History and legends of the Sanduny baths

The history of the family of Lisa and Sila Sandunov is full of love and romance. We can say that these are the real Romeo and Juliet of the Russian Empire.

But even their history is overshadowed by mysterious legends and misfortunes.

Elizabeth was an orphan and was brought up in a theater school. One legend says that she met Catherine II around the 1760s at the Hermitage Theatre. After the performance, the Empress was amazed at the performance of the young girl and invited her to her box. They had a nice conversation, and Catherine II “gave” Lisa the name Uranov, in honor of the discovery of a new planet. The next gift was a diamond ring, which Lisa wore as a talisman.

But even the special attitude of Catherine II to her “goddaughter” could not save the girl from trouble.

The elderly Count Bezborodko laid eyes on Uranov. This statesman was very influential in those years – he led the entire postal service.

The count thought that he could easily win over Lisa. But he was wrong, the girl at that moment was already madly in love with Sandunov’s Power.

The Count did not leave the thought of marrying a girl, but the young actress did not hide her dislike.

“She burned, they say, with the sent eighty thousand rubles, which the count sent her as a gift, throwing them indifferently into the fireplace. The voluptuous count did not help his flattering promises of wealth and luxury; then another path was chosen – the path of oppression. Bezborodko’s side was taken by theater managers Soimonov and Khrapovitsky. The Empress began to be informed that Lizonka did not obey her superiors, that she did not study well. The Empress did not believe the denunciations of her favorite, but this did not prevent Lizonka’s enemies from continuing the campaign against her, ” wrote her biographer.

The management, bribed by the count, did everything to separate the lovers. Therefore, when the theater gave the opera “Fedul with children”, the libretto for which Catherine II herself composed, the girl played the role of Dunyasha. In the end, the girl, out of role, fell into the knees of the Empress and told her her unfortunate love story with the Force.

Catherine blessed the lovers. And the leaders were dismissed in disgrace.

They say that the empress acted so deliberately in order to show herself to the people as kind and fair. True or not, we will not know, but on February 14, 1768, Elizabeth officially became Sandunova.

The Sandunovs moved to Moscow, Lisa continued to work in the theater, and Sila became a director, but later became disillusioned with this business. The couple purchased a plot along the Neglinnaya River, and in 1808 the Sandunovsky baths opened their doors.

It was precisely such establishments that were lacking in Moscow. These were unusual baths. They were intended for the nobility, special conditions were created for them. And most importantly, in Sanduny, the premises were divided into male and female, which was not the case before. Men were strictly forbidden to enter the women’s department, only doctors and artists were allowed to do so.

Also, sanitary standards were strictly observed in the baths.

The love of the Sandunovs served as the beginning of new traditions. In the early days, Sila gave the attendant several silver bands – for special guests. They quickly gained popularity among young ladies. They believed that before the wedding it was necessary to wash in a silver bowl in Sanduny. Allegedly, Elizaveta Sandunova did the same, because her husband loves her so much.

There is another legend. Allegedly, Elizabeth felt uncomfortable in a new place. And all because of the notoriety of the Neglinnaya River.

In 1817 Muscovites decided to get rid of her. The special commission decided: “The open canal with pools, due to the insufficient flow of water in it from the accumulated sewage, which produces trouble in the air, should be covered with arches and covered.” All this happened because of people. It was said that it was because the river was polluted with garbage that it began to harbor evil. And the first to feel the destructive forces of the Neglinka were the Sandunovs. There is a version that the river cursed them because the dirty water from the baths was poured into Neglinka.

But Sila Sandunov was not worried about rumors, he firmly decided to buy land in the Kuznetsky Most area. Well, his wife decided to turn to the well-known fortuneteller Zoya at that time.

She prophesied to Elizabeth that, indeed, danger awaits her and her husband, but Lisa has some kind of talisman that protects her family.

Sila did not believe his wife’s words, tried to calm him down and continued to bother with his baths.

Since the land in the Kuznetsky Most area was expensive, the newlyweds pawned all their valuables. But, when it came to the very ring that Catherine II gave Lisa, the girl remembered the prophecy of the gypsy. She tried to persuade her husband not to pawn the empress’s gift, but Sila was adamant and the ring was pledged along with other jewels. They say that after that, Elizabeth was found dead on the banks of the Neglinnaya River.

And the guides of the Sanduny Baths say that sometimes visitors who stay up late can hear mysterious sounds or even see a dark silhouette that walks along the pool. Allegedly, this is the Power of the Sanduns, visiting their baths.

Olga Bakhareva.