The Swimming Pond – Where high society once swam

"In my memory, it was always summertime in Bendeleben. Every day we could swim in the park pond or play croquet on the palace lawn."
In his book "Nachklang einer Jugend" Eberhard von Wasielewski recalls visiting the von Krause family in Bendeleben in the 1920s and 1930s.

Bathhouse in Chinese style of the 1920s (Photographer: Baron von Krause sometime between 1934 and 1936)

Dreaming of a Chinese bathhouse

The shore on which anglers sit quietly today was once a noisy scene of action. Members of upper society enjoyed their private swimming outings in this spot. The Chinese-style bathhouse which Wilhelm Hugo Ernst von Krause had built in the 1920s no longer exists. Fans of the park, however, dream of rebuilding the bathhouse one day.

Elegance at the idyllic bathhouse in the 1930s (Photographer: Baron von Krause)

The fascination with fresh fish

With the first official mention of Bendeleben in the year 870, the gift of a fish pond was reported. When the palace park was outfitted with ponds, the supply of fresh fish became a welcome fringe benefit. Wasielewski recalls "the palace kitchen with a carp tank" in the 1920s. Since 1971 the former swimming pond has been used by the Bendeleben Sportfischer e.V.

The swimming pond was a popular meeting spot for young people in the 1950s. The bathhouse was demolished after it had fallen into disrepair. (Photographer: R. Scheibner)

The history of Bendeleben Palace Park

• 1765 - Johann Jacob von Uckermann had the park put in next to his estate.
• 1860 - Wilhelm von Krause, owner of the estate since 1849, had the new palace built.
• about 1920 - Wilhelm Hugo Ernst von Krause built a bathhouse, riding arena and tennis court.
• about 1930 - Alexandra von Arnim (adopted daughter of von Krause) established a seed breeding business.
• 1945 - The government expropriated the von Krause family from palace, park and seed breeding business
• 1960 -The old rows of linden trees were felled. A pond was put in at the front of the palace.
• since 1990 - The von Arnim family returned to the estate. The new palace is a nursing home. The park remains public property.
• 2015 - The 250th anniversary of the palace park was celebrated in baroque style in Bendeleben.

General Map of Bendeleben Palace Park
© blattwerk bremen

Photos

In the 1960s and 1970s the engaged school director Heini Koch passed along his fascination with fish breeding to the next generation in his "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Teichwirtschaft" (fish pond cultivation) initiative. (Photographer unknown).

Today the Bendeleben Sportfischer e.V. (earlier the Deutscher Anglerverband, Ortsgruppe Bendeleben) looks after the former swimming pond. The contractual basis for their work (1971) is shown above.