On Monday, 2 September, an indoor swimming pool was officially opened in the presence of the Prague City councillor Vít Šimral, Senator Pavel Fischer and representatives of the Prague 16 City District Karel Hanzlík and Miroslav Knotek.
The opening follows on from the trial operation launched in May of this year, during which all the technology and systems were tested. The swimming pool will be fully opened to the public from today, starting with a charity event. The proceeds from the entrance fee will be donated to the Pink Bubble Foundation which supports children and young people with cancer.
A unique complex has been created in Radotín, unlike any other in Prague or indeed anywhere else in the Czech Republic. It is a combination of a natural swimming pool (biotope), which was opened in 2014, and an indoor pool. The facilities for the biotope and the indoor pool are located in one building. The fact that there would be space for an indoor swimming pool was already anticipated at the time when the plans for the biotope were drawn up. The men’s and women’s dressing rooms and sanitary facilities for the pool will open on the ground floor below the future restaurant and will therefore be directly connected to the pool hall.
“Both sports facilities were built on an original brownfield site where a wastewater treatment plant originally stood,” the mayor Karel Hanzlík explains the location’s past and adds how big the investment was: “The construction cost 103 million CZK, including VAT. The finances come from the budget of the City of Prague and the Prague 16 City District.”
The sports complex smoothly merges into the grounds of Radotín Primary School. The swimming pool will therefore also be used for learning to swim, both in compulsory lessons and also by all other classes. One hour of swimming a week will be added to the children’s physical education. But the Betynka Swimming School will also be used by people from other schools in Radotín and the surrounding area, and by the public.
How does the pool look?
The first deputy mayor Miroslav Knotek, who oversaw the technical side of the construction on behalf of Radotín Town Hall, explains: “In the hall there is a 25-metre swimming pool with four ordinary-sized lanes and one wider relaxation lane with a bench with jets. In front of them, closer to the entrance, there is a steam cabin and two circular pools with a whirlpool and a paddling pool for small children. On the first-floor terrace there is a covered restaurant which will open during the autumn. It will be used by visitors to both the indoor pool and the biotope.”
On the first day of school, the newly built premises in the historical building of the first grade of primary school and the extension of the renovated school canteen were also opened.