Berlin Volksbühne opens free outdoor pool amid debate over theater funding

A pool on the square

On Friday 7 August, Matthias Lilienthal, the new intendant of the Berlin Volksbühne, opened a temporary outdoor swimming pool on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz directly in front of the theater. The pool, called the "Volksbad," measures 25 meters long, 5 meters wide, and 1.30 meters deep, making it suitable even for non-swimmers. Entry is free, with no ID checks of the kind common at other Berlin outdoor pools. Visitors reserve time slots online three days in advance, and the coming days are already fully booked. The pool will remain open until 1 October. A fries stand stands nearby, which Lilienthal promises serves the cheapest fries in all of Berlin.

Lilienthal told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that for two weeks the city had debated whether the Volksbad was a great idea or ridiculous. A local resident approached him days before the opening and said in Berlin dialect, roughly, "I think you've completely lost your mind." Lilienthal thanked her for the compliment, and she then said she loved the Volksbad. A couple from Dresden traveled to Berlin specifically for the pool and called it "a great initiative and typically Berlin."

The cost and the controversy

The project costs approximately 300,000 euros, drawn from the theater's public subsidies. Of that amount, 90,000 euros cover the pool structure itself and 210,000 euros fund personnel, project planning, and security. The Volksbühne receives over 20 million euros in annual subsidies. Critics have questioned whether building a temporary free swimming pool is a proper use of theater funds, noting that 300,000 euros could finance one or two theater productions.

Lilienthal called the Volksbad "the new wonder of Mitte" and framed the pool as a political statement against Berlin's decaying infrastructure. He contrasted the 720 million euros invested in highway bridges with the neglect of schools and theaters. The Volksbühne itself must cut 1.25 million euros from its budget, a 5.5 percent reduction, while other Berlin theaters face cuts of 3 percent. Only the Gorki theater carries a similar burden.

Theater as city life

For Lilienthal, the boundary between theater and urban life is not rigid. He said that two people splashing each other in front of the Volksbühne already constitutes a theatrical act.

For me it's also theater when two people splash each other in front of the Volksbühne. For me that's already a theatrical act.

The project is inspired by performance artist Florentina Holzinger, who currently runs the Austrian pavilion at the Venice Biennale and previously staged "Ophelia's Got Talent" with a water basin at the Volksbühne. Lilienthal also dedicated the action to the memory of director Christoph Schlingensief, who had always complained about the imagery in Wim Wenders' film "Der Himmel über Berlin." Lilienthal said that when he did backstroke and looked up, he thought the sky over Berlin was not so stupid after all. He also invoked Frank Castorf, whose work at the Volksbühne the Volksbad builds upon. Of Schlingensief, Lilienthal said:

I know he's sitting in heaven right now saying: Such shit that I'm not part of this.

District mayor Stefanie Remmlinger of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen stood beside Lilienthal at the opening and praised the project.

Thank you for showing that art can still kick off debates.

What comes next

Lilienthal's first official theater season opens in October, when the pool closes and the renovated main stage machinery inside the Volksbühne is expected to be ready. He succeeds René Pollesch, who died unexpectedly two years ago. The Volksbühne's main stage machinery is currently being renovated, which is why Lilienthal organized the water spectacle in advance of the season. Until October, Berliners and visitors can swim for free in front of one of Germany's most prominent theaters.