Swiss swimming pools have been making local and international headlines recently for banning foreigners, but it turns out this practice isn’t as unusual as you might think. These are some of the pools that don’t let non-residents in.
It all started when the town of Porrentruy in canton Jura prohibited people from neighbouring France to use its municipal pool.
The municipal council took the drastic step of limiting access to the open-air pool for the summer due to “numerous cases of misconduct” by young people who had come from neighbouring communities in France.
As The Local recently reported, the incidents involved “harassment of young women, inappropriate language, swimming in underwear, and even violent behaviour after being reprimanded.”
This measure extends only to people who live across the border, though; French citizens who have a Swiss work or residence permit are exempt from the rule. Tourists were also able to gain entry.
Basel – which is on the border with France has increased security due to problematic behaviour at its outdoor pools and isn’t ruling out entry bans, either, The Local reported.
Entry only with a key
But restricting entry to locals is actually quite common in some municipalities. Swiss daily NZZ reported that there are several pools that regularly only allow locals in.
These are some of the other ‘locals-only’ municipal pools:
READ ALSO: The rules of Switzerland’s outdoor pool etiquette you should know
Regensberg, Zurich: The outdoor pool is locked. Local residents who want to use the pool have to get a key from the city administration.
Volken, Zurich: The pool is only open to locals, but no key is required.
Dorf, Zurich: The pool is only open to locals, but no key is required.
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No key is needed for Volken or Dorf because “outsiders would be immediately recognised and reported,” Corinne Schneeberger from the Dorf residents’ registration office told the paper.
Killwangen, Aargau: The municipality states the pool is only open to residents of the municipality, but the ban on outsiders is not actively enforced, and checks are sporadic, news site Nau.ch reported previously.
A Nau.ch reporter tested this out two years ago and found that outsiders were easily able to visit the small pool.
Mendrisio, Ticino: The Lega party in Mendrisio wants to enforce a law so that only “taxpaying residents” can use the pool, following Porrentruy’s example.
According to the Corriere del Ticino, the party said that this is due to “unacceptable overcrowding” faced by taxpaying residents, with guests who “do not make any financial contribution to the municipality” the main cause of the problem.
Rudolfingen, Zurich: Theoretically, anyone can use this pool, but it’s so small and remote, it’s only used by locals, municipal clerk Matthias Hildebrandt told the NZZ.
‘Highly delicate’
So is it actual legal for pools to ban outsiders? The short answer is: yes, but with a caveat.
Municipalities are completely within their rights to decide how to use their public land, but there have to be objective reasons for this decision. One such reason would be limited space.
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This reason holds true for many of the pools, notably Rudolfingen, Regensberg, Dorf, Volken and Killwangen, where facilities consist of just a small pool and field.
But the situation in Porrentruy (Pruntrut in German) is not so straightforward.
Any bans should not be discriminatory – a pool may not exclude people because of their skin colour or religion – Alain Griffel, a professor of constitutional and administrative law, told the NZZ.
And in Porrentruy, people are not allowed into the pool solely on the basis of their nationality. This is “highly delicate” and would not stand up in Federal Court, Griffel told the paper.
What do you think? Is it ok for some pools to restrict entry to locals only? Let us know in the comments section.
