The Arab Baths of Jaén (Spanish: Baños Árabes de Jaén) also known as Baño del Niño (Hamman al-Walad) are a well-preserved historic hammam (Islamic bathhouse) located in Jaén, Spain.
History
These baths were one of the five Arab baths known in Jaén They were built over a Roman bath in 1002, near the end of the Caliphate of Córdoba. 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 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 in 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 to 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 the baths, accomplished under the responsibility of Roldán. The restoration of the Arab courtyard of the Magdalena church, together with that of the Arab baths of the Palacio de Villardompardo, 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 for 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 were discovered in the vestibule preceding the cold room and on a pendentive of the warm room.
Tourism
Spain's royals visited the baths in 1990.
The baths are open to visitors as a historical attraction, the baños árabes, as part of the Palacio de Villardompardo.
In 2023, they were visited by a total of 92,714 people.