Über diesen Ort
The Banys Àrabs, the Arab Baths, of Girona are among the most beautiful and best-preserved medieval baths in Spain, though their name is a little misleading. Despite being called Arab baths, and despite following the layout and style of an Islamic hammam, they were actually built in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, during the Christian era, in the Romanesque style, by Christian Girona, in imitation of the Moorish baths found elsewhere in Spain. The highlight is the first chamber, the apodyterium or changing room, where a graceful octagonal pool is ringed by eight slender columns supporting arches, above which rises a beautiful lantern tower, a little dome on columns with windows that let soft light fall down onto the water below. The baths follow the classic sequence of cold, warm and hot rooms. Cool, elegant and atmospheric, they are a lovely and unexpected survival in the heart of the old town.
Wissenswertes
- 12 century — The baths were built in the Romanesque style in the late twelfth century
- 8 columns — Eight slender columns ring the octagonal central pool
- 1 lantern — A lantern dome on columns lets soft light fall onto the pool below
📍 Carrer de Ferran el Catòlic, 17001, Girona