Central Bath of Karabajak
Ever heard of the Szechenyi Thermal Bath in Budapest? If no, then google it now! The lavish and beautiful architecture is dominated by Neo-Baroque and Neo-Renaissance and was built in 1910. I was there in 2019, paying 1000 rubles to enter, and the magnificent moments that I experienced there will be forever etched in my memory.
But now let’s fly back to our city of Kursk. In the beginning of the 20th century, a visionary merchant named S.I Karabajak along with his architect P.N. Rudenko, have built an interesting two-story building of the “Central Bath” in “Nouveau style”, which means its architecture was inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and flowers. Other characteristics of Art Nouveau were a sense of dynamism and movement in the early 1900s. The current day location of its remnants is in Pochtovaya street, 3, which pitifully houses the city’s sanitary and epidemiological station.
Turning back time, the main facade was painted and had a high decorative saturation. Details of belts, cornices, panels, window frames are made of high-quality bricks of small and large sizes. The facades were decorated with geometric figures and plant ornaments which are typical art of Nouveau style. On the main facade of the 3rd floor tower, the word “БАНИ” (“BATH”) was laid out in bricks.
Today, most people have access to their own bathrooms or showers. Of course, times have changed, as now we tend to rent saunas to relax ourselves on occasions. But at the beginning of the 20th century, the norm was to clean oneself in these baths. Some families even considered going to the baths as a tradition. The baths were divided into the men’s section and the women’s section. They worked regularly all week, except on Mondays and holidays, and were very popular. It could easily host 171 people.
For an additional fee, one could even hire a servant to wash you up! They also offer massage services too. In the women’s section there were “Babki-kostopravki”, who gave women massage, claim to “correct the inner”. Thai massage is considered the best in today’s view. But I am literally curious if the “Babki-kostopravki” was able to give the Thais a little challenge. Like many things in history, the tradition disappeared and swallowed by time.
Due to the economic collapse in the country, especially during the civil war, an acute shortage of fuel was suffered and forced the work of such a necessary institution for the city to be stopped. After some downtime in 1923, the Central baths started working again.
In July — August 1923, the building was renovated. All the rafters were replaced, the roof was covered, and a new steam boiler was installed. The rooms were re-painted with oil paint, the women’s section and first-class rooms were expanded.
This building miraculously survived the Second World War. A German bomb that fell next to it completely destroyed the neighboring building, and causing minor damage to the bathhouse. Careless repairs have been made. Now you can no longer see the beautiful stucco on the facade of the old building, and unfortunately, there aren’t any other sources available to justify the Central Bath during its glorious days.
Quoted by a local historian V. Stepanov, “One of the students of our men’s secondary school №4 admiringly reported that in the newly opened bathhouse on Pochtovaya street, you can look at naked women through a small hole made in the light wooden partition that separated the men’s and women’s bathrooms. The next day, almost all of my class went to the bathhouse, taking with them a piece of soap and a towel.
When our playful group quickly undressed in the locker hall and a playful crowd rolled into the hot men’s section, I immediately saw a long line of people standing in line for the ill-fated hole. Its existence was known, and they tried to fill the hole with a cork, which was immediately knocked out by the stronger men. There were teenagers, middle-aged men, and old people in a funny line.”
Of course, as time passes by, every beginning has an ending. Slowly the place ran out of business and maladministration, and as mentioned above, the building, having lost all of its Noveau style architecture and decor, is currently used the city’s sanitary and epidemiological station.
But nevertheless, as we often stroll along Lenina street and summer is approaching, why not take a quick nip to Pochtovaya street and take a gaze at the current ‘boring’ building. Close your eyes, take a breath, and conceptualize on how once upon a time, what environment was right in front of you. Exquisite architecture, the top facade spelling “БАНИ”. The vibe of people after a long day’s work, sinking into a good warm bath, and of course not to forget the mischievous men and boys peeping through the hole, and staring at the women’s section. Well, no matter of age, boys will be boys.