The Arab Baths of Jaén () also known as ''Baño del Niño'' (''Hamman al-Walad'') are a well-preserved historic ''

hammam A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited from the model ...

'' (Islamic

bathhouse Bathhouse may refer to: * Public baths, public facilities for bathing * Gay bathhouse A gay bathhouse, also known as a gay sauna or a gay steambath, is a public bath targeted towards Gay men, gay and Bisexuality, bisexual men. In gay slang, a ...

) located in Jaén, Spain.

History

These baths were one of the five Arab baths known in JaénAccording to 14th century chronicler , in Jaén there were up to five baths: ''Hamman al-Walad'', ''Hamman al-Tawr'', ''Hamman ibn al-Salim'', ''Hamman ibn Tarafa'' and ''Hamman ibn Ishaq''. See .
''Baños Árabes del Naranjo'' are on ''Plaza de los Caños'', at the corner with ''Calle Arroyo de San Pedro'', adjoining the historic ''judería''. They are the only other Arab baths open to visits in Jaén. These large baths (about 300 m) were built around the 11th century and were active until Jaén was reconquered by the Castillans in 1246. In the 14th century the building was divided into a bakery - in the area closest to the square - and a dwelling. In the fifteenth century, the place was bought by the City of Jaén and the town’s fish market was built on it; some time later, a butcher was installed there. In the eighteenth century this was reformed, a new facade was built and the old facade was modified; this is the present facade, which faces the square. In 1929 the inside of the building is emptied, and a school group is built. Parts of some classrooms remain, as well as the courtyard and the entrance that currently stands in Calle Los Caños. After restoration, the ''Baño del Naranjo'' was inaugurated as a visiting place for tourists on 29 September 2021.
See
See They were built over a

Roman bath In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughou ...

in 1002, near the end of the

Caliphate of Córdoba A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

. They may have undergone later alterations, probably in the 12th century. These baths were supplied with water from the spring of the Magdalena, as were the baths known as ''baños del toro'' or ''baños del naranjo''. Following the Christian conquest of the city by Ferdinand III in 1246, the baths remained in use for a while until they were repurposed as

tanneries Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

. In the 16th century, Don

Fernando Torres de Portugal y Mesía Fernando Torres de Portugal y Mesía Venegas y Ponce de León, 1st Count of Villadompardo was Spanish viceroy of Peru from 1584 to 20 November 1589. Biography In 1576 he was named Count of Villadompardo by King Philip II. He was named viceroy ...

(1st Count of

Villardompardo Villardompardo is a city located in the province of Jaén, Spain. According to the 2005 census ( INE), the city had a population of 1,172 inhabitants. See also * List of municipalities in Jaén Jaén is a province in the autonomous communit ...

and 7th Viceroy of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

) had a private palace built for himself on top of the baths, thus hiding them for centuries. They were only definitively rediscovered by in 1913 during a survey of historic buildings in the city. Professor of Archaeology Manuel Gómez-Moreno visited the property 4 years later and, after studying it, proposed it as a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

. The site was declared a Cultural Heritage Property of Spain in 1931. 1936 saw the beginning of the first restoration work, directed by

Leopoldo Torres Balbás Leopoldo Torres Balbás (23 May 1888, in Madrid – 21 November 1960, in Madrid) was a Spanish scholar, architect, and restorer. He was an important figure in the early 20th century conservation and restoration of monuments. Much of his work focuse ...

, conservator of the

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

in Granada, and Jaén architect Luis Berges Martínez, but the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

interrupted the project. In 1970, Luis Berges Roldán, the son of Berges Martínez, was commissioned by the Directorate General of Fine Arts to achieve the first complete restoration of the Arab baths. The work lasted until 1982 and was acclaimed as a success. The association

Europa Nostra Europa Nostra (Latin for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for cultural heritage, Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement ...

awarded in 1984 the medal of honor for the restoration of the baths, accomplished under the responsibility of Roldán. The restoration of the Arab courtyard of the Magdalena church, together with that of the Arab baths of the , were nominated for the 1986

Aga Khan Award for Architecture The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the fie ...

. Some work was carried out from 2011 to 2013 to increase access of the facilities to disabled people (ramps and such were installed to compensate for the many level differences within the premices), and to create access to two different points that had remained unaccessible.

Description

It is one of the largest known examples of Andalusi bathhouses and is distinguished from others by its particularly large " warm room" (''bayt al-wasti''). In 2019, more original 12th century wall paintings were discovered in the vestibule preceding the cold room and on a

pendentive In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...

of the warm room. File:Baños arabes.jpg, Entrance to the ''Centro Culturel Baños Árabes'' File:Baños Árabes de Jaén. Vestíbulo.jpg, The

changing room A changing room, locker room (usually in a sports, theater, or staff context), or changeroom (regional use) is a room or area designated for changing one's clothes. Changing-rooms are provided in a semi-public situation to enable people to ch ...

(''bayt al-maslaj'') with

octagram In geometry, an octagram is an eight-angled star polygon. The name ''octagram'' combine a Greek numeral prefix, ''wikt:octa-, octa-'', with the Greek language, Greek suffix ''wikt:-gram, -gram''. The ''-gram'' suffix derives from γραμμή ...

-shaped

skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...

s File:Baños Árabes de Jaén (Hamman al-Walad). Sala fría.jpg, The cold room (''bayt al-barid'') File:Baños Árabes.Jaén.jpg, The warm room (''bayt al-wasti'') File:Baños árabes de Jaén. Sala Caliente.jpg, The hot room (''bayt al-sajun'') File:Baños árabes de Jáen.jpg,

Fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

wall paintings in the vestibule, discovered in 2019

Tourism

Spain's royals visited the baths in 1990. The baths are open to visitors as a historical attraction, the ''baños árabes'', as part of the . In 2023, they were visited by a total of 92,714 people.

Notes

References

External link

* {{coord, 37, 46, 15.8, N, 03, 47, 38.7, W, type:landmark_region:ES, display=title Buildings and structures completed in the 11th century Buildings and structures in Jaén, Spain Former public baths Public baths in Spain Architecture of the Taifas Hammams