Thermes de Cluny description and photos - France: Paris (Topic)

Thermes de Cluny description and photos - France: Paris. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Thermes de Cluny.

Photo and description

In the Latin Quarter, one of the oldest ruins of Paris, the Terme Cluny, has been preserved. This bathhouse dates back to the Gallo-Roman era, reminiscent of the times when Rome owned half the world. It is believed that the baths were built at the beginning of the 3rd century.

In ancient Rome, the baths were arranged as centers of social life. They were public and free. The Baths of Cluny is believed to have been built by the powerful boatmen guild of Lutetia, but there is no direct evidence of this. It is known, however, that they were part of the palace of the governor of Gaul, Constance Chlorus.

Now you can see about a third of the former ancient baths. The spacious frigidarium, a hall with cool air, where one could take a break from the heat of the bath, has survived better than other premises. The vaults of the frigidarium are brickwork, up to 14 meters high. Here you can see arches and columns, as well as the remains of wall paintings and mosaics. On the western side of the term lie the remains of a terpidarium hall, where there were baths for bathing. Water was supplied here via an aqueduct from the southern outskirts of Lutetia. In the ruins, archaeologists also found a fifteen-meter fragment of a sewer pipe - the Romans took sanitary standards very seriously.

Thermes were built on the left bank of the Seine, they were not protected by the fortifications of the Ile de la Cite. At the end of the 3rd century, during the next raid of barbarian tribes, the baths were destroyed. Much later, in the XIII century, a monastery of the Order of Cluny was built on this site (and partly on the preserved Roman foundations). At the end of the 15th century, Abbot Jacques Amboise added a mansion to the buildings of the monastery. During the revolution, monks are expelled, the monastery becomes the property of the state. Since 1832, a private museum has been located here, later bought out from the owners by the state.

Today, the Cluny Museum is located in the medieval mansion, the full name of which is: State Museum of the Middle Ages - Thermes and Cluny Mansion. The ancient baths thus became part of a larger museum. But they function completely independently and are open to tourists. Here you can see a large collection of stonework from different eras, excavated in Paris.

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Topic: Thermes de Cluny description and photos - France: Paris.