Flussbad Oberer Letten

On hot summer days, water lovers can cool off by taking a dip in the River Limmat in the very heart of Zurich. The Oberer Letten riverside bathing facility is a popular meeting place, and features a 400 meter (1,312 ft) long swimming channel and a 2 meter (6.5 ft) high diving platform. There are also two beach volleyball courts and an area for playing boule on the opposite side of the river.

Those who prefer to take it easy can sunbathe on one of the sun terraces with a book from the book boxes provided by the Bühl Foundation. Very close there is also the restaurant and bar Panama selling snacks and refreshing drinks.

History/Architecture

The concrete construction of the Flussbad Oberer Letten was built by architect Elsa Burckhardt-Blum in the style of hygienic modernism in 1952. The bath is functional and lacks frills and decoration. It does, however, still have a degree of aesthetic beauty – for example, if you look at the staircase of the front sun terrace from the front, it looks as if it has wings.

The Letten area on the opposite bank can look back at an eventful past. Until 1989, it was an S-Bahn train station. When the station was closed down, the drug scene moved in, having been driven away from the Platzspitz park. After it was cleared of drug addicts in 1995, the area was converted into a sports and leisure complex, which nowadays is known and loved far beyond the city boundaries.