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.

ACQUAPARK NIAGARA [IT]

Exploration #211 Acquapark Niagara. Acquapark Niagara is a small water park that has been abandoned since the year 2000. The park was equipped with several slides and a large swimming pool. A disco and a restaurant were also present during the period of operation. The park was built on a natural slope and from its top it was possible to see the sea and the beach. After its closure, the park was abandoned and devastated by thieves and vandals. The slides and swimming pools, on the other hand, are covered by dense vegetation making the scene look like a jungle.

PISCINA JUNGLE [IT]

Exploration #74. This swimming pool is located on top of a small hill in the Tuscan countryside. The structure is surrounded by a large garden and has a beautiful view of the surrounding landscape. There was not only the swimming pool but also other structures, now totally empty, perhaps used for other gymnastic activities or as a training centre. I have not found any information about it, nor why it has been abandoned, but it has certainly not been used for many years, I would say more than twenty years.

Plants, ivy, grass and moss are slowly reclaiming the territory that had been taken from it and the structure, thanks to the large windows that surround it, looks like a large Victorian greenhouse. So it’s not strange to find little birds inside, who seem to have found a suitable place to make their new home.