History
Premodernity
The "Great Bath" at the Mohenjo-Daro site, in modern-day Pakistan, was probably the first swimming pool, excavated during the 3rd millennium BC. This pool measures 12 by 7 meters, is lined with bricks and was covered with a tar-based sealant.[2].
The ancient Greeks and Romans built artificial swimming pools for athletic training in arenas, for nautical games, and for military exercises. Roman emperors had private pools in which fish were also kept, hence the origin of the Latin words "swimming pool." The first heated swimming pool was built by Gaius Maecenas in his gardens on Rome's Esquiline Hill, probably between 38 and 8 BC. C.[3] Gaius Maecenas was a wealthy imperial advisor to Augustus and considered one of the first patrons of the arts.[4].
The ancient Sinhalese built a pair of ponds called "Kuttam Pokuna" in the kingdom of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, in the 1st century AD. C. They were decorated with flights of steps, punkalas or vessels of abundance, and scroll designs.[5][6].
19th century
Swimming pools became popular in Great Britain in the middle of the century. As early as 1837 there were six indoor diving pools in London, England.[7] The Maidstone Swimming Club in Maidstone, Kent, is believed to be the oldest swimming club in Britain. It was founded in 1844, in response to concerns about drownings in the River Medway, not least because rescuers often drowned because they did not know how to swim to safety. The club swam in the River Medway and organized races, diving competitions and water polo matches. The South East Gazette of July 1844 reported a water breakfast: coffee and biscuits were served on a floating raft on the river. The coffee was kept hot over a fire; club members had to tread water and drink coffee at the same time. The last swimmers managed to capsize the raft, to the amusement of 150 spectators.[8].
In 1869 the Amateur Swimming Association was founded in England, and in 1909 the Oxford Swimming Club.[9] The presence of covered baths in the cobbled area of Merton Street may have persuaded the less seasoned of the aquatic brigade to join. Thus, bathers gradually became swimmers, and bathing pools became swimming pools. In 1939, Oxford created its first large indoor public swimming pool at Temple Cowley.
The modern Olympic Games began in 1896 and included swimming races, after which the popularity of swimming pools began to spread. In the United States, the Philadelphia Racquet Club (1907) has one of the first modern swimming pools in the world. The first swimming pool to sail on an ocean liner was installed on the Adriatic "RMS Adriatic (1906)") of the White Star Line in 1906.[10] The oldest known public swimming pool in the United States, the Underwood Pool, is located in Belmont "Belmont (Massachusetts)"), Massachusetts.[11]
Interest in competitive swimming grew after the First World War. Standards improved and training became essential. Home swimming pools became popular in the United States after World War II, and the publicity given to swimming sports by Hollywood films such as Esther Williams' "Million Dollar Mermaid") turned the home pool into a desirable status symbol. More than 50 years later, the home or residential pool is commonplace. Some small nations enjoy a thriving pool industry (for example, New Zealand, with a population of 4,116,900, is the most populous country. 4,116,900 - holds the record for pools per capita, with 65,000 domestic pools and 125,000 spa pools).[13]
A two-story white concrete pool building composed of horizontal cubic volumes built in 1959 at the Royal Roads Military College is listed on Canada's Register of Historic Places.[14]
World records
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest pool in the world is the saltwater pool of San Alfonso del Mar, in Algarrobo "Algarrobo (Chile)") (Chile). It measures 1,013 m long and has an area of 8 hectares. Its maximum depth is 3.5 m.[15] It was completed in December 2006.[16].
The world's largest indoor wave pool is located at DreamWorks Water Park, within the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex, at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States, and the largest indoor wave pool in North America is at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at the Sonny Carter Training Facility, at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston.[17][18].
In 2021, Deep Dive Dubai, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was certified by the Guinness Book of Records as the deepest pool in the world, at 60 meters deep.[19][20] The Y-40 pool at the Terme Millepini Hotel in Padua, Italy, previously held the record, at 42.15 m, from 2014 to 2021.[21].
The Fleishhacker San Francisco Pool "San Francisco (California)") was the largest heated outdoor pool in the United States. Opened on April 23, 1925, it measured 300 x 50 m and was so large that lifeguards needed kayaks to patrol. It was closed in 1971 due to lack of public.[22].
In Europe, the largest swimming pool was opened in 1934 in Elbląg (Poland), with an area of 33,500 square meters.[23].
One of the largest swimming pools ever built is said to have been built in Moscow after the Palace of Soviets was left unfinished. The foundations of the palace became the Moscow open-air swimming pool after the de-Stalinization process.[24] However, after the fall of communism, between 1995 and 2000, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which had originally been located there, was rebuilt on the site.
The highest pool is believed to be in Yangbajain (Tibet, China). This resort is located at an altitude of 4,200 m and has two indoor pools and one outdoor pool, all filled with water from hot springs.[25].