Roman baths in Évora: a free ancient site inside city hall

In the lobby of the city hall (câmara municipal) in the Portuguese city of Évora, Roman baths from the early first centuries AD have survived. They were discovered by chance in 1987, and today they are one of the city's most visited sights, with free admission. But only on weekdays: from 9:00 to 17:30. They are located on Praça do Sertório.

The oldest and the youngest find

The baths have an unusual story: they are considered both one of the oldest and one of the youngest attractions in Évora. They were uncovered in 1987 together with other Roman remains, while the outdoor pool was found only in 1994. This was probably the largest public building in Roman Évora.

The structure dates from between the 1st and 3rd centuries. The baths are small but, according to the author of the original article, definitely worth a visit. Besides them, you can see various exhibitions inside the city hall.

How the baths worked

The complex covered roughly 250–300 square metres. People did not just bathe here but also met, relaxed and made deals, and the water was supplied by an aqueduct. The main parts are the laconicum, the praefurnium and the natatio.

The laconicum is a round room with a ribbed star-shaped vault and marble cladding, where people took hot and steam baths, making it the warmest room. In the centre stood a large round pool 9 metres in diameter, entered by three steps and surrounded by a heating system, the hypocaust.

The praefurnium has been only partly excavated. A furnace is visible there, in which wood was burned to produce hot air for heating the laconicum; it also warmed the water and air in other rooms. The natatio is a rectangular open-air pool surrounded by columns: warm water reached it from the east side through a special aqueduct. This pool is currently closed to visitors.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by turistika.cz