Pripyat Swimming Pool Azure

Swimming Pool Azure or Lazurny is the most well-known of the three indoor swimming pools in Pripyat. Centrally located on Sportivnaya Street, it is situated beside Middle School Number 3. The pool is an Impressive building with a huge glass façade.

This large pool with five swim lanes and two diving boards opened in 1970. Besides this main pool and a smaller pool, it features a basketball court and sports hall in an adjacent room. It was possible to buy a subscription to the pool at a very reasonable price.

After the evacuation in 1986, the city of Pripyat was not completely abandoned. For example the City Office, Jupiter Factory and this swimming pool were still in use by liquidators and other parties, years after the disaster. They kept the Azure Swimming Pool in operation until 1998, that is 12 years after the accident. The building was considered to be the cleanest place in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, so many workers enjoyed this clean and inviting sports complex.

The pool was closed in 1998 after a health inspection. Today it is a hotspot for tourists visiting The Zone. The empty pool and silent basketball courts are an eerie reminder of this once thriving community.