On Sunday 28 June 2026 a trans woman was removed by police from the Paradiesli, the women's nudist area of the Freibad Marzili in Bern. The next day the city said the decision had been wrong. In its statement of 29 June 2026, the Direktion für Bildung, Soziales und Sport apologised to her and set out the rule that applies: "Alle Personen, die sich als Frau identifizieren und als solche leben, haben Zugang". All persons who identify as women and live as such have access. The city added that she had met that rule.
The account in the same statement is short. Several visitors to the Paradiesli were disturbed by her presence and others took her side. The pool management asked her to leave, the security team could not settle the situation, and the operator then called the police. The city calls that a wrong reading of a tense situation rather than a defensible decision. SRF reported that six officers were involved and that force was used.
What the rule actually says
The Paradiesli is a voluntary nudist area for women in a structurally separate part of the pool, in the south-eastern corner. Children are not admitted. Self-identification is the test. Alongside it the Sportamt and the city's equality office wrote an internal guidance note for staff, which says that in a hard case the official gender recorded in an identity document decides. That fallback matters for a visitor from abroad, because it means a document that does not match can be raised against you in a dispute even though identification is the primary rule.
The city also promised a public leaflet explaining access on site and online. The Marzili page on the Sportamt's website now links one, called Infos zum Paradiesli, with a filename dated 1 July 2026. On 28 August 2026 that link did not deliver the document: it returned the website's own placeholder page instead, from three different connections. Anyone who wants the rule in writing before travelling is better served by the city's statement of 29 June, which is public and unambiguous.
The politics are not settled
The rule stands, but it is being argued over. SWI swissinfo.ch reported on 3 July 2026 that three motions had been filed in Bern's city parliament: one from the FDP asking for access rules that protect the character of the women's area, and two from the left and green groups, one calling for separate protected spaces for non-binary and queer people in municipal pools and one for binding, non-discriminatory access rules for trans people across all municipal sports facilities, with staff training. None of them has been decided. Until the parliament rules otherwise, the city's own statement is the rule in force.
Practical detail for this season
Entry to the Marzili is free, as it is at Bern's other outdoor pools. The 2026 season runs to 13 September, after which the second stage of a multi-year renovation begins and the pool closes for the winter. The site sits on the Aare below the parliament building, about ten minutes on foot from the main station or a short ride on the Marzilibahn funicular.
Our Switzerland country page covers the legal ground for LGBTQ+ travellers, including gender recognition. The venues we list in the city are Comeback Bar, QueerBooks and four others.
