Bathe like an emperor

Swimming, relaxing, enjoying the sauna and having fun – all under one roof. In the Barbarossa thermal baths in Göppingen, a county town located about 40 kilometres east of Stuttgart, wellness fans as well as ‘water rats’ of any age will certainly get their money’s worth.

After a construction period of 18 months, the completely renovated and upgraded bathing landscape, named after Emperor Friedrich I, aka Barbarossa, who ruled the Roman-German Empire from 1155 to 1190 and revived the Roman bathing culture in the town, today invites patrons to linger in the four themed areas and enjoy the extensive relaxation and health facilities. The spacious changing area, now also with family changing rooms and ample collective changing rooms, as well as the brightly designed washrooms with barrier-free access, make the Barbarossa thermal baths fit for the future.

In the large indoor pool hall, which also includes a gallery with sun loungers and tables, visitors will find, among other things, an adventure pool with a 57-metre-long giant slide. The redesigned child-parent area, now almost twice the size of the previous one, is bright and inviting thanks to an attractive glass façade. In the newly created children’s area, many splashing attractions, such as water activities as well as a river course and waterfall await the little ones. The elephant slide named Elli, which is so popular with the youngest patrons, has also found its new home here.

The large sauna area in Roman style with seven different saunas, a crystal steam bath and a separate lounge leave nothing to be desired as far as ‘sweating it out’ is concerned. Those who like it particularly hot can use the log cabin sauna outside and then cool off in the ice fountain. Outside there is also a large sun terrace with a feel-good garden, water activities and an integrated hot-water relaxation pool with massage jets, pool geysers and bubble loungers.

The planners of the Barbarossa thermal baths have managed to combine creative finesse with functionality and sustainability in the design of the child-parent area. Multicoloured Troldtekt acoustic panels, matching the colours of the floor tiles, have been installed on the ceiling. The vertically offset assembly of ‘panel islands’ creates a three-dimensional ceiling landscape, which is a special design highlight in form and colour.