The collection amassed by the Hungarian József Terleczky documents baths during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The collection from Ulm, earlier displayed as Balnea - The Architecture of the Bath, gives a broader view of Europe's bath culture from the 16th to the 19th century.
The exhibition features detailed scale models of baths, as well as postcards, posters and bath tickets from places across Europe. Visitors can learn about the bath built in a grotto in St. James Park, near Paris; the Kaiser's Bath in Karlsbad, which was designed by the same office that built Budapest's Comic Theatre; the "bath boat" in the Seine; and, of course, Budapest's famous Rác Bath.
Though the exhibition only covers the period until the end of the 19th century, museum director Imre Kiss promises a future show will give an expansive view of bath culture extending to the present day.
Author: Eszter Götz / Photo: Endre Friedmann (MTI)
