Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The thermal baths of Cluny, called the thermal baths of the North in antiquity, were built between the end of the first century and the beginning of the second century under Roman domination, at the angle of the cardo and the decumanus of Lutece. Their construction is part of the urbanization of the left bank of the Seine, then booming under the Roman Empire. These baths, typical of Roman seaside complexes, combined hygiene, leisure and social life.

At their peak, the thermal baths extended over several hectares, from boulevard Saint-Germain to rue des Écoles, including areas dedicated to baths (cold, warm, warm), a palestre for physical exercises, a library and gardens. Their architecture exploited the natural slope of the Sainte-Geneviève mountain, with rooms heated by hypocauste and monumental vaults, such as the frigidarium (14.50 m high). The thermal baths suffered their first destruction in 275 during the invasions of the Franks and Alamans, marking the beginning of their decline.

In the sixth century, Merovingian King Childebert I and his Queen Ultrogothe made it a royal palace, described by Venance Fortunat as an arx celsa ("high fortress"). The Viking seats of the 9th-Xth centuries (including those of 845 and 885-887) further damaged the site. In the Middle Ages, the thermal baths were gradually integrated into Philippe Auguste's enclosure (1200-1210), their stones reused to strengthen the Parisian defences.

In 1340 the order of Cluny acquired the ruins and adorned his abbatial hotel, transforming part of the rooms into barns or stables. The frigidarium even served as remissions for the 17th century, before being occupied by artisans in the 18th century. The restoration of the thermal baths began in 1810, impulsed by the city of Paris and the architect Quatremère de Quincy, who cleared the ruins of the parasitic buildings.

Ranked historic monuments in 1862, they were associated with the museum of Cluny in 1843, becoming a major witness of ancient Lutece. Archaeological excavations (XIX-XX centuries) revealed their hydraulic system, fed by an aqueduct from Wissous, and their complex spatial organization. Today, Cluny's spas, with their unspoilt frigidarium and fragmentary mosaics, offer a trip to Gallo-Roman Paris.

Their integration into the national museum of the Middle Ages makes it possible to confront two pivotal periods: Roman Antiquity and the Middle Ages, highlighting the medieval reappropriation of ancient remains.

Future

Today, they are embedded in the Cluny Museum.

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