Baths (entry)

Categories / City Services/Housing and Communal Services
BATHS. The first baths in St. Petersburg were built near rivers and other reservoirs, separate from residential houses. About 30 so-called commercial baths were constructed by 1720. Construction was paid for by the Treasury. Since the 1720s, so-called bander (medical) baths appeared in St. Petersburg. In November 1763, baths opened at Malaya Morskaya Street for "sweating and treating fluxes and other bodily afflictions according to doctor’s orders”. All baths buildings in the 18th century were wooden. In 1815, there were 21 commercial baths in St. Petersburg, and in 1849, 40 baths. Many rich people built baths in their houses (in 1815, there were 480 home baths). Famous architects participated in bath designs, including D. Trezzini, S.I. Chevakinsky, F. Rastrelli, Ch. Cameron, I.A. Monighetti, and A.D. Zakharov. In 1871, by request of M.S. Voronin, architect P.Y. Susor constructed the so-called Popular (Voroninskie) Baths (82 Moika Embankment), along with some others (Kazachyi, Pushkarskie, Basseinye). Baths were named by the owners' family name (Talevskie, Fominoy), after the place where they were located (Troitskie, in the Troitsky District), or after the building’s distinctive features (Red Bath, 55 Zabalkansky Avenue). By the late 1920s, there were 35 functioning baths throughout Leningrad. In 1927, the Leningrad Council approved the design of two baths constructed by architect A.S. Nikolsky (one which was the building of the Round Baths at 29a, Karbysheva Street). In the 1930s, architects A.I. Gegello, N.F. Demskov, and F.P. Fedoseev worked on baths projects. In 1939, architect Gegello and A.M. Efraimovich developed a typical baths project, which could be used during times of war for washing and decontamination. By the late 1930s, there were 64 baths for 22,000 users in Leningrad. During the Siege, in winter 1941-42, no baths functioned for lack of water or fuel. From the spring of 1942, some baths were periodically heated, and over 20 baths operated by the end of the year. By the late 1950s, a typical baths project for Leningrad and other cities of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was designed by the Leningrad Department of the State Institute of Urban Design (architect L.Y. Galperin). In Leningrad in 1990, there were more than 60 baths for 19,000 users. No new baths were built in St. Petersburg since the 1990s, but at the same time many small baths (mainly saunas) were opened. By 2001, there were some 40 big baths for 5,800 users in the city. Some baths retained their historical names, including the Bateninskie (20 Alexandra Matrosova Street), the Geslerovskie (20 Bolshaya Raznochinnaya Street), the Fonarnye (formerly Voroninskie), the Usachevskie (12 Makarenko Lane), and others. Some baths built in the Soviet period also have proper names, such as the Nevskie (5/7 Marata Street) and the Pravoberezhnye (51 Novoselov Street).

Reference: Богданов И. А. Три века петербургской бани. СПб., 2000.

I. A. Bogdanov Cameron Charles
Chevakinsky Savva Ivanovich
Demskov N.F.
Efraimovich A.M.
Fedoseev Fedor Pavlovich
Fomina
Galperin L.Y.
Gegello Alexander Ivanovich
Gesler
Monighetti Ippolito Antonovich
Nikolsky Alexander Sergeevich
Rastrelli Francesco de
Suzor Pavel Yulievich
Trezzini Domenico
Voronin Mikhail Stepanovich
Zakharov Andreyan (Adrian) Dmitrievich
Alexander Matrosov St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 20
Bolshaya Raznochinnaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 20
Gribakinykh St./Saint Petersburg, city
Karbysheva St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 29, litera л. А
Makarenko Lane/Saint Petersburg, city, house 12
Malaya Morskaya St./Saint Petersburg, city
Marata St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 5/7
Moika River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 82
Moskovsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 55
Novoselov St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 51
Богданов И. А. Три века петербургской бани. СПб., 2000 Siege of 1941-44
Leningrad Soviet
1871