Emperor Shishman Medieval Baths (Veliko Tarnovo)

 museum, Medieval / Middle Ages, cultural heritage / national heritage, listed building / architectural heritage, historic ruins, 14th century construction

The so-called Baths of Emperor Shishman (Tsar Shishmanova Banya) are ruined medieval baths by the Yantra River.
Shishmanova Banya in the town of Veliko Tarnovo, is located in Asenova Mahala between the Church of the Assumption and the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, only 30 m north of the eastern entrance to the Vladishki Bridge.
It is one of the few preserved similar buildings in Bulgaria. It is not clear why the bath was called "Shishmanova", it is possible that it remained from the time of the last Bulgarian ruler before the fall of Tarnovo under Turkish rule. During excavations, coins from the 15th-16th centuries were found, which, according to archaeologists, means that it then ceased to exist.
The bathroom is a testimony to the hygienic habits of the then inhabitants. Noble people usually bathed in the baths, and the common people bathed directly in the river. An inscription found on the fortress wall of Tsarevets also testifies to the latter. The author is a soldier from the city guard, who describes that he watched with interest Pena bathing in the river while vigilantly guarding the fortress. According to historians, this testifies to the literacy among the lower strata of the Bulgarian people.
The first known information about Shishmanova Banya is from 1893, when Karel Shkorpil plotted it on the map he made for Tarnovgrad. In 1906 arch. Georgi Kozarev published in Izvestia magazine a description of the medieval building, which has a large room with niches and troughs, the remains of which are built with buildings. At that time, the bathrooms were in the basements of three buildings. This was also the case with many other houses in Asenova Mahala, because they used the foundations of massive medieval walls.
The structure was partly restored and conserved in 2015-2017.

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