The swimming pool of Slovnaft in Vlčie Hrdlo. (source: Courtesy of Slovnaft)
The Slovnaft refinery will its swimming pool in the Vlčie Hrdlo district of Bratislava to the public from September 2 amid a shortage of indoor swimming pools in the capital .
“After talks with representatives of the surrounding boroughs and inquiries from residents in the vicinity of the refinery, we have decided to open the swimming pool to the public in the 50th year of its operation,” company spokesperson Anton Molnár said in a press release.
Slovnaft swimming pool
It will be open to the public Saturdays and Sundays between 10:00 and 19:00.
90-minute admission for adults is €5.50, for children up to 15 years, disabled and pensioners €3.50. Children under three years of age are admitted free of charge.
The water in the 25-metre pool , which has an initial depth of 1.5 m and a maximum depth of 3.8 m, reaches a temperature of 27.5°C, the air temperature is 30°C.
The 25-metre swimming pool is located near the bus station Vlčie Hrdlo in the Ružinov borough. Visitors can park directly in front of the swimming pool. It will be open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 19:00, including on holidays that fall on weekend days. Nearby schools will be able to use it for swimming lessons during weekdays.
“Since we have not operated a public swimming pool before, we see the upcoming season as a pilot project to gain experience,” said Molnár. “We the public.”
Slovnaft has been running an indoor swimming pool since 1973, but it had previously been mainly used for students of the Secondary Vocational School – Slovnaft. Nowadays it primarily serves the company’s employees, but is also rented to third parties, companies and swimming schools.
Indoor pools scarce in capital
People in Bratislava have limited possibilities to swim indoors, with a particular shortage of facilities in boroughs near the Slovnaft pool, including Podunajské Biskupice, Vrakuňa and Ružinov and the nearby villages of Rovinka or Dunajská Lužná.
Pasienky, which holds the only 50-metre indoor pool in the capital, and also has a 25-metre pool has been closed since mid-June to undergo a €2 million reconstruction. The indoor swimming pool at Iuventa has been closed since June 7, 2023, for technical reasons until further notice while the historical swimming complex Grӧssling is undergoing extensive refurbishment with the plan to re-open in 2026.
Other public 25-metre pools are in Petržalka and at the Central and Bory Mall shopping centres. The Faculty of Physical Education and Sports at Comenius University opens its 25-metre poll at Lafranconi for the general public for some hours per week, too. Some hotels, such as Nivy and Barónka, also have pools in their wellness centres that are open to the public.
