Station: [13] Apartment 3

In around 1875, a single-storey extension was added to the end of the east wing. A bath house was built on a covered area that had probably been used for storage purposes. The bath house was originally open and had two steps leading into the courtyard.

So the solid wooden column, which was uncovered during the refurbishment, would originally have been free-standing. There was probably a partition wall beyond, and behind that stood a bathtub, which was supplied with hot water from a small room below.

The entire bath house area had a floor made of sandstone slabs. From there, a spiral staircase led down into a third vaulted cellar, built beneath the east wing by Bader in 1860 – and up to the first floor.

To date, there has been no conclusive research into when bath house was closed off at the front and turned into a proper living space. As the last survivor of that bathing culture, the previously free-standing column is encased in glass, which makes it quite eye-catching.

All depictions: © Palais Wunderlich