BATHHOUSE No.8 [GE]

Exploration #235 Bathhouse No.8. Bathhouse No.8 was one of the nine thermal baths, called also “spring” located within the large central park of Tskaltubo (წყალტუბო), the town located in west-central Georgia designated as an important balneotherapy centre by the government of the former Soviet Union. Of the nine buildings, four are currently in use: Bathhouses No. 1, 2, 3, and 6.

Bathhouse No.8 was a communal bathhouse that was probably used  by the proletariat rather than the party elite. It has a huge central skylight that was probably glass covered originally. Nowdays it is completely abandoned.

Tskaltubo has always been famous for its healing mineral waters and radon bath treatments. The centre focuses on balneotherapy for circulatory, nervous, musculoskeletal, gynaecological and skin diseases.
The first balneological baths were opened around 1870 and in 1925, the first sanatoriums and curative structures were built. Development continued apace and in 1931 the town was designated a balneotherapy and spa centre by the Soviet government. Tskaltubo was one of Stalin’s favourite holiday resorts: he had a private swimming pool in Bathhouse No.9, which is still in use today in the same park where Bathhouse No.8 is located.

During the Second World War the hotels were used as hospitals, but after the war Tskaltubo became one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Soviet Union. Moreover, it was not only a luxury holiday for the rich, but spa treatments could also be prescribed by doctors and provided free of charge to the poorer population. Four trains arrived daily from Moscow. There were about 5,000 beds in 19 hotels and sanatoriums and up to 1,500 people a day underwent treatment.

The independence of Georgia in 1991 and the fall of the Soviet Union at the end of December 1991 caused the Tskaltubo spa industry to collapse. Without guests, most hotels and resorts were forced to close. Buildings were abandoned and fell into disrepair.

In 1992, a war broke out in neighbouring Abkhazia. More than 200,000 displaced Georgians fled the conflict and about 10,000 of them found refuge in the empty buildings of Tskaltubo. It was supposed to be temporary accommodation but today, almost 30 years later, these makeshift flats have become permanent homes for new generations of families. The condition of the buildings is extremely poor even though they still possess the magnificence of Soviet architecture. A couple of former structures, Hotel Medea and Hotel Imereti, are still so incredibly photogenic that they host multiple wedding photo shoots during the summer months. Bathhouse No. 5, on the other hand, is just a skeleton of mouldy, peeling walls within the large city park.

If you enjoyed this article, you can also have a look at this other places in Tskaltubo: Bathhouse No.5.

BATHHOUSE No.5 [GE]

Exploration #228 Bathhouse No.5. Bathhouse No.5 was one of the nine thermal baths located within the large central park of Tskaltubo (წყალტუბო), the town located in west-central Georgia designated as an important balneotherapy centre by the government of the former Soviet Union.

Tskaltubo has always been famous for its healing mineral waters and radon bath treatments. The centre focuses on balneotherapy for circulatory, nervous, musculoskeletal, gynaecological and skin diseases. The first balneological baths were opened around 1870 and in 1925, the first sanatoriums and curative structures were built. Development continued apace and in 1931 the town was designated a balneotherapy and spa centre by the Soviet government. Tskaltubo was one of Stalin’s favourite holiday resorts: he had a private swimming pool in Bathhouse No. 9, which is still in use today and not far from the abandoned Bathhouse No.5.

During the Second World War the hotels were used as hospitals, but after the war Tskaltubo became one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Soviet Union. Moreover, it was not only a luxury holiday for the rich, but spa treatments could also be prescribed by doctors and provided free of charge to the poorer population. Four trains arrived daily from Moscow. There were about 5,000 beds in 19 hotels and sanatoriums and up to 1,500 people a day underwent treatment.

The independence of Georgia in 1991 and the fall of the Soviet Union at the end of December 1991 caused the Tskaltubo spa industry to collapse. Without guests, most hotels and resorts were forced to close. Buildings were abandoned and fell into disrepair.

In 1992, a war broke out in neighbouring Abkhazia. More than 200,000 displaced Georgians fled the conflict and about 10,000 of them found refuge in the empty buildings of Tskaltubo. It was supposed to be temporary accommodation but today, almost 30 years later, these makeshift flats have become permanent homes for new generations of families. The condition of the buildings is extremely poor even though they still possess the magnificence of Soviet architecture. A couple of former structures, Hotel Medea and Hotel Imereti, are still so incredibly photogenic that they host multiple wedding photo shoots during the summer months. Bathhouse No. 5, on the other hand, is just a skeleton of mouldy, peeling walls within the large city park.

In Tskaltubo there are other former thermal bath like the Bathhouse No.8.

CHIATURA CABLE CARS [GE]

Exploration #155 Chiatura cable cars . Chiatura cable cars were a network of cable cars built so that almost every corner of the mining town was accessible. Chiatura (ჭიათურა) is a Georgian municipality located in a narrow mountain valley on the banks of the Qvirila River. In 1879 large deposits of manganese were discovered in that valley and the state started the JSC Chiaturmanganese company to manage its exploitation. As early as 1905, a small town was built for the extraction of the metal and a railway link was set up to transport the ore to the Zestaponi ferroalloy plant, which is still in operation today, although it is in such a poor state of repair that walking past it could be mistaken for a disused industry.

Over the years, manganese production rose to 60% of the world’s total production, as did the number of miners employed, estimated at over 4000.
The employees worked 18 hours a day sleeping in the mines, always covered in soot, without even a toilet. The problem was also due to the logistical difficulties of moving around, as the mines were located along the valley, with access on the steep, steep slopes.

The first workers’ movements arose, led by a young Stalin, here renamed with the battle name of “Koba”, who left his mark in Chiatura, winning it over with his oratory to the cause of the Bolsheviks, the only town in a Menshevik area.
In June-July 1913 the miners went on strike for 55 days, demanding an eight-hour day, higher wages and no more night work. Working conditions improved but the problems of travel were only solved a few years later when, after the annexation of Georgia to Russia, Russian engineers decided that the best solution for transport was by air.

A network of cable cars was built so that almost every corner of the mining town was accessible. The system transported workers from their homes in the lower part of the valley to the mines that dotted the mountains. The system was also used to transport manganese to the various factories in the area. What merits Sergeant Major ‘Koba’ had in the project remains to be seen, but the cable car system was at the time one of the most fascinating engineering feats on the planet. As many as 21 pairs of cabins were built, climbing a total length of over 6,000 metres. Of these, 15 remained in service virtually unchanged for 50 years until the beginning of 2019 when they were stopped with the promise of building new, more modern ones. In 2017, the Georgian government began rebuilding the system using modern cable car technology, beginning with the central four-line hub station. The revamped system opened in September 2021.

Of the 15 cable cars that stopped some have been dismantled, of others only the departure and arrival station remains, while some rest intact and left without maintenance a few metres from their station, probably to avoid being stolen, waiting for a restart that will never happen again or for an unlikely restoration. The government plans to preserve its stations as heritage site.