: for our children, their children and everyone who comes after us.
Today is the starting shot. And then you point at a line and say: There. That's me. I was there.
Here stand all who were part of it
- Your name
What do you think?
Your memories, questions, ideas and criticism. Write it here so everyone can read it. You need an account to comment.