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Origin and history

The Bath Montaigne, located in Plombières-les-Bains in the Vosges, is a thermal establishment whose first records date back to 1821. On that date, he served as an annex to the Bain des Dames. This rectangular building is built of multicolored Vosges sandstone stone, a typical material of the region. Its basement, conceived as a hypocauste, retains a structure partitioned by slabs of vertical sandstone, dividing space into four vessels of three spans. These elements support the pavement of the ground floor, where traces of Roman concrete are still observed in elevation.

The reconstruction of the Bain Montaigne in 1843, led by architect Nicolas Grilllot, marks a key step in its history. The project modernizes the establishment while preserving ancient elements, such as the two circular sandstone basins, now coated with marble, located in the first and third spans of the left ship. These basins, as well as the facades, roofs and the "waterspoon" hall, have been protected as historical monuments since 2001. The building is separated from the Bain Stanislas by the passage of the Ladies, highlighting its integration into a wider thermal complex.

The Bain Montaigne illustrates the importance of thermal baths in the social and medical life of the 19th century in Lorraine. Thermal resorts such as Plumbières-les-Bains attracted an easy clientele who came to enjoy the supposed virtues of the waters, in an architectural setting combining Roman heritage and contemporary innovations. The protection of the monument in 2001 bears witness to its heritage value, both for its history and for its technical characteristics, such as the hypocauste or the use of Vosges sandstone. Today, it remains a symbol of the French thermal heritage, linked to the rise of the water cities under the influence of European elites.

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