Nirvana is not located in Herrenhausen, but has performed there

© Matthias Kothe

Nirvana Makes Music History in Hanover

In 1938, the Hannoversche Schwimmverein von 1892 e.V. opened its own swimming pool, complete with a clubhouse, across from the Herrenhausen Gardens. In 1980, Hanover’s oldest swimming club closed the outdoor pool and began using the Stadionbad at Maschsee, the Fössebad, and—in the summer—the Volksbad in the Limmer district of Hanover for training and competitions, while the former HSV swimming pool was converted into the “Musiktheater Bad2”—sometimes drawing large crowds and at other times incredibly few guests.

Fans of electro, punk and wave music flocked to the club parties on the open-air site, while the gigs by comedian Helge Schneider in front of just seven spectators and the legendary performance by the US grunge band founded in 1987 Nirvana with only around 100 fans. "The three long-haired Americans were tired, irritated and annoyed when they took to the stage at the Musiktheater Bad in 1989. Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and the then Nirvana drummer Chad Channing had already been touring Europe for almost two weeks to draw attention to their debut album 'Bleach'. However, as their record company's budget for the tour was very tight, the musicians had to travel between the venues in a rickety Fiat minibus with nine people (the support band of course came along). So the young men were still a long way from the rock star existence that the inventors of grunge would lead two years later when they visited Herrenhausen. The performance in the Musiktheater turned out accordingly. They played through their songs more badly than well. The band even had to break off the song 'Mr. Moustache' prematurely because Cobain got stuck on the guitar and couldn't catch himself again. It was over after 50 minutes - and yet the concert is now regarded as a great moment in the history of Hanoverian rock music." (Source: Neue Presse from June 28, 2011).

Rock concerts and techno parties at the poolside

Later, the German “Godmother of Punk” Nina Hagen, the controversial Berlin rapper Sido, the rock band Rammstein, the Bloodhound Gang and Tito & Tarantula from the U.S., and Fury in the Slaughterhouse from Hanover also performed at the Musiktheater Bad. And last but certainly not least, the techno parties with Sven Väth. However, the last major music event, “Appollon’s Park,” featuring the world-famous DJ in August 2010, was not allowed to take place at the former HSV outdoor pool due to “failure to meet fire safety, structural stability, and noise protection requirements” and was promptly moved to the “Funpark,” a large-scale disco in the greater Hanover area. Since then, calm has returned to the now overgrown and weathered open-air grounds of the Musiktheater Bad, which has been operated since December 2001 by the nonprofit association Kultur-Pool e.V. as a “cultural meeting center and multicultural event venue.” Since 2011, the former outdoor pool has been closed to events for safety reasons. Indoors, however, events continued to take place regularly at least until the end of 2019; after that, there were only sporadic announcements.

A New Home for Béi Chéz Heinz

Until now, the club has been based in the basement of the Fössebad in Limmer, but with the upcoming construction of the new indoor swimming pool, the future of the event venue was in question. In November 2025, the state capital of Hanover announced that the club’s diverse program would find a new home at the Musiktheater Bad, a venue that has a turbulent history of its own. As soon as the city grants the building permit, construction work on the renovation of the former swimming pool on Westschnellweg is set to begin. According to Managing Director Jürgen Grambeck, this could happen as early as 2027. Béi Chéz Heinz has been an integral part of Hannover’s cultural scene for over 30 years and was most recently honored with the federal government’s Applaus Award in the category “Best Live Music Venues.”