La piscine de l’Ecole Jean Tousseul
THE ABANDONED SWIMMING POOL IN BELGIUM
‘La piscine de l’Ecole Jean Tousseul’ is an abandoned swimming pool that was part of the school ‘Ecole Normale Jean Tousseul’ in Andenne. The Ecole Normale and its Art Deco swimming pool were the pride of Andenne.
The first Ecole Normale in Andenne opened in 1871 in a wing of the current City Hall. In 1881, a new building was constructed to accommodate all students from the region. In 1912, the Director of National Education visited and declared the buildings non-compliant. The school lacked hygiene, had unsanitary toilets, and the boarding school was too cramped.
In February 1936, construction began on the new Ecole Normale buildings. François Bovesse, the Minister of Public Instruction, laid the first stone. Mr. Léon Simon designed the plans.
The coal-heated pool was not operational initially. In 1940, the Germans occupied the school. Lieutenant Müller demanded the pool be available for training his troops. Fernand Marchal, a First World War veteran, maintained the pool to meet the Germans’ requirements.
Russian coal
After liberation, the US army briefly occupied the complex but couldn’t use the pool due to the greasy American coal. Later, the school housed 2,000 Russian refugees, occupying the entire establishment. Only a few rooms were available. Russian coal restored the pool’s operation. Cabins lacked doors, so curtains were used. People without bathing suits swam nude.
After the Russians left, extensive repairs were needed due to the damage. Metal doors and showers were installed. By the early 1950s, the pool was accessible to students from surrounding schools.
Back in February 1969, they started building a brand-new sports complex for the town. It included a state-of-the-art swimming pool that everyone could enjoy. Unfortunately, the old pool had to be shut down for good in 1973. As the years went by, the building became unsafe and started falling apart.
Cultural Center
Back in 2010, the school’s other sports facilities in Andenne were left unused. Fast-forward to 2014, the gym and theater were torn down. Surprisingly, the Art-Deco swimming pool managed to escape demolition. By 2019, the historic pool was transformed into the Cultural Center of the City of Andenne, now home to the Tourist Office, Library, and Ceramics Museum.
My photos of the abandoned swimming pool were taken in 2014. Follow this link for more abandoned swimming pools around Europe.
