The Jewish Community Bathhouse (Baia Comunității Evreiești) is a former public bathhouse built in 1922 on Alexandru Ioan Cuza Boulevard in central Brăila. Established by the city’s Jewish community through a donation from industrialist Lazăr Predinger, it provided modern bathing facilities for the wider population alongside a separate Jewish ritual bath.
Predinger, who owned a distillery and timber business in Brăila, initiated the project at a time when many residents lacked proper bathing facilities at home. In 1921, he donated land and 130,000 lei to the Jewish community to establish a public bathhouse that would also contain a mikveh, a pool used for ritual purification according to Jewish religious law. The community raised additional funds for construction, while Predinger’s son, architect Iancu Predinger, designed the building. Although completed in 1922, the bathhouse was officially inaugurated in June 1924 and was named after its benefactor.
The building was equipped with steam rooms, showers, individual bathtubs, hot and cold pools, changing rooms, and massage facilities. A barbershop and pedicure salon provided additional services, while electricity, running water, and modern drainage made the establishment particularly well equipped for its time. The separate mikveh allowed members of the Jewish community to observe religious purification practices.
Its broad, symmetrical facade has a monumental entrance framed by two massive columns inspired by ancient Egyptian architecture. Above them, a large arched window forms the centerpiece of the upper floor, while rows of tall windows and restrained decorative details give the building an appearance influenced by the Secession style. The original inscription identifying the Jewish community and Lazăr Predinger’s foundation can still be seen above the entrance.
In December 1940, amid the antisemitic policies of the period, the Jewish community was forced to surrender the bathhouse and its equipment to the municipality. The building subsequently operated as a municipal bathing establishment under the name Baia Românească.
