Polytan PolyPlay S and Polytan LigaGrass Synergy at the Markwasen outdoor wave pool
Local recreation facility brimming with holiday vibes
If you live at the foot of the Swabian Jura, yet love waves and the sound of the sea, you are faced with travelling long distances to satisfy your need to be beside the ocean. After all, it’s about 700 kilometres to the Adriatic Sea in the south, and another hundred kilometres more to the North Sea. But the Markwasen outdoor wave pool in Reutlingen is much closer. The former Imperial City is now one of the newest major cities in Baden-Württemberg and is often referred to as the “gateway to the Swabian Jura” given its proximity directly at the foot of the mountains. Alongside many historical buildings, Spreuerhofstraße is another of Reutlingen’s famous sights. According to the Guinness Book of Records, it is the narrowest street in the world – it only measures about 40 cm wide on average, and goes down to 31 cm at the narrowest point.
The Markwasen outdoor wave pool in the middle of a spacious park landscape is undoubtedly one of the city’s major attractions. The complex centres around an outdoor pool built in 1954/55. It replaced the historic Arbachbad where the Arbach and Echaz rivers meet. It opened in 1854 and was praised at the time for being a “proper bathing place for men, women and children”. When it was completed, the new pool was considered the most modern open-air swimming pool in the Federal Republic of Germany, and it was also set up for competitions with a grandstand that could seat 2,000 spectators.
In the 1980s, a separate wave pool was added to the complex, which many visitors still consider the main attraction today: various wave programmes create waves up to 1.5 m high so it almost feels as though you’re on a beach holiday. The adjacent outdoor pool has a sports pool with 8 lanes of 50 metres. A diving facility with springboards measuring 3-10 m including a separate diving pool and an 80-m-long giant water slide are also available. As well as the spacious park landscape with two tree-lined sunbathing lawns, the Reutlinger Badewelt includes a separate nudist area, a children’s playground with a baby paddling pool and mud area, and a sports area with a beach volleyball court, a variety of climbing equipment and table-tennis tables.
The grounds are being continually improved, and as such, a multifunctional playing field with basketball hoops and two PolyPlay Arena mini playing fields in the popular DFB size of 20 x 13 m have been added recently. The durable PolyPlay S all-round surface in brick red adorns the multifunctional playing field (480 m²) – and this is by no means a coincidence since this colour has proven itself many times over on playing fields and facilities for school and ball sports, as well as a wide range of leisure activities. Its smooth surface and good ball bounce make it an ideal surface for ball sports and a variety of outdoor activities. Polytan PolyPlay S is water-permeable so the playing field dries very quickly and can therefore be used year-round in all weathers. It can be laid evenly yet is still slip-resistant. Other advantages include its high wear-resistance and low maintenance.
The two mini-pitches feature Polytan LigaGrass Synergy, our artificial turf made of soft and flexible Synergy filaments, as well as the larger and firmer LigaGrass Pro filaments. This combination makes LigaGrass Synergy the perfect turf system for both club and municipal sports. It feels both authentic and pleasant to play and walk on the surface, and it also offers excellent player protection while being kind to the skin, yet requires very little maintenance. The BiColour colouring lends the LigaGrass Synergy in Reutlingen a truly natural look in an area covering 532 m². The scope of delivery of the mini pitches included our robust boards as well as goals and rear-goal nets, which can be supplemented with side and roof nets if required.
However, the mini playgrounds and the multifunctional playground that we have equipped do not mark the end of the modernisation and improvement work to the Markwasen outdoor wave pool – the children’s area is to be renovated and made even more attractive in time for the 2022 outdoor pool season. This will mean Reutlingen can continue to boast one of the most scenic and largest swimming pools in Germany in the future. The facility has truly established itself as a modern and family-friendly leisure centre for the city and its surroundings.
