Chemnitz is my base camp

Jörg Stingl

100 metres long, 20 metres wide - the pool at the Bernsdorf outdoor pool still has impressive dimensions and is one of the oldest of its kind in Chemnitz. Opened in 1925, it has managed to retain the charm of the 1920s, thanks in part to the efforts of enthusiasts like Jörg Stingl. And of course, how could it be otherwise, he climbs out of the still blue pool for the interview. This pool is important to the well-known Chemnitz mountaineer, as you can tell from the conversation. You could almost think it's one of his peaks, which he's very keen to climb. This brings us closer to the second facet of this Chemnitz maker, who has carried the city's name all the way to the Himalayas and yet has always returned to his hometown, to which he shows a deep, albeit critical, attachment.

Jörg, you are the mountaineer from Chemnitz. You have already climbed Mount Everest and the other highest peaks on every continent, the so-called Seven Summits. You will soon be leading another tour to Kilimanjaro. The question is: what draws you back to Chemnitz?
Jörg Stingl: I once wrote that Chemnitz is my base camp. The city was already known or famous for mountaineering. We also had times in different teams where it was a bit more difficult and where nobody knew us. That's why it's always interesting to come back to Chemnitz, because the people here support us. And of course because my parents and family now live here too. Chemnitz also remains the base camp.

Looking at this city from around the world: what makes Chemnitz special for you?
What makes it special is that it is totally insignificant. That it managed to disappear more and more into oblivion after reunification, alongside the two other major cities. That they somehow had the good fortune to remain as inconspicuous as possible. It wasn't even noticed if something didn't work out. But on the other hand, an incredible amount has happened and there are also a lot of people who have become involved. In recent years, even the city, or rather the city administration, has tried a lot to improve Chemnitz's reputation. As a Chemnitz resident, you certainly have to have staying power to see the development through to the end, until you have the good reputation of an industrial city again, where you can spend the money you earn on yourself.

Do the people of Chemnitz lack self-confidence with regard to their city?
I wouldn't want to answer that question now, because people in Africa or the Third World certainly also lack self-confidence when they turn off their water. They don't have that big mouth anymore. The first thing you have to do is stay alive. I would say that you can't apply that to Chemnitz. I don't really see a lack of self-confidence in Chemnitz. It's more of an external influence. I think there were a lot of people who gave up because nothing moved. That may not have to do with their own self-confidence, but perhaps also with a lack of courage in the city to put themselves in front of the cart.

You are travelling the world, you could almost be an ambassador. How do you explain that you come from Chemnitz?
If you know your way around Germany, you can tell them that you're from Chemnitz. But some people ask: "Where is that?" Then I say: "200, 300 kilometres south of Berlin" or "in the east of Germany." As Ossis, we like to come out of the closet, but I'll say that it's relatively difficult to describe Chemnitz to someone who has never been here or doesn't know Germany. It's a nice "small" city where you can live well and it's certainly interesting in terms of its history. You have to organise your own life a bit and make one or two things possible, such as our outdoor pool.

That brings me straight to the point: why are you so committed to the Bernsdorf outdoor pool?
I have to expand a little on that, because I wasn't just a mountaineer, I was also a pretty good swimmer once, I definitely made it to the Olympics. Of course, I also know a lot of people who like to do a bit of water sports. Before reunification, competitive sport was very important and, among other things, there was of course this bridge from high-performance sport to the grassroots and these people spent time in outdoor pools, which of course can't necessarily be described as sport in the competitive sense. And there used to be a lot of outdoor swimming pools. And after reunification, many of them were closed. Among the remaining ones were the two lighthouses in Gablenz and then the Bernsdorf outdoor pool with the only 100-metre pool that is still known in the area. The reason for getting involved was that they wanted to close the Bernsdorf outdoor pool as well.

Are you organised as a support association for the outdoor pool or how do you do it?
No. There are two organisations that support it. One is the Chemnitz swimming team and then there is a kind of interest group of extreme sports enthusiasts and a few representatives from the business world. I belong to this group now, they are the ones who bring in the money and make things possible in terms of renovation and maintenance.

