Ancient Eastern Bathhouse (Women’s)

Vaulted baths are one of the landmarks of Derbent. This is a traditional type of structure for the East. Such baths played a significant role in a Muslim city, being as integral a part of its social life as mosques and bazaars. The bathhouse in the Caucasus, as in the East, served not only for washing but also for strengthening the body, uplifting the spirit, for rest, friendly and business conversations. The women's bath was built in the 15th-17th centuries and is located in the upper part of the city near the "Juma Mosque." The Arabic name is Mesjid Hammam, meaning a bath located near a mosque. It is constructed from rubble masonry, with walls and floors inside made of hewn stone. The structure is partially buried in the ground to reduce heat loss by more than half. It has the classic layout of an eastern bath with cold and hot sections, covered with domes featuring a skylight and numerous auxiliary rooms. The Mesjid Hammam was abandoned for many years, filled with garbage up to the roof, and was known as Hama-damy (bath roof). But in 1788, a city resident named Hadji Muhammad Kerbala Ibrahim-oglu cleared the bath of debris and repaired it. The Juma Mosque began to assert its rights over the bath, appealing to the inscription above the bath entrance: "This bath was endowed by Sultan Bayazid Ben Bahram Ustajlu as a waqf (privileged, tax-exempt property) to the mosque located next to the bath in 1065." The mosque succeeded in reclaiming the bath but did not wrong Hadji Muhammad, reimbursing him for all losses and expenses incurred. The bath operated until 1991 and is currently not in use.

Source:

https://derbentmuseum.ru/monuments/starinnaya-vostochnaya-banya-zhenskaya/

Derbent: One of the oldest "living" cities in the world

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Maiden's Bath in the old part of Derbent

22 Agasieva Ave, Derbent, Republic of Dagestan, Russia, 368608

The museum complex "Maiden's Bath" is located in the old part of Derbent, near the oldest mosque in Russia, the Juma Mosque. The vaulted baths are one of the attractions of Derbent. This is a traditional type of structure for the East. Such baths played a significant role in a Muslim city, being an integral part of its social life, just like mosques and bazaars. The bathhouse in the Caucasus, as in the East, served not only for cleansing but also for strengthening the body, uplifting the spirit, for rest, friendly, and business conversations.

Derbent: One of the oldest "living" cities in the world

Ancient Eastern Bathhouse (Men's)

2nd Nagorny Lane, 12, Derbent, Republic of Dagestan, Russia, 368600

The ancient men's Eastern bathhouse is located near the Kilis Mosque on the territory of the old market square and is one of the oldest in Derbent. The bathhouse is constructed from well-hewn stone blocks. It has the classic layout of an Eastern hammam – with cold and hot rooms, niches for resting, domed ceilings, and auxiliary rooms.

Derbent: One of the oldest "living" cities in the world

Khan's Bath in the northwestern part of the Naryn-Kala fortress

Makhachkala-Derbent Road, 360600, Republic of Dagestan, Russia, 368600

The Khan’s Bathhouse is an architectural monument, presumably built in the 16th–17th centuries, located in the northwestern part of the Naryn-Kala fortress in Derbent. “The bathhouse in the Caucasus, as throughout the entire East, is a matter of special care… Because the bathhouse serves not only for washing but also for strengthening the body, lifting a fallen mood, for rest, for meetings and conversations about buying and selling, and for displaying skill in chess and backgammon.”

Constructivism: Originating from the USSR

Round Baths — public baths in the historic Lesnoy district of Saint Petersburg

29 Karbysheva St., lit. A, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 194021

The Round Baths are public baths located in the historic Lesnoy district of Saint Petersburg. This monument of the Constructivist era is situated at 29a Karbysheva Street, on Courage Square.

