On 17 June 2020, within the video tour cycle of the ancient town “An open-air museum” a staff member of the Department of Guided Tours Organization of Bolgar Museum-Reserve Sabirzyanova L. I. held a video tour of the White chamber.
Famous White chamber celebrated by artists is located to the west of the Small minaret. Well-known artists – brothers Chernetsov, A. K. Savrasov, I. I. Shishkin – painted this monumental building.
The White chamber is an example of Bulgarian buildings of XIV century built in the style of oriental bathhouses, which were prevalent in Central Asia, Crimea and Transcaucasia in medieval times. This building demonstrates the well-developed construction technology of Bulgars and high-level urban development. It was built in the 1940s of XIV century. The White chamber got its name because of the color of inner walls built of white limestone with internal back filling and covered with lime plaster.
Unfortunately, the monument was ruined in the 1960s of XIX century. According to the first description of the academician P. S. Pallas, it is possible to restore its appearance. The building consists of a heating-room, lobby, central part with four corner rooms for washing and service room with two heating stoves. There was a fountain in the middle of the central hall. The White chamber had similar to the Red chamber and Khan’s bathhouse (the Eastern chamber) underground heating system, water supply and sewage systems. Three wells located to the south and west of the building provided it with water. Used water flowed into the water-intake well in the central part of the bathhouse or flowed out through a hole in the west wall.
Bathhouses in the east including Bolgar played not only sanitary role, but served as a place of rest where people had business conversations and concluded trade agreements.
One of the first archaeological research in Bolgar is connected with the White chamber. In 1887, I. I. Vashchuk and V. V. Glinskiy held excavations of the monument. The bathhouse was also researched in 1979-1983. After completion of archaeological work, the building was conserved.
Because of the video tours, visitors of the museum-reserve have an opportunity to see examples of medieval architecture and plunge into the history of ancient town of Bolgar.

СМОТРЕТЬ ВИДЕО

 
Share on social networks