Budapest I., Döbrentei tér 9.
The most imposing of the Turkish baths that remain in Hungary (Figure 76), they were considered special even in the Ottoman era because of their column structure and the enormous size of the hot room (Figure 77). The remaining hot and warm rooms of the Turkish baths are embraced by the 18th and 19th century parts of the building. Today, it is one of the most renowned baths in Budapest.
Figure 76 . The Rudas Baths in Buda
Founder: Sokollu Mustafa Pasha
Year founded: 1571/1572
Ottoman era name: Yeshil Direkli Ilija (Green Pillar Baths)
Type: thermal baths
Ground plan type: pillared hot room (G type) (Figure 78) Directors of excavation: Sándor Garády, Adrienn Papp
Excavation date: 1937 (Sándor Garády), 2004–2005 (Adrienn Papp)
Publications: lászay–papp 2004; lászay–papp 2005; lászay–papp 2006; lászay–papp 2009, pp. 291–297;
papp–grynaEus 2011 HISTORY
In the Ottoman era they were known as Yeshil Direkli Ilija (Green Pillar Baths).91 Franciscus Omichius92 mentions them in 1572 as the baths beneath Gellért Hill, and states that the pasha (Sokollu Mustafa) built the dome. The foundation of Sokollu Mustafa Pasha records that he had them built. The precise date of the building was determined as 1571/72 through dendrochronological examination of the excavated wooden posts.93
Figure 77 . Panoramic view of the eight columns in the hot room of the restored Rudas Baths
The baths stood in an area that was built over in the Middle Ages, so unravelling its history began with the ex-cavation of the medieval buildings on the site.94 The new bath was constructed between the main road and the Dan-ube, with its entrance on the northern side. During the ex-cavations, a single piece of Ottoman era construction was discovered: the large dimensions of the building meant there had been no need for expansion, but the remains of Ottoman service work could be explored.95
Written records state that during the war of reconquest the baths were not damaged,96 however, the entrance hall was portrayed in a drawing from 1712,97 as being in a court-yard. In fact, there are reports that as early as 1699 the rooms on the bath courtyard were covered with a dome.98 This suggests that during the conflict the building was dam-aged: that is, the dome over the entrance hall collapsed to create a courtyard around which various rooms were later built onto its walls. This condition is shown in drawings from 1832 by the architect József Dankó Jnr (see Figure 31).99
The bath came into the ownership of the capital in 1696 and has been in continual ownership since then. Sev-eral design contests and a committee meeting report for reconstruction track the history of the building.100
The first detailed drawings of the baths were made in 1712 in reference to the neighbouring mill buildings (see Figure 74).101 Fewer than 30 years after the reconquest of the city, the institution was significantly developed: new swim-ming pools were constructed in the former entrance hall area and in the hot room. Renovation of the very well-pre-served baths was carried out in 1794–1795, but to what manner and degree we do not know.102
The 19th-century changes are easier to follow, as we have several series of plans from this century. The area of the Ottoman entrance hall functioned as a courtyard until the expansion of the building in 1880. The eastern wall was demolished in 1831 during building works. At that time the area between the buttresses on the east and south walls was built in. By the mid-19th century the metal struts between the pillars that supported the dome had been destroyed, they were already absent from Rudolf Alt’s drawing from 1860.
The first major extension of the baths was completed in the 1880s to plans by Miklós Ybl; however, in these the Ottoman era elements were not significantly altered. The first step was the adaption of the Ottoman era entrance hall.
At the same time, the Ottoman era warm areas were also refurbished.103 It was then that the main entrance door to the
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Figure 78 . Floorplan of the Rudas Baths.
1–2. Warm areas. 3. Hot area. 4. Toilet 3
2 1
4
area beneath the dome was widened and the barrel vaulted arrangement created that exists today: the asymmetrical design was replaced by a symmetrical one, and a stone frame, probably from the Ottoman era, was set into the new wall.
