Roman baths of the ancient Odessos
The Roman baths (Thermae) in Varna dating from the second half of II century, when here was a Roman town - Odessos. The baths existed until the end of III century. The site has an area of 7000 square meters and today is located in the area between Varna streets "Khan Krum", "Tsar Kaloyan", "Knyaz Dondukov" and "Captain I rank Dobrev".
The Odessos Baths have been one of the most impressive and magnificent buildings in the eastern Roman Empire. The arch-like constructions are supposed to have been at least 20 m high. Its thick walls were built under a specific technology - on layers of stones and bricks, bound by a mixture of plaster and crumbled tiles and bricks.
The internal stairs and the arches of the doors are made of huge stone blocks and decorated with splendid mosaics, fragments of which are still visible today.
There were spacious rooms, creating a natural barrier against the cold air, before the "balestra" - a huge (840 square meters) hall where citizens of Odessos had used to discuss important things from the public life. Extremely interesting is also the heating system - the baths have a double floor and special hollows, through which the warm air could reach even the top of the baths.
Today the ancient Roman Baths of Odessos are a major historical landmark of Varna - an evidence of the wealth and importance of the city in the ancient times.
