Hamburg wants to open saunas despite the energy crisis

Despite the energy crisis, the Hamburg baths country wants to reopen its public saunas on September 1st. "Public saunas are important to keep fit and healthy," said Baederland spokesman Michael Dietel. Because of the energy crisis, the municipal company had closed its saunas for the summer.

In contrast to expensive wellness hotels, the bathing country offers a cheap offer "for the general public," said the spokesman. Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) caused a stir at the weekend with his demand to close saunas in wellness hotels.

"I do think that certain wellness offers this year are part of the kind of luxury that one should voluntarily do without," said Günther of WELT AM SONNTAG. "You don't necessarily have to go to the sauna in the coming winter." However, his state will not impose any legal requirements on the companies.

Due to the summery weather, some outdoor pools in Hamburg will remain open after the official end of the outdoor pool season on September 1st. This includes all combination pools that also have indoor pools, such as the Kaifu-Bad in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel, with the exception of Finkenwerder. The outdoor pool in the Stadtparksee should also continue to operate, but it will close earlier in the evening.

Should the energy crisis worsen, the plans will be reviewed, Dietel said. The baths alliance, a nationwide association of leading bathing associations and institutions, of which Baederland is also a member, has drawn up a step-by-step plan that can be used if necessary. After that, if the situation worsened, the fun pools would be closed first. Swimming lessons, on the other hand, should be maintained for as long as possible, since many children did not have swimming lessons during the Corona crisis.