# Arab Baths of Jaén

The Arab Baths of Jaén (Spanish: Baños Árabes de Jaén) are a well-preserved historic hammam (Islamic bathhouse) located in Jaén, Spain.
They were also known as Baño del Niño (Hamman al-Walad).

## History

These baths were one of the five arab baths known in Jaén
They were built on a roman bath in 1002, near the end of the Caliphate of Córdoba. But they may have undergone later alterations, probably in the 12th century.
These baths were supplied with water from the spring of the Magdalena - as were the baths known as baños del toro or baños del naranjo.
Following the Christian conquest of the city by Ferdinand III in 1246, the baths remained in use for a while until they were repurposed as tanneries. In the 16th century Don Fernando Torres de Portugal y Mesía (1st Count of Villardompardo and 7th Viceroy of Peru) had a private palace built for himself on top of the baths, thus hiding them for centuries.
They were only definitively rediscovered by Enrique Romero de Torres [es] in 1913 during a survey of historic buildings in the city. Professor of Archaeology Manuel Gómez-Moreno visited the property 4 years later and, after studying it, proposed it as a National Monument. The site was declared a Cultural Heritage Property of Spain in 1931.
1936 saw the beginning of the first restoration work, directed by Leopoldo Torres Balbás, conservator of the Alhambra and Granada, and Jaén architect Luis Berges Martínez. But the Civil War interrupted the project. In 1970 Luis Berges Roldán, the son of Berges Martínez, was commissioned by the Directorate General of Fine Arts achieve the first complete restoration of the Arab baths. The work lasted until 1982 and was acclaimed as a success.
The association Europa Nostra awarded in 1984 the medal of honor for the restoration of these Arab baths, accomplished under the responsibility of Luis Bergés Roldán. The restoration of the Arab courtyard of the Magdalena church, together with that of the arab baths of the Palacio de Villardompardo [es], were nominated for the 1986 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
Some work was carried out from 2011 to 2013 to increase access of the facilities to disabled people (ramps and such were installed to compensate the many level differences within the premices), and to create access to two different points that had remained unaccessible.

## Description

It is one of the largest known examples of Andalusi bathhouses, and is distinguished from others by its particularly large "warm room" (bayt al-wasti).
In 2019 more original 12th century wall paintings, similar to those shown in the photo here on the right, were discovered in the vestibule preceding the cold room and in the pechina of the warm room.

## Tourism

Spain's royals visited the baths in 1990.
These days, these baños árabes are open to visitors as a historical attraction as part of the Palacio de Villardompardo [es].
In 2023 they were visited by a total of 92,714 people; the highest number of visitors was in October (11,878 visitors), followed by April (10,777 visitors), September (9,228 visitors), August (9,054 visitors), May (8,972 visitors), June (7,440 visitors), Novembre 7,212 visitors), March (6,934 visitors), January (4,155 visitors), December (5,845 visitors), July (5,795 visitors), and February (5,421 visitors).
* Entrance to the Centro Culturel Baños Árabes
* The changing room (bayt al-maslaj) with octagram-shaped skylights
* The cold room (bayt al-barid)
* The warm room (bayt al-wasti)
* The hot room (bayt al-sajun)