Lower Bathhouse or Cavalier's Soaphouse in Tsarskoye Selo

Sadovaya St., 14, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196601

Not far from the Upper Bath is the Lower Bath, or, as it was called in the 18th century, the Cavalier Soap House. This pavilion, located off the park alleys and intended for courtiers, was built according to the design of architect Neelov in 1778–1779. Its facade is half hidden from the view of garden visitors by trees and shrubs. The Lower Bath consists of ten rooms grouped around a central hall with a large round bath. The water was heated in two boilers, which had separate entrances, and was supplied by pipes to the bathhouse and the rooms with baths.

The Upper Bath or The Soap Room of Their Highnesses

Sadovaya St., 7, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196601

On the shore of the Mirror Pond stands the pavilion "Upper Bath," or, as it was called in the 18th century, the "Soap Room of Their Highnesses," built in 1777–1779 by the Neelov architects. The Upper Bath is executed in the style of early classicism. The sparsely decorated facade creates an impression of refined simplicity due to the proportional relationship between the main volume and the three-sided risalit facing the pond.

Turkish bath

Parkovaya St., 40, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196603

Great Architects: Giacomo Quarenghi

In memory of the signing of the Treaty of Jassy in 1791, Empress Catherine II commissioned architect Giacomo Quarenghi to design a pavilion called the Turkish Bath. This project was never realized. Nicholas I decided to fulfill his grandmother the Empress's intention by decorating the park with a pavilion dedicated to the victories of the Russian army over the Turks, but during another victorious war for Russia against Turkey in 1828–1829 and the subsequent Treaty of Adrianople concluded as a result.

Cold Bath in Tsarskoye Selo

Sadovaya St., 7, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196601

The central place in the ensemble built by Charles Cameron belongs to the pavilion "Cold Bath." The model of the Cold Bath was completed in 1780, and in the spring of the same year, construction of the pavilion—a small two-story building—began. On its lower floor were rooms for water treatments, and on the upper floor, six richly decorated rooms for rest and entertainment, called the "Agate Rooms," were located.

Imperial Parks of Peterhof

Museum "Bathhouse Building" in Peterhof

GMZ "Peterhof" Peterhof, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198510

It all began with a small wooden "bathhouse" of Peter I. It was not distinguished by luxury, but by the temperature it reached and the fiery steam with the scent of herbs that the tsar adored. The founder of Petersburg loved to steam in the bath passionately. Alexander II brought the Bathhouse building in line with the design of similar establishments in Europe. Next to the bathhouse, in 1866, the court architect Erich Gunn built a stone wing with rooms for a pool, cold baths, and regular baths. They also did not forget the latest innovation – the shower (although the steam room remained). At that time, architecture entered the period of historicism, and the facade of the Bathhouse building was executed in the "historic" forms of the era of Peter I.

Sandunovskie Baths (colloquially Sanduny) - the king of baths

Neglinnaya St., 14 bldg. 3-7, Moscow, Russia, 107031

Public baths operating since 1808 to the present day, an architectural monument in the Beaux-Arts style. Located in the center of Moscow at the corner of Neglinnaya Street and Sandunovsky Lane. Architect — Boris Freidenberg. Sanduny is not only the oldest baths in the capital, founded by Sila Nikolaevich Sandunov in 1808, but also an architectural and engineering marvel. Today, Sanduny is the epitome of the Russian bathhouse, preserving authentic interiors with exquisite stucco work, marble staircases, gilded painting, and statues. Chaliapin called Sanduny the "Tsar of Baths," admiring their vast halls and high vaults. Vladimir Gilyarovsky wrote that here "both Griboyedov’s and Pushkin’s Moscow stayed, the one that gathered in Zinaida Volkonskaya’s salon and in the English Club."

Voroninsky or Lantern Baths

Fonarny Lane, 1, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190000

In 1871, the Voronin Baths opened on the Moika Embankment, named after their owner, merchant and academician Mikhail Voronin. The building on Fonarny Lane was designed by architect Pavel Suzor at his commission, the author of the Singer Company building and other famous buildings in St. Petersburg.