engineering

Loretto Baths

Loretto Baths is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Loretto Baths rather than just read about it. In short: The Loretto Baths, in short Lollo, is the oldest open-air swimming pool in Germany. It is located at the foot of the Lorettoberg in Wiehre in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau.

Key takeaways

Loretto Baths belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Loretto Baths to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Loretto Baths from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Loretto Baths, in short Lollo, is the oldest open-air swimming pool in Germany. It is located at the foot of the Lorettoberg in Wiehre in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. When it opened in 1841, it was the city's first public swimming bath. Its uniqueness lies in the partial separation of sexes. There is one pool which can be used by women only, but also one for the whole family. To this day, it is the only pool in Germany that has a separate pool for women.

History The Loretto Baths were founded in 1841 as a cold river bathing facility by Johann Nepomuk Stadler. Thirty years later, he passed the baths on to his son-in-law, Oskar Heim. At first the baths were for gentlemen only. The water for the pool came directly from the Hölderle, a stream which still runs through the grounds of the baths to this date. At the time, the cold water from the stream was heated in a separate pool. When some pools started to establish areas where women might take a dip in the late 19th century, the Loretto Baths added an area for women too. This women only area is surrounded on all sides by either walls, hedges or changing rooms. In 1886, most women could not swim, but since pools had become fashionable, they were keen to learn. After Heim´s death, the city of Freiburg purchased the baths and used the pools as a cold store during the winter. During World War I the Reichswehr took charge of the pool and it was no longer open to the public. In 1920, the Loretto Baths were leased to the local swimming club. Conflicts later arose with the community of Günterstal as their waste water was piped into the Hölderle. This problem was later solved by drilling a deep well for the sole use of the Loretto Baths. In 1926, the city of Freiburg once again took over the running of the bathing facility. Then in 1940, after much heated discussion involving petitions from local citizens´ groups, the women-only area was re-opened to the whole family. During the Nazi era the Fähnlein scouts of the Preußen - a Hitler youth group - used the pool as a base. In 1945, then again from 1948 to 1951, the swimming pool was confiscated by the military government and closed to the German public. From 1952 onwards it was open to the people of Freiburg once more. In the 1960s plans were made to construct a ten-story high building for the nearby hospital, but these plans were never realized. In 1999 the ladies' pool was completely renovated, since which time there has been a significant increase in the number of guests. A further original feature of the baths are the 125 year-old individual cubicles, which can be rented each season for up to four months.

Segregation of the Sexes

Segregation of the sexes has been abolished everywhere in Freiburg except in the Loretto Baths. In 1980, a law student filed a lawsuit against the city but was unsuccessful, since there was already a family pool right next to the Loretto Baths. The court concluded: "According to §10 of the local code, which says that public institutions have to be used in accordance with their purpose, the interdiction for males to use the ladies' pool of the Loretto Baths does not violate the equality act of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany" In addition, women have had the right to bathe topless in the Loretto Baths since the 1970s. The only man allowed in the ladies' area is the lifeguard, although men are afforded entrance for rare concerts, at which times the normally off-limits area is open to everyone. On such occasions, the Friends of the Lorettobad entertain visitors with choral singing, piano-playing, or orchestral performances. Warning signs are hung out at the entrance to the ladies' area when such events take place: "Men present"! Serious feminists and Muslim women flee as soon as the musicians arrive to set up and practice before a show, others continue bathing.

Opening Times As the baths are no longer heated, they are only open during the summer, from May to September.

Facilities

The Family Baths

Facilities available:

a 25 metre pool with an area for non-swimmers a children's play pool with a fountain and awning a large surrounding meadow for relaxing and playing games a children's water slide play areas with sand and mud sunloungers a snack bar table-tennis tables giant chess game

The Women's Baths Facilities available:

a 25 metre pool with an area for non-swimmers a children's play pool with a fountain a meadow where you can lie down and relax sunloungers

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Loretto Baths

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Loretto Baths claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Loretto Baths before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Loretto Baths ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Loretto Baths

In research: Loretto Baths appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Loretto Baths in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Loretto Baths is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buildings and structures completed in 1841, Buildings and structures in Freiburg im Breisgau, Sports venues in Baden-Württemberg, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Loretto Baths outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Loretto Baths in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Loretto Baths means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Loretto Baths out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Loretto Baths in simple terms?

The Loretto Baths, in short Lollo, is the oldest open-air swimming pool in Germany. It is located at the foot of the Lorettoberg in Wiehre in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau.

Why does Loretto Baths matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Loretto Baths?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Loretto Baths.