Miramar (Weinheim)

Miramar is a water park, salt-water spa and sauna complex opened in 1973 at the Waidsee Lake, Weinheim, Germany. As of 2014, approximately 50% of the 650,000 annual visitors pay extra for the Sauna area.[1] The catchment area for visitors covers a 100 kilometres (60 mi) radius, including Frankfurt am Main to the north, and Pforzheim to the south.[1]

Miramar
Slogan
  • More than a day's holiday!
  • Mehr als ein Tag Urlaub!
LocationWaidsee, Lützelsachsen, Weinheim, Germany
Coordinates49.533°N 8.643°E / 49.533; 8.643
General Manager
  • Brigitte Steinhart
  • Marcus Steinhart
Opened26 October 1973 (1973-10-26)
Visitors per annum600,000
Area50,000 square metres (12 acres)
Pools11 pools
Water slides9 water slides
Children's areas2 children's areas
Saunas12 saunas
Websitewww.miramar-bad.de

The main bathing area contains a wave pool and several slides.[2][1] As of 2018 there were nine water slides in the main indoor pool area with various levels of difficulty and speed, plus jacuzzis and outside areas.[3] The thermal spa area has saltwater pools, and these pools are also used to offer physiotherapy.[3][1]

The sauna area is designated as a nudist/Freikörperkultur (FKK) area, which is extended to the swimming and thermal spa areas on Tuesday evenings.[1]

History

The original swimming bath complex owned by the Town of Weinheim was offered for sale.[1] In late-1987 Miramar was purchased by the Steinhart family for the symbolic price of one Deutsche Mark, after which significant expansion and development followed.[4]

Each year 20.34 terajoules (5.65 GWh) of geothermal heating is used, with hot water at 63.5 °C (146 °F) extracted from a borehole with a flowrate of 9–10 litres per second (120–130 imp gal/min).[5]

The water park had its fortieth birthday in 2013, by which time 17.5 million people had visited.[2][6]

Works of art are present through the whole premises.[1]

The operation of the on-site shop and massage services are leased out, but the catering in the restaurants is kept in-house by Miramar.[1] Of the 150 employees Miramar had in 2014, approximately fifty were working in the catering division, and twenty in cleaning.[1]

Water slides

The indoor complex at Miramar has a number of slides, including an AquaBowl, a TurboSlide and an AquaRacer water slide installed by Aquarena.[7] In summer 2012 a vertical drop AquaLoop water slide called "Hurricane Loop" was opened.[8] In April 2017, a 125-metre-long (410 ft) slide called "Twister" was scheduled to be opened by the Lord Mayor of Weinheim, Heiner Bernhard (de).[8]

Slides are inspected and certified by the Technical Inspection Associations (TÜV, Technischer Überwachungsverein).[1]

Miramir water slides and logistics area.

Miramar has those famous slides called "Blizzard" (grüner hai) and "Typhoon" (Blauer wal). These are the first slides and the oldest, They got replaced with new and beautiful and colorful slides and their track is not changed

Sauna complex

The sauna and relaxation area is a nudist/FKK area at all times. In 1998 the Sauna and relaxation areas were rebuilt.[9]

Prior to April 2001, there had also been nudism/FKK in the other areas on Sunday evenings.[9] Prior to May 2013, there had also been nudism/FKK in the other areas on Saturday evenings.[9]

In April 2018, a tree house sauna ("Baumsauna") looking out over the Waidsee Lake was opened, which had cost €800,000 and took six months to build.[4] The outside parts of sauna are built from special kelo wood imported from Finland.[4] The internal support structure modelled as tree trunk is constructed from reinforced concrete covered with Fiberglass and artificial tree bark.[10] The structure is 8.5 metres (28 ft) high, with the access walkways fitted around the existing surrounding mature trees.[10]

Safety

As of summer 2018 Miramar employed a former police officer to oversee visitor safety, with dedicated safety teams patrolling at busy times.[11] In cooperation with the police force, staff and lifeguards at the Miramar pool are trained in safeguarding techniques.[12] All incidents and reports are recorded to identify patterns.[11] A €250 fine, followed by Miramar site ban, is applied for breaches of the pool or sauna etiquette rules. As of mid 2018 twenty-nine bans were in place, including four for private masturbation on the premises.[11]

Incidents

In August 2018 four teenagers were found guilty of sexually harassing a group other teenagers at Miramar and sentenced to community service.[12]

References
  1. Steinhart, Marcus (11 August 2014). "„Wir sind ein Familienbad"" ["We are a family swimming pool"]. Weinheim Blog (Interview) (in German). Interviewed by Hardy Prothmann. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  2. Keke (28 October 2013). "Weinheim: Schon 17,5 Millionen Gäste badeten im Miramar" [Weinheim: already 17.5 million visitors have bathed at Miramar]. Rhein Neckar Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  3. "Ein Tag Urlaubsfeeling mitten in Weinheim" [One day holiday fleeing in the middle of Weinheim]. Main Echo (in German). Bessenbach . 11 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  4. Weber, Philipp (24 February 2018). "Miramar eröffnete neue Baum-Sauna" [Miramar opens new Tree house sauna]. Rhein Neckar Zeitung. Retrieved 12 September 2018. Ende 1987 im Besitz der Familie Steinhart. Diese hatte den Betrieb von der Stadt übernommen - zum symbolischen Preis von einem Euro.
  5. Weber, Josef; Ganz, Britta; Schellschmidt, Ruediger; Sanner, Burkhard; Schulz, Ruediger (19–25 April 2015). "Geothermal Energy Use in Germany" (PDF). Melbourne, Australia: 14. Retrieved 12 September 2018. Weinheim (Miramar) … [Flow rate (l/s):] 10 … [Temperature (°C):] 63.5 … [Energy (TJ/yr):] 20.34 Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. "Miramar in Weinheim feiert 40. Geburtstag" [Miramar in Weinheim celebrates its 40th birthday]. Metropol News (in German). 27 October 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  7. Aquarena (26 August 2016). See you in the tube (PDF) (Report). pp. 5, 8, 10. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  8. ""Twister-Rutsche" soll zur neuen Sensation werden" ["Twister-Slide" should become a new sensation]. Rhein Neckar Zeitung (in German). 4 April 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  9. "Weinheim: Miramar". Nackt Baden (in German). Retrieved 12 September 2018. nur noch dienstags und samstags abends wie bereits beschrieben. [] … nur noch Dienstagabend. Samstagabend jetzt Textil. []
  10. Rittelmann, Thomas (14 February 2018). "Neue Baumsauna im Miramar" [New Treehouse Sauna in Miramar]. Weinheimer Nachrichten. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  11. Hoffmann, Christian (15 August 2018). "So will das Miramar seine Besucher künftig schützen" [The Miramar wants to protect its visitors in the future]. Heidelberger 24 (in German). Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  12. Aheu (29 August 2018). "Sexuelle Übergriffe in Weinheimer Erlebnisbad: Vier Jugendliche aus Darmstadt verurteilt" [Sexual assaults in Weinheim water park: four teenagers from Darmstadt sentenced]. Darmstädter Echo (in German). Retrieved 25 September 2018.
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