Bañuelo - Granada, Andalucía, España
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Ariberna
N 37° 10.700 W 003° 35.573
30S E 447370 N 4114820
El Bañuelo is a ?ammam or Arab bath from the Zirid period (11th century), declared an Asset of Cultural Interest , located at Carrera del Darro number 31, in Granada , Andalusia , Spain .
Waymark Code: WM162CD
Location: Andalucía, Spain
Date Posted: 04/19/2022
Views: 1
Bien: Bañuelo
Comunidad Autónoma: C.A. Andalucía
Provincia: Granada
Municipio: Granada
Categoría: Monumento
Código: (R.I.) - 51 - 0000159 - 00000
Registro: (R.I.) REGISTRO BIC INMUEBLES: Código definitivo
Fecha de Declaración: 30-11-1918
Fecha Boletín Declaración: 04-12-1918
"It is located in the Albaicín neighborhood , on the banks of the Darro river and in front of the Cadí bridge .
History
In Muslim Granada , this building was the ?amman of the “Rabad Haxarris” (or Axares) neighborhood, known as ?amman al-Yawza or Nogal Bath. In other times it was also known as the Palacios Bath and the Guadix Gate Bath. Around twelve hammams have been found in Granada, most of modest dimensions, with the exception of the luxurious baths of the Comares Palace in the 14th century Alhambra. The Bañuelo hammam traditionally dates from the time of the Taifa of Granada , during the government of the Zirid dynastyin the 11th century, probably during the reign of King Badis ben Habús (1038-1073) or Abd Allah ibn Buluggin (1073-1090), according to a study by Leopoldo Torres Balbás . A recent study has suggested that they were perhaps made in the 12th century based on the masonry style . The baths would have been inside the Alcazaba Cadima , the former royal residence located in what would later be called the Albaicín, before the Alhambra became the seat of power.
After the conquest of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492 and the end of the Reconquest , the baths continued until the 16th century due to the large Moorish population , a fact that would change after their expulsion in 1610 . In later centuries, the baths ended their original function and were used as a public laundry and, later, as a dwelling, with another modern floor being built over the baths. In 1918 the place was protected by Spanish law and between 1927 and 1928 it was restored by Leopoldo Torres Balbás, who had also performed at the Alhambra. Restoration work continued throughout the 20th century and it is currently open to the public.
Description
The bathrooms are made up of several rooms linked together. The first room was a reception or relaxation room in the center of which was a square pool , as it appears in an engraving by Girault de Prangey from 1837. It has arcades on three of its sides, with horseshoe arches . Although it is currently in the open air, it was originally covered by a wooden dome. In its south-east corner a door gave access to three small rooms with latrines , while to the north-west an access led to the changing room (the Roman equivalent of the apodyterium ).). From here the bathers passed to the steam rooms, which consisted of three rooms: the cold room ( bayt al-barid ), the warm room ( bayt al-wastani ) and the hot room ( bayt al-sajun ), corresponding to the Roman frigidarium , tepidarium , and caldarium , respectively. The bathers entered the cold room at the beginning, and later moved to the warm and hot rooms, as part of the cleaning or purification process. In addition, massages were also performed by employees. Unlike the Roman baths , it was not common for hammams to immerse themselves in the pools, but rather to throw hot water on themselves.
The largest room in the Bañuelo is the warm room, located in the center of the complex, something common in other baths in al-Andalus . It is covered with a large central dome surrounded by three other smaller domes, all of them resting on marble columns and horseshoe arches . The columns on which the arches rest have Roman , Visigothic and Caliphate capitals , reused from older, demolished buildings. All rooms have octagonal or eight-pointed star- shaped skylights, which provided light and let steam escape. Both the preceding cold room and the hot room below have a rectangular structure with barrel vaults and horseshoe arches. Beyond the hot room, below the commercial area, was the boiler, which provided hot water to the steam rooms and generated hot air that was carried through pipes and ducts under the floors of the warm rooms and hot (much like the Roman hypocaust ) before being evacuated through the walls into the chimneys."
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