Description of the attraction
The "Upper Bath" and "Lower Bath" pavilions are located in the Catherine Park in the city of Pushkin.
The Upper Bath pavilion, called in the 18th century “The Soap House of Their Highnesses”, is located on the banks of the Mirror Pond. The architect Ilya Vasilyevich Neelov managed to turn an ordinary office building - a bathhouse for the imperial family - into a graceful work of art.
The building of the pavilion is characterized by simple shapes - a rectangle, completed with a parapet, with a 3-edged projection-projection. In the upper part of the building there are small round windows, in the lower - protruding walls cut through semicircular windows and a wide doorway. Despite the fact that the facades of the "Upper Bath" in the style of early classicism are almost completely devoid of decorative elements, the exact silhouette of the building, reflected in the waters of the pond, makes an incredible impression and successfully harmonizes with the appearance of the Old Garden.
Directly behind the entrance to the pavilion, an 8-migrated lounge was set up. The plafond and wall paintings of the hall were made by the artist A. Belsky. The plafond displayed the plot of the ancient myth of the death of Phaethon, the son of Helios, garlands of fruits and flowers were used in the wall painting. On the sides of the hall were a dressing room, a steam room, a soap room, a room with a pool and a boiler room.
The construction of the Upper Bath Pavilion began in 1777, and finishing work continued until 1779. Until the middle of the 19th century, the pavilion was used for its intended purpose.
During the Great Patriotic War, the "Upper Bath" was destroyed. But, several years later, in 1952-1953, according to the plan of the architect S. Novopoltsev, the pavilion was restored. In addition, the decorative painting was restored, of which only fragments remained after the war.
Not far from the "Upper Bath" there is a pavilion "Lower Bath" or "Cavalier Soap". The pavilion, erected in 1780 according to the plan of the same I. V. Neelova, served as a bathhouse for male courtiers.
The Lower Bath Pavilion is distinguished by its architectural originality: in the center of the building there is a large round hall with a round bath in the middle, and around the hall there are 6 low round offices, each of which has 3 round windows. The walls of the hall, which are much higher than the walls of the offices, create a drum that serves as the basis for the dome that crowns the pavilion. Boiler rooms were once located in rectangular halls on both sides of the pavilion.
The Lower Bath pavilion stands aside from the alleys of the Old Garden and seems to be hidden in trees and bushes: according to tradition, outbuildings for courtiers were not intended for viewing by visitors to the park.
The interior decoration of the building has not survived to this day. There is information that in some rooms the plafonds and walls were painted, the lounge and dressing room were heated with marble fireplaces, and a round bath in the central hall was surrounded by a balustrade.
During the Great Patriotic War, the building of the "Lower Bath" was damaged slightly, and already in 1944-1945 it was restored.
