Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Lutetia swimming pool, built in 1935 in the 6th arrondissement of Paris by architect Lucien Béguet, is distinguished by its art deco style and enamel decorations of Briare. Dissimulated behind a facade of building, it measured 33 × 10 meters and was initially reserved for guests of the nearby Lutetia hotel. Its granite floors and walls decorated with blue, black and gold enamels made it a luxurious place for the era.

During World War II, the Hotel Lutetia was requisitioned by the Gestapo in 1940, marking a turning point for the swimming pool. At the Liberation, General de Gaulle made it a reception centre for survivors of the Nazi camps, before it became a public swimming pool. Its history thus reflects the upheavals of Paris under occupation and reconstruction.

Closed in the 1970s, the swimming pool had various vocations: deposit for the Dorothy Bis brand for 20 years, and then the object of a unsuccessful reopening request in 2005 by the mayor of the 6th arrondissement. Ranked a historic monument in the same year, since 2010 it has been home to a 1500 m2 Hermès concept store, where the old basin hosts artistic installations in braided ash.

A commemorative plaque recalls that historian Marc Bloch lived in the building, adding a memorial dimension to the site. Its inscription in historical monuments underscores its heritage importance, combining architecture, social history and contemporary reappropriation.

External links