Giant Bath Tub Built For Tsar Alexander I – Why Was It So Large?

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - The Babolovsky Palace in Russia was built in 1780 during the reign of Catherine II of Russia (1729-1796) also known as Catherine the Great who was not only the longest-ruling female leader of Russia but also the grandmother of Tsar Alexander I of Russia (1777-1825).

Babolovsky Palace, Tsarskoe Selo. PostCard of beginning of 20s century. Image credit: Wikipedia

Located behind the Catherine park and the Alexander park in the town of Pushkin, a town to the south of Saint Petersburg the Babolovsky Palace was once originally built using wood and served as summer residence with seven rooms and a bath-house. It was a place where Catherine the Great met with her lovers.
Tsar Alexander I of Russia liked the place so much that he ordered a renovation of the palace. The summer residence was rebuilt in stone in the Gothic style between 1782 and 1785.

Tsar Alexander I of Russia and his grandmother Catherine the Great.

The renovated palace had the jagged parapets, lancet windows and an octagonal tower with tent cover and Tsar Alexander I used the palace for his secretive meetings with Sophia Velho, a court banker's daughter.
A huge marble bath was installed in the main room. The palace was later re-designed again by Vasily Stasov (1769-1848), a Russian architect.

The Giant Bath Tub Built For Tsar Alexander I - Image credit: Russian Urban

In 1818, a chunk of granite weighing more than 160 metric tons was delivered to Babolovo from one of the Finnish islands. The only thing that craftsmen had to do was to cut off all of the excess rock.

The work took 10 years to finish this unusual project resulted in a polished granite bath 196 cm (6.5 ft) high, 152 cm (5 ft) deep, and 533 cm (17 ft) in diameter with a mass of 48 metric tons was hewn. The volume data indicates that 8000 buckets of water, which is about 12 metric tons, could fit inside.

Babolovsky Palace in 2009 - Image credit: Wikipedia

In the early 20th century the Babolovsky Palace was a magnificent sight. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the palace fell into disrepair and today it stands in ruins.

Written By Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com

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