Photo The Turkish Bath by Yuriy Gogin

The Turkish Bath was erected by order of Emperor Nicholas I between 1850 and 1852 on a small cape in the south-western part of the Large Pond. Ippolito Monighetti was the author of this project conceived as a unique monument to victories in the Russo-Turkish War of 1828 — 1829. According to the architect's plans, the composition of the Turkish Bath resembles a mosque. The cupola is decorated with bas-relief ornaments and the tall minaret completed with a spire and crescent moon lend the building a certain picturesque feel. The flat white walls are divided by three-dimensional supports.

The interiors were executed in the Mauritanian style. White marble details from the interior of the bath of a Turkish sultaness taken during the war from Rumelia (the European part of the Ottoman imperial lands in the center of Sophia) were used to finish this pavilion. The entrance to the vestibule and to the dressing room is through a richly ornamented portal. The lower parts of the walls in the dressing room were faced with a colorful mosaic, and the upper sections were decorated with plaster moldings and ornamental painting. There was a cascade fountain in the niche. The niche was constructed of Olonetsk marble. Gilt was also heavily used. The washroom is lit from above. Here the walls were fitted with two basins with faucets for warm and cold water. A high, wide archway connects the washroom to the central bathing hall. The latter is especially richly decorated. Its main ornament is a basin of white marble with a painted and gilded fountain. There were also marble slabs here bearing inscribed verses brought from Turkey.

During World War II the Turkish Bath was in the line of fire. The facades of the Turkish Bath were restored in 1953.

The Turkish Bath is the last of the pavilions in the Catherine Park. However, the unity of the ensemble remains intact.

published:

Wed 7 Dec 2005 16:38

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