No matter what learned minds say, man was, is and, most likely, will be a social being. Rare recluses are perceived by society as something special, out of the ordinary. In our province they say about such people: “Either a saint or a madman.” The most typical example is a bathhouse. Well, what kind of sensible Russian person would take the coveted procedures separately and in solitude. No. We need a solid society and cheerful company. And even if you don’t have a personal bathhouse and don’t have a bathhouse company that has been established for years, don’t despair. A shared sauna guarantees you both, and in abundance.
How it all began
No matter what some, especially patriotically minded citizens, say, Rome really gave a lot to human civilization, and a considerable part of it was really good and useful. The most typical and striking example is public baths.
Pride of the Empire
Heirs to the baths of ancient Greece, Roman baths became the center of social life of the then empire. Agrippa built the first baths and, either out of the kindness of his heart, or, on the contrary, out of exorbitant ambition, bequeathed them for free use to Roman citizens. Roman public baths of that time are a whole complex of engineering and technical structures, which even in today’s technologically advanced times evoke admiration, and, to be modest, considerable respect for Roman technical thought. Let us provide a short list of functional areas of the classical Roman baths:
- Apodyteria is a place for undressing and storing clothes while a citizen takes bath procedures;
- The palaestra is a kind of fitness area, a room for physical exercise, and in some cases for oil therapy sessions. In other cases, if the terma was central and not peripheral, a dedicated separate zone was allocated for such procedures - ailepteria;
- Tepidarium - a moderately warm room;
- Hypocaust is the internal zone of the thermal bath where the body was heated with dry warm air. A mandatory attribute of a hypocaust is a vast but shallow pool;
- The heart of the bath is the caldarium. The hottest room of the Roman baths. It is here that the hot air circulation system was designed and constructed in such a way as to ensure the most active heat exchange;
- Nearby, there is a room with a simple name that caresses the Russian ear - propnigy. Nothing reprehensible, just a steam room;
- Frigidarium - a room with a cool temperature pool.
After reading this section, we can understand two important things. The first thing is that we have greatly improved our level of proficiency in the Latin language, which can be safely reflected in various types of questionnaires. And secondly, the Romans were well aware of the importance of the body’s gradual entry into and exit from the zone of maximum temperatures. Yes, Ancient Rome was great, despite its antiquity, but what about us?
Wooden baths of Rus'
Although public baths in Rus' do not have such engineering sophistication, they can nevertheless boast of long-standing and, most importantly, very strong traditions. We responded to Roman marble, sculptures and mosaics with wood, strong, steamy steam and a waiting room that was cozy, sometimes to the very depths of the soul. The comfort, sterility and general atmosphere of the Russian bathhouse were so impressive that not only were purely hygienic procedures carried out there, they also delivered babies, nursed newborns and the sick, crushed flax, dried linen and sent on their last journey those who had left this mortal world forever.
Russian baths of that time were, first of all, family baths. Arranging a family trip to the bathhouse on a traditional bathing day was considered quite in the order of things. Sharing a bath with children was not considered shameful and was not condemned by the canonical church. At least, neither informational nor practical persecution on the part of the churchmen was undertaken against such a practice, at least at the level of official positions.
Important! At the same time, in Europe, in particular on the British Isles in the Middle Ages, the opposite practice existed: “Britain is an island in the ocean, formerly called Albion. There are salty springs in this land, and there are also hot ones, the water of which is used in hot baths, where people wash separately, according to gender and age.”
Historical practice shows that the laws of that time directly prohibited the joint washing of men and women, and the premises of public baths were strictly divided into men's and women's, or special men's or women's days were introduced. Here is the quote: “Let men go to the bathhouse together on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; women go on Monday and Wednesday. If a man enters the bathhouse or one of the premises of the bathhouse on Women’s Day, then let him pay a fine.”
In the late Middle Ages, the “Rules of the Stoglavy Council” were adopted, which directly prohibited the joint adoption of bathing procedures by men and women, which, also within Rus', were universally ignored by the common people without any special legal or other consequences.
Later, in the era of Emperor Peter the Great, foreign citizens, not wanting to take part in the “savagery and debauchery” which they imagined as a common bathhouse for men and women, organized their own bathhouse in the German settlement, in which visits by people of different sexes were separated both in time and in space. Even later, having fallen under the influence of the philosophical thoughts of her French friend Voltaire, Empress Catherine the Great issues the Charter of the Deanery, which allows free entry into the women's bathhouse exclusively for boys under 7 years of age, doctors and directly the servants of this bathhouse establishment. However, the common people, committed to old traditions, spat profusely at this autocratic act.
