In Slovakia, there are not many architectural works of art which can connect nature with a manmade functional structure, rigor and logic of construction with the poetry of a work of art in such a natural way. The Summer Swimming Pool “Zelená žaba” (Green Frog) in Trenčianske Teplice is undoubtedly one such work. By its essentially modest architecture, the distinguished architect Bohuslav Fuchs (1895 – 1972), from Brno, managed to create a work of art that belongs to the most valuable monuments of functionalism, not only in Slovakia but also in a broader European context.
In the 1930s, the spa town of Trenčianske Teplice was experiencing one of its golden periods. Therefore, it is not a surprise that, back then, the directorate of the spa agreed to the futuristic proposal of the architect Fuchs when planning the expansion of the spa. Fuchs designed the new spa complex on a sunny slope above the city, however it was not feasible for the spa to carry out this technologically demanding project at once. In 1937, the summer swimming pool was built and eventually became the only fragment of his ambitious vision. In the spirit of new functional and hygiene demands, Fuchs designed a swimming pool as an airy and luminous terrace-like area. Besides the usual facilities, the architect designed several artistically exceptional spaces in the swimming pool. Undoubtedly, the most interesting of them is the scenic restaurant. Similar to the famous and admired Villa Tugendhat, the glass walls of this restaurant are movable and thus allow the connection of the interior with the nature outside. However, Fuchs did not approach the design of “Zelená žaba”  with the right angle rigorousness of the Villa Tugenhat in Brno. On the contrary, he introduced a diversity of shapes and colours to the swimming pool. Curved staircases and terraces, the contrast of rich colours and natural materials in balanced harmony make this swimming pool a top-level architectural structure which has been reconstructed after fifteen years of deterioration. Once again it serves not only the physical but also artistic needs of the public.
                                                                                                                                                                                              Peter Szalay