ABSTRACT
In 1846 Adolf Spiess, who later became the leading gymnastic authority in Prussia, wrote the following description of the open-air gymnasium of the girls’ high school in Basle.
On the cheerful, leafy Peter’s Square just by the school, the authorities had what used to be the sharpshooters’ practice area turned into an attractive open-air gymnasium. This…was where the young were now to perform their physical exercises, out in the open, in natural surroundings. It would be hard to imagine a more suitable or more prettily situated exercise area. The site is well positioned for all weathers, as classes can continue in hot sunshine or rain without interruption. A spacious, open indoor gymnasium, sealed against draughts, affords both shelter and coolness and leads directly on to the open areas outside, which have been levelled and arranged in the most attractive way, and are covered in a thin layer of grass…. Along the side of the open-air gymnasium which butts onto the public avenues of Peter’s Square, a four-foot wall of green-painted boards has been erected, as a barrier shielding the classes from outside disturbance. This is not the place to describe the different parts and different equipment of this well-provided open-air gymnasium in greater detail…. We will remark only that the tasteful design and slender shape of the equipment, in its dark green paint, standing in the garden-like lay-out of exercise areas and running tracks, give the whole ground a fine appearance.
