Search

The Bibliothèque nationale de France’s Department of Prints and Photography holds two blueprints of the Barèges baths, dated August 1687 and October 1721. They represent a rare trace of the materiality and use of mineral and medicinal waters in the early 18th century. These blueprints illustrate how the baths functioned, focusing on the hydraulic system used to distribute water from the spring, the bathing structures used for medical treatments (showers, baths) and the circulation between the different areas. The plans also show how small the first infrastructures were compared to the large establishments built from the second half of the 18th century onwards.