It all began with a small wooden “soap house” of Peter I. It was not distinguished by luxury, but by the temperature it reached and the fiery steam with the scents of herbs that the tsar adored. The founder of Petersburg loved to steam in the bath passionately. As in many other things, he knew no measure here either, which is why those close to him, granted the favor of washing together with him, would “steam themselves” nearly to death, and some even passed away after the tsar’s bath. In 1722, the soap house was repaired, but nothing much changed. The oldest building that was part of the Monplaisir ensemble already in Peter’s time was the guest chambers. It housed a kind of “hotel” for Peter the Great’s guests; the strict host himself wrote the rules of conduct for the lodgers of these rooms. Nearby was the “Soap House for Cavaliers” – a traditional Russian bath, much loved by Peter, his family, and close associates. Daily journal entries report that in the Monplaisir bath, the tsar not only bathed but also underwent traditional medical procedures, such as taking medicine made from crushed worms and woodlice, and “letting blood.”

The richness in the decoration of the Peterhof baths was first brought by the chief architect of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, Count Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Whatever his hand touched was covered with gilding, mirrors, amber, and crystal. The bathhouse building in Peterhof, erected by him in 1748, remained wooden on the outside and preserved the hot steam room, which the empress, like her august father, was a great enthusiast of. But inside appeared a crystal bathtub in a copper case (so that, God forbid, it would not be broken) and a pool surrounded by a gilded balustrade with figures of cupids and floral garlands. As for Peter the Great’s bath, it was already being museified at that time: carefully dismantled and moved to another place in the park, where it stood for another whole century.

Catherine II also paid attention to this part of the palace. She wanted to arrange a pool with a lifting bottom that would be filled with seawater. But to level the pool bottom with the sea required a very deep well. They made it simpler. Seawater was pumped through eight pipes located at the corners of the basin, and fresh water came from the fountain “Peasant with Bagpipes” by the Italian Alessandro Martelli: it stood in the middle of the bathhouse and was connected to the general system of Peterhof water conduits. By the 1770s, the work was completed. The impression from the sculptural fountain and the brackish water was somewhat risqué. The empress was amused by it, but her serious and irritable son Paul I did not like it. After ascending the throne, he ordered to replace the “Peasant” with a column topped with a gilded sphere, from which water flowed throughout the first half of the 19th century. The soap house itself was made of brick under the supervision of Giacomo Quarenghi in 1800.

Alexander II brought the Bathhouse building in line with the arrangement of similar establishments in Europe. Next to the soap house in 1866, court architect Erich Gunn built a stone wing with rooms for the pool, cold and ordinary baths. They did not forget the latest innovation – the shower (though the steam room remained). The architecture then entered the period of historicism, and the facade of the Bathhouse building was executed in the “historical” forms of Peter I’s era. Inside, the small building turns out to be spacious. In the center of the main golden-white hall is the bathing pool. If desired, it was filled with seawater. The pool resembles a large keyhole made of gilded copper. Everything around – the chandelier-shower above the pool, mirrors, tables, stove – is decorated with plant ornaments.

Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Alexander II, suffered from lung diseases all her life; in the harsh Petersburg climate, they developed into a terrible illness – tuberculosis. In the 19th century, medicine was powerless to help patients with this disease, so all doctors could do was recommend a change of climate or hydrotherapy. The hydrotherapy system developed by German doctor Klein was quite popular in the mid-19th century. On the recommendation of the empress’s doctor, academician S. Botkin, a hydrotherapy clinic was built in Peterhof on the site of the dilapidated wooden buildings of the Monplaisir complex, on the seashore, for Maria Alexandrovna by architect Gunn in 1865-66. Why was Peterhof chosen among all imperial residences for the construction of the hydrotherapy clinic? Sea air was traditionally considered beneficial for lung patients, and nearby, for the empress’s walks, a graceful small Chinese garden was laid out, where after treatment procedures she would stroll and breathe fresh air. Peter the Great himself admitted that sea air healed him better than all medicines.