Is there a lot of support from the Chemnitz business community?
There is a hard core that has enabled us to build the economic foundation for many years. But it's also fair to say that the city is already very present here as the operator. But it's such a huge facility - 3.5 hectares and a 100-metre pool, 20 metres wide - that without the city you could forget about the project. The city has to remain the operator in any case and we can say to the city: we'll keep the costs within limits, for example by taking over the lawn mowing or putting money into the extension of the swimming centre. We would provide a small base, but would like to leave the city in charge as the main operator.

Is Chemnitz a sports city? Also from the point of view of popular sport?
With our series of Olympic and world champions, we were certainly close to becoming a sports city in the sense of: We became known through sport. But as far as sports facilities are concerned, we are definitely not a sports city. Perhaps we will become one again now that a new stadium is being built. Maybe we'll become a football city.

Can you tell us something about your future plans?
Next I'm going to Africa again, where I'm going on a guided tour to Mount Kilimanjaro. Just to climb it. And maybe we can take the ambassador package with us to Moshi (Tanzania, at the foot of Kilimanjaro; editor's note) to make Chemnitz better known in Africa.

Jörg, what drives you to Africa? And what brings you back to Chemnitz, to Saxony?
The mountains drive me to Africa, of course. We're not just travelling to Africa on the spur of the moment, we're on many different guided tours. But above all in many expeditions. Many people from Chemnitz will know: We've actually travelled to every continent in recent years. Just like perhaps at the beginning, when we couldn't afford to go to the Himalayas and travelled to Russia. This year, for example, I'm back in Elbrus, where we started out. What I want to say is: I'm drawn out of Chemnitz anyway. But that doesn't mean you'll never come back. On the contrary: if you've seen a lot in the world and also sometimes see how or at what level we moan, then you can say that as a Chemnitz resident you still have hope that everything will be alright. But I think it's also important that I come back here and something happens.

Are these the same doer qualities that you need to climb a mountain as you need to move something, let's say, on the plain?
When you start something, you have to see it through. Even if it doesn't make sense at times and you're almost "on the verge of dying" with your projects. But that's only postponed, not cancelled.

What does a finished city look like to you?
There is no such thing as a finished city. I think a city can never be finished. So when a city is finished, it means that the administration is finished with the world. Because they can't think of anything else. And neither can the citizens, of course. Because they are ultimately responsible for what kind of administration they have. So a city can only ever go through a development process in the direction of: "I have a plan for what I might want to decide in five years' time." It is important that there is a long-term concept, a very long-term one. And, of course, there is always a short-term concept as well, where you can act step by step towards the big goal of a "beautiful city of Chemnitz". Everyone in Chemnitz dreams that the city centre will be great, that there will be cafeterias everywhere and that a few young people will be attracted to the city, not just to have a barbecue on the market or watch the sock market. Instead, we need to do something with this marvellous space, which has been made available and also generated with taxpayers' money! But of course you need people who have a plan.

How do you see Chemnitz in the future?
I was at the outdoor pool yesterday on the public holiday and I saw a lot of students there. I always ask myself: "Hey guys, where are they?" Or the girls when the weather is nice in summer. But of course they have sensational conditions on campus and don't really need to go into the city. I think that's exactly the point: we need to attract a lot of people to the city. Not just with money, but also with the conditions that the city centre now offers. And with our outdoor pool, we are trying to contribute a small piece of the puzzle. To give Chemnitz more flair again, because we want people to enjoy it. It's not as if we have to reinvent everything, there was and is already a lot. Maybe there are a few more people in politics who are willing to get the necessary money. So that not only the stadium is doing well, but so that a little something is done about the other sports facilities.

The final standard question is: Do we need to encourage the people of Chemnitz?
Nope. You can see that. Stingl still has courage and still lives here. There are many of our friends, acquaintances and certainly also business partners who show much more courage and invest real money here in the region. And simply believe in the future here and in Saxony as a whole, especially the large industrial region of Chemnitz-Zwickau. I have few worries in that direction.