Archaeological remains of the ancient public baths of Odessos can be found in present-day Varna. This Pontic colony was founded around 570 BC by settlers from the Ionian city-state of Miletus. Alongside the Greeks, the city was also home to Thracians, people from Asia Minor, Romans and settlers from many other ethnic groups. The ruins are located in the older, seaside part of Varna. In 1906, Austrian scholar Ernst Kalinka, who was staying in the city at the time, explored the remains of what he believed to be an ancient building. In the 1907 notes of Karel Škorpil, the Czech scholar regarded as the founder of Bulgarian archaeology, we read: "Near the Church of St. George stands an old wall. It is known by the name ‘Kule’ or ‘Roman Tower’."
Wherever the Romans settled, they built baths. Their construction was preceded by the laying of water supply system first. Evidence of the construction of the Roman supply system was discovered as early as 1851. The bilingual inscription, in Greek and Latin, reveals that during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161 AD), the community of Odessos, together with Titus Vitrasius Pollio, military governor and governor of the province of Lower Moesia, captured and brought water to the city. Perhaps a bit later, the largest public bath complex in the Balkan provinces was built in Odessos. It covered an area of more than 7,000 square metres and was aligned according to the cardinal directions. The surviving walls reach a height of up to 22 metres in some places. The Roman baths were not merely places for bathing, but also centres of public life.
The actual bathing in the Roman baths took place in the hot-water room, known as the caldarium (C), which occupies a central position in the floor plan of the bath complex. The central semicircular pool, or piscina (P), is situated in an apse projecting beyond the southern façade of the building. A hypocaustum was also incorporated beneath it. From here, bathers proceeded to the central tepidarium (T). Rinsing with cold water took place in the central frigidarium (F). The three main bathing rooms - the caldarium, tepidarium and frigidarium - were richly decorated with granite columns, marble Roman Corinthian capitals, double-sided colonnades and columns shaped like the wooden club of Hercules.
An inscription carved on a tombstone reads: "Baths, wine and love - they wear out our bodies, yet make our lives: baths, wine and love."
You can get to Roman Thermae by public buses 20, 39, 17А (nearest bus stop “Baseyna”).
Admission:
Adults - 4.00 €
Students - 2.00 €
Children under 7 y.o. - free admission
Groups of more than 15 people: adults - 3.00 € per person
Guided tour - 15.00 €
Free admission on days designated by order of the Ministry of Culture or Varna Municipality
Opening Hours:
Summer opening hours
June - September: 10:00 - 18:00, without a day off
Winter opening hours
October - May: 10:00 - 17:00, days off: Sundays and Mondays
Contact details:
at the intersection of San Stefano Str. and Khan Krum Str.
Tel.: +359 52 600 059
www.museumvarna.com