The hydrotherapy building consists of several rooms: Cold Bath, Warm Bath, and Steam Room, as well as Reception and Toilet rooms – places to rest after water procedures. The hydrotherapy procedure was as follows. The patient was wrapped in a wet sheet, then wrapped in a wool blanket, covered on top with a feather bed, and given cold water to drink. After sweating appeared, the patient was placed under a cold shower for a few seconds or immersed in a bath for some time. The Cold Bath room was intended for this, where a shower disguised as an intricate chandelier descends from the ceiling. Usually, after such a cold shower, body temperature dropped, pulse normalized, and the patient breathed more deeply. Then one could proceed to the next procedures: “warm” baths or baths with mineral waters. The empress underwent such procedures in the next room – the Warm Bath. Baths were not only a therapeutic but also a cosmetic remedy. Contemporaries noted that Maria Alexandrovna had exceptionally fine and delicate skin, and doctors recommended baths with bran, mineral water, and pine cones for the empress.

Before the cold shower, Maria Alexandrovna usually warmed up in the Steam Room. The Steam Room of the Bathhouse building of the Monplaisir palace is a typical example of a Russian bath dating back to Peter’s traditions. It is known that all our emperors and empresses loved the traditional Russian bath. The walls of the Steam Room are lined with linden wood; linden was often used in bath construction because when heated and humid, this wood smelled of honey. Birch brooms were especially valued. Besides the hygienic function, the bath was also a place for medical procedures. The most popular remedy in the 18th century, for example, was leeches, and they were applied in the bath. The bath was considered a universal remedy for any disease. Portuguese doctor Sanchez, who served at the court of Elizabeth Petrovna, dedicated an entire scientific treatise to the benefits of the Russian bath.

The bathhouse buildings of the palaces were supposed to have “rest chambers” next to the baths. Here they are kept in a calming bluish-green color scheme. The gilded 19th-century furniture, upholstered in blue silk, is made in imitation of Baroque. The chairs and sofas are exceptionally comfortable – with wide, low, and soft seats. There is also a dressing table in a porcelain frame and an important tea table for the washing ritual. Sitting in a comfortable chair by the silver samovar and silver tea set, the august persons rested after bathing in sea and fresh waters, preparing to plunge into the depths of court etiquette, even in a country residence that was quite strict. On the southern side, the Bathhouse building adjoins a complex of buildings consisting of the ceremonial Assembly Hall, Tafeldecker’s room, Kitchen, and Coffee room.

The Assembly Hall got its name in memory of the famous Peter’s assemblies. Built on the site of Peter’s Cook’s chambers in 1726-1732 by architect Mikhail Grigorievich Zemtsov and later rebuilt by architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1847, it was intended for solemn dinners. The walls of the hall are decorated with unique tapestries woven by Russian masters in Petersburg in the first half of the 18th century, reproducing the plots of “Indian tapestries” received as a gift by Peter I during his visit to France in 1717. The table in the center of the hall is set with items from the Everyday Service, made at the Imperial Porcelain Factory at the end of the 18th – beginning of the 19th century.

Tableware and linens were stored in the Tafeldecker’s room, where dishes were served for setting through a serving window from the Kitchen, equipped with a Russian stove and stoves with exhaust hoods for smoke removal. Here is presented unique kitchenware from the 18th-19th centuries, and it was here that famous chefs prepared exquisite dishes for the royal table. And in the neighboring Coffee room, where one can admire a collection of antique samovars, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate were prepared.

Although the buildings of the complex were built at different times, stylistically they form a single ensemble with the Monplaisir palace. The Bathhouse building is a unique museum; it gives visitors a rare opportunity to get acquainted with the everyday life of the imperial court. The Tafeldecker’s room, Kitchen, and Coffee room were built by architect Rastrelli in 1748-1750. Here museum visitors learn about what and how was prepared for the imperial table, the duties of chefs and waiters, how Russian cuisine changed under European influence, and which dishes the emperors loved most. The Peterhof collection includes such unique exhibits as Peter the First’s serving napkin, tin dishes from Peter’s times, and Catherine the Second’s tablecloth.

Passing through the Chinese garden, visitors inspect the “family chambers,” where guests of the imperial court lived, and in the Soap House hides a surprise. Here, Peterhof restorers recreated a prank fountain that once amused the ladies and cavaliers of the imperial court.

Sources:

https://peterhofmuseum.ru/objects/peterhof/muzei_banniy_korpus

https://www.admagazine.ru/interior/dom-legenda-bannyj-korpus-v-petergofe

https://biglifetour.com/ru/biblioteka/petergof/monplezir