The world’s deepest swimming pool opened in Poland on Saturday, with a depth of 148 feet (45 metres) and a water volume equivalent to 27 Olympic-size swimming pools.
DeepSpot opened its doors to the public in the central Polish town of Mszczonow, about 25 miles (40 kilometres) from the capital Warsaw, and includes a small wreck for scuba and free divers to explore.
The pool can accommodate customers during the coronavirus pandemic because it is considered a training centre for divers.
It is accessible to scuba divers and other members of the public and includes an underwater tunnel, hotel rooms overlooking the pool, as well as restaurants and conference rooms.
The world’s deepest swimming pool Deepspot opened in Mszczonow, Poland, on Saturday, with a depth of 148 feet (45 metres) and a water volume equivalent to 27 Olympic-size swimming pools
The new swimming pool is called DeepSpot and at 148 feet deep it holds the world record for the deepest swimming pool by 16 feet
A diver swims in the 148ft-deep pool on its opening day on Saturday. The pool can accommodate customers during the coronavirus pandemic because it is considered a training centre for divers
Around a dozen customers came on the first day, including eight seasoned divers who hoped to pass an exam to become instructors
A diver drops down to a 15m depth in the Deepspot swimming pool in Mszczonow, Poland, on its Saturday opening day
Around a dozen customers came on the first day, including eight seasoned divers who hoped to pass an exam to become instructors.
‘There are no magnificent fish or coral reefs here so it is no substitute for the sea but it is definitely a good place to learn and to train in order to dive safely in open water,’ said Przemyslaw Kacprzak, a 39-year-old diving instructor.
‘And it’s fun! It’s like a kindergarten for divers!’
Jerzy Nowacki, a 30-year-old forestry officer and diving novice, said: ‘For my first time, we went down five metres but you can see all the way to the bottom – the wreck, the caves – it’s magnificent!’
Deepspot director Michal Braszczynski, a 47-year-old diving enthusiast, confirmed the pool was the deepest in the world and said it ‘will also be used by the fire brigade and the army’.
A scuba diver gives the OK hand signal while swimming in the 148ft-deep pool in Mszczonow on its opening day on Saturday
The pool holds 8,000 cubic metres of water – more than 20 times the amount in an ordinary 25-metre pool. Pictured: A diver descends into the water
The pool is accessible to scuba divers and other members of the public and includes an underwater tunnel, hotel rooms overlooking the pool, as well as restaurants and conference rooms
A staff member cleans the Deepspot, which includes a small wreck for scuba and free divers to explore
‘There are no magnificent fish or coral reefs here so it is no substitute for the sea but it is definitely a good place to learn and to train in order to dive safely in open water,’ said Przemyslaw Kacprzak, a 39-year-old diving instructor. Pictured: A diver swims upside down in the pool
He said: ‘There are many scenarios for training and we can also test different equipment.’
It was built by the same company who built the popular indoor skydiving simulator FlySpot in Poland’s Warsaw West County.
It has 8,000 cubic metres of water – more than 20 times the amount in an ordinary 25-metre pool.
However, the impressive pool will only hold the record as the world’s deepest for about six months until the Blue Abyss, currently under construction in Colchester in the UK, opens with a 164-foot-deep pool.
The Blue Abyss is intended to be a deep sea and space research, training and test facility, whose primary function is to enable extreme environment development – both human and robotic.
DeepSpot is 16 feet deeper than the present record holder – Y-40 Deep Joy in the northern Italian town of Montegrotto Terme.
That incredible swim centre, designed by renowned architect Emanuele Boaretto, is located within the four-star Hotel Terme Millepini.
Visitors, enjoying a regular temperature of between 90F to 93F (32C to 34C), are able to use the facilities for free diving and scuba diving, with underwater caves for cave diving beginners.
There is also a unique suspended underwater tunnel which is entirely transparent, so non-swimmers can experience the pool without getting wet.
Before Y-40 Deep Joy’s completion on June 5, 2014, the record was held by the Nemo 33 facility in Brussels, Belgium.
Famous for its deep pit, the Nemo 33 pool measured 113 feet – 35 feet less than DeepSpot.
‘It’s the world’s deepest pool,’ Deepspot director Michal Braszczynski (pictured), a 47-year-old diving enthusiast, said at the opening on Saturday.
The pool, seen here in an artist’s impression, opened this Saturday with a water volume equivalent to 27 normal swimming pools
The centre is located in the central Polish town of Mszczonow, about 25 miles (40 kilometres) from the Polish capital Warsaw
A diver swims into the pool at Nemo33 diving centre in Brussels, which held the record for the deepest pool until 2014