The variously sized and shaped corner enclosures in the hot rooms were regularized and the windows were walled up.104 At the beginning of the 20th century, modification of the obsolete bath-tub parts of the building was planned, but this major construction was postponed because of the outbreak of the First World War. During the Second World War, the northern part of the baths were damaged most (Figure 79), and were then dismantled during post-war reconstruction.
It was at this time that the Ottoman era hall of the baths was removed. The baths’ remaining thermal area was explored in 2004–2005 (Figure 80).
Figure 79 . The Rudas Baths following damage inflicted during the Second World War
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DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING
Research105 was carried out during the refurbishment of the thermal part of the Rudas Baths. In accordance with the pre-pared design plans, the depths of the domed space were ex-cavated while in the space beneath the barrel vaulting there was minimal probing and the surface beneath the new clad-ding could be opened up. The baths were parallel to the Dan-ube, lying northwest-southeast,106 the entrance was on the northwest side. There are currently two tracts: the warm rooms on the north and the hot room south of them.
The entrance hall
The entrance hall was destroyed, its size and location is recorded by 19th-century architectural surveys. It was near-ly as large as the hot room, with its entrance on the north side. The wall thickness on the plans is the same as the thickness of the spine discovered during archaeological research. According to this, the walls of the building were 90 centimetres thick. They would not have been able to support a dome with a diameter of nearly 18 meters, so there would have been either a cupola or a wooden ceiling covering the entrance hall as in the hot room. Some details of the northern walls are known from the excavations by Sándor Garády who explored the northern edge of the baths before the Second World War.
The warm areas
In the Ottoman era there were two warm rooms, the step patterned doorway to the smaller eastern area remains even today (Figures 81–82). The western room is currently divided in two by a brick wall. The floors of these areas were de-stroyed when modern pools were created here, leaving only fragmentary information to be gleaned from the ground plan. What is certain is that in the Ottoman era there were no pools in the warm rooms, but by the walls there were stone curb benches. The presence of benches and water fountains can be determined by the water pipes remaining in the walls. The western room was expanded by two niches that were formed during a later conversion.
Figure 80 . The Ottoman era wooden posts beneath the basin of the hot room at the Rudas Baths
The rooms are covered with barrel vaults with hexagonal skylights. There was no window in the west room, and the eastern facade wall has not survived, but it is unlikely that there was a window as the toilet was on the outside.
The toilet
The toilet opened from the east warm room and lay outside the main building. The north side wall and the drainage channel were also exposed.
The hot room
This is the most interesting space among the Ottoman buildings of Hungary (Figure 83). Eight pillars support the cen-tral dome, which are surrounded by barrel vaulting. In the corners beneath the cloister arches stalactite ornaments hang. By the wall the octagonal pool sides are lined with benches. A section of the original flooring was uncovered that
Figure 81 . Stepped ornamentation of the door between the warm rooms at the Rudas Baths
during excavation
Figure 82 . Stepped ornamentation of the doorway between the warm rooms at the Rudas Baths
following reconstruction
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enabled a good reconstruction. There were no pools in the corners in the Ottoman era. The original white limestone steps to the Ottoman era pool that lies at the centre of the room remain although their coverings were missing at the time of excavation. The former paving and the sub-pool pillar system were demolished, which were also suited to den-drochronological examination and based on which it was possible to date precisely the construction of the baths (see Figure 80).
The ceramic water pipes in the walls survived in good condition, into which system stone elements were set into the wall to create water fountains. The pool was filled by a separate pipe which was a lot thicker than those in the water fountain system.
On the walls, small areas of residual plaster were also excavated. The hall’s real attractions are the pillars, one of which is not original. According to Edward Brown, an English physician,107 it is clear that at the end of the Ottoman era the columns of the hot room were connected with iron struts, but it is unclear whether that was the case when they were constructed or whether it was something that was required later.
Figure 83 . Interior of the Rudas Baths today