One location, many impressions
In Soviet times Tskaltubo was one of the most popular resorts in the Union: dozens of sanatoriums and bathhouses welcomed thousands of guests every year. Many of them were built in the Stalinist Empire style, with columns, arches and grand staircases. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the resort emptied, and in the 1990s families displaced from Abkhazia moved into the sanatoriums. Today some of the buildings stand abandoned and nature is slowly taking them back: ivy covers the columns and trees grow inside the halls. The best known are the Medea and Tsentrosoyuz sanatoriums and the round Bathhouse No. 8. The buildings are in poor condition, so we explore them carefully and only from safe spots. 📷 Photos: Alexey Komarov, MiSHock / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)
