Attention to the building-Governments attitude towards the Fantasy Bathhouse

The Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan has listed the Fantasy Bathhouse as an architectural monument The small sign attached to the gate indicates that the monument is of local importance and is being protected by the state Press secretary of the State Service for Protection, Development and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, Fariz Huseynli, also says that "Fantasia" bathhouse is included in the register of immovable historical and cultural monuments protected by the state

In accordance with the legislation, the State Service for the Protection, Development and Restoration of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture supervises the protection of the monument, as well as the restoration and conservation works:

"But the historical monument is privately owned. In accordance with the law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the protection of historical and cultural monuments", natural and legal persons who own or use monuments conclude a protection agreement with the State Service on the protection, safety and use of those monuments Such an agreement was concluded with the owner of the Fantasia bathhouse.

The attention to the Fantasy Bathhouse has been arousen in the last months. On 2nd of May, I visited the site, however entering the building was not possible The both of the doors were locked, and the exterior of the building was surrounded with the stop tape Asking from the people neighbourhood, I tried to achieve information about the work going on in the Fantasy Bathhouse According to the neighbouring citizens words, the cleaning works had been going on inside of the Fantasy Bathhouse, but this was all the information they got about the case. In the next days, the building was surrounded with the metal fences, which were removed after few days.

In the next few days there were news on the internet about the issue, to reviel what is going on in the Fantasy Bathhouse. Declaration by the authorities of the Ministry of Culture warned the work executors that the State Service for Protection, Development and Restoration of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture was not contacted regarding any construction works to be carried out there

The area of the Fantasy Bathhouse was surrounded by metal fences in May 2022 The facilitators of the construction work were warned by cease order since the State Service was not informed. Later the formal explanation was published, explaining that the owners or users of historical monuments that wants to proceed with restoration or conservation work should initially submit an official draft of work that would be carried out in a given monument Once the project is approved, restoration and conservation work can be carried out under the close supervision of the State Service’s expert committee In the following days, metal fences were removed, and the ongoing cleaning process in the interior was paused until further notice Several news publications covered the case in the online and traditional media about the Fantasy Bathhouse.

In 2017, a restoration project of the Fantasy Bathhouse, Islam Safarli, and Mirza Ibrahimov streets was proposed by the Baku State Design Institute In the scope of the project, new four-story buildings were proposed in the surrounding of the Fantasy Bathhouse. The Fantasy Bathhouse and the surrounding buildings were acting as a complex However, the project was not realized. Instead of the proposal, a residential skyscraper in Dilara Aliyeva street was built, facing the main façade of the Fantasy Bathhouse

The new skyscrapers built in the surrounding of the Fantasy Bathhouse make the area highly dense and do not fit the site The two-story structure of the Fantasy Bathhouse gets hidden between the multi-story buildings, which also loses the silhouette of the historical settlement, Forstadt In the image below, the residential building is seen next to the Fantasy Bathhouse, which faces the main entrance of the bathhouse The dialogue between this new structure and overall surroundings is out of proportion. These buildings seem to be put here without consideration of the urban planning policies of Baku’s historical centers