In impassable thickets, in hard-to-reach undergrowth, behind barbed wire, there hides neither a fairy-tale tower, nor a hut on chicken legs, nor a hovel, nor a gazebo. By the recollections of old-timers, the marvel has been identified as a manor bathhouse, raised more than a hundred years ago for bodily procedures beneficial to health.
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| Ivanivske, Donetsk region. The manor bathhouse. 1910-1916. |
The soap-and-washhouse the benefactor raised upon the Bakhmut springs, and the healing water flowed into the pool for splashing and bathing.
For all eternity the master built, and he chose the sturdier material for the work, used a concrete mortar, and adorned the walls with original elements of overseas design.
The vaulted windows and the entrance to the bathhouse are framed with dome-shaped casings.
There are eight window openings in all — two on each side.
The building is crowned, in the Gothic style, by an arched attic with austere projections. Bolshevisation and expropriation turned the marvel into an ownerless structure. The landowner's estate fell into ruin, but the bathhouse survived — though its chances are slim.
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| Ivanivske. The ruins of a building beside the bathhouse. |
A forgotten, abandoned landmark in the grove, without status, without a concept or a plan for its preservation. The wisest men once gathered here in council, deciding what to do with it, and projects were drawn up. The eloquent designs stayed on paper, and mournful are the fate and the face of our poor waif.
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| Channels and hydraulic structures beside the bathhouse. |
Large capital investment is needed to restore it. A rescue programme is in the process of approval. The little orphan waits in the thicket, in oppressive conditions.
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| Barbed wire beside the bathhouse. |
If only a path to it could be cleared, and something good done for the abandoned Ivanivske site.
Coordinates: 48°34’3"N 37°54’19"E
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