Over time, joint baths in our domestic spaces were actively replaced by separate baths, and the Soviet ideology of educating citizens of high moral qualities played a significant role in this process, and in Europe, the processes went in the opposite direction, which was embodied in the now legendary German bath.
Features of the Russian bath
The Russian bathhouse is significantly different from the Finnish, Japanese, and Turkish ones. Peculiarities:
- Construction can be based on different designs. Standardly, the bathhouse has a dressing room, steam room, washing room or shower room. Modern structures are lined with swimming pools, lofts and recreation rooms.
- According to tradition, a heater is used for heating, which heats up to +600°C and at the same time heats the air to +100°C, but due to almost 100% humidity the heat is not felt.
- The steam room has benches located in several tiers, and the higher the tier, the hotter it is.
If you read the description of a Russian bath, it becomes clear that it differs from a hammam or Finnish sauna in its high humidity. Due to this, you can fully sweat and get rid of toxins and many diseases, the appearance of which is caused by pathogenic microorganisms.
Made in Germany
German cars, German wheat beer and the German film industry made Germany famous far beyond its borders. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, an inexperienced domestic tourist went to a German bathhouse with his eyes wide open and his mouth tightly closed, so as not to show inappropriate, in this particular case, dense lack of culture with his emotions. Men and women in a common bathhouse, for a Soviet person brought up on “Pionerskaya Zorka”, “Komsomolskaya Pravda” and the unusually heartfelt speeches of dear Leonid Ilyich, were a blow, if not to the gut, then to the heart. Unable to withstand the heartache, many of those same inexperienced tourists decided to stay there and live to the fullest, in which some succeeded. Perestroika and the market, however, have given rise to a new type of domestic citizen who looks at a German bathhouse with the same wide-open eyes, but no longer hides his emotions. In fact, the baths of Germany are a product of an open society, a strong family and, by our standards, great wealth.
A word from Experienced! For Germans, a family holiday in a sauna is as commonplace as going to a bakery for beer is for us. Excellent engineering, luxurious finishing, and unique musical accompaniment in a German bathhouse make it a desirable place for family leisure, in which no child or adult will be bored. A lot of establishments consider it their duty to include a small pleasant trifle in the package of services, for example in the form of free branded ice cream with an original recipe, but how unpleasant little things can create a good mood. The abundance of thermal springs of natural origin makes the German Baden also a very, very good place of comfort, thoughtfulness and quality, thus in which the concept of a general sauna is inferior to the concept of a family bath.
Types of Russian baths
There are two main types of these baths:
- A black sauna is a structure in which there is no chimney, and the smoke exits through the sauna doors. Soot and fumes are kept inside, which is considered the best way to disinfect. Previously, only black baths were taken, although today this method is largely a thing of the past.
- The white sauna is equipped in such a way that the smoke from the stove goes out into the smoker and, accordingly, the steam room is clean. This type of construction is used 99% of the time.
Black sauna
Which option to choose is a personal matter, but black saunas practically no longer exist.
What now
The family bathhouse is slowly but surely gaining popularity in our wide open spaces. The modern bath industry sensed the market conditions and demand for quality family vacations in time and is trying to satisfy this demand to the best of its ability, ingenuity and capabilities. Foreign experience in operating establishments of this kind is also a good help here. The trend has become so fashionable and timely that many establishments that had a reputation as a semi-gangster den with blackjack and girls of low social responsibility are in a hurry to correct their image and take the true path, which is the bathhouse for the family. In general, what is good and attractive about a family-type public bathhouse:
- Due to the specifics of the contingent, there are much fewer problems both with hired personnel and directly with visitors.
- As you know, about 60 - 65% of the profit of a bath business is not the main income, but specifically related products and services. Agree that the circulation of non-excise kvass, fruit drinks, and juices in the long term guarantees a more stable profit than beer, vodka, and cigarettes.
- Therapeutic and sports massage are now more in demand and popular than the massages that were widespread in the 90s.
- The orientation of the bathhouse business under the slogan “to the bathhouse with the whole family” guarantees communication exclusively with the relevant control and supervisory authorities, and not with the police and prosecutor’s office. Naturally, the family in this case has nothing in common with the Sicilian mafia formations.
Basic attributes of a Russian bath
A traditional Russian bathhouse is not complete without a broom. It can be made of oak, birch, willow, maple or any other tree or plant. Each broom has its own advantages.
A full-fledged bathing procedure is also impossible without high-quality stones that are placed in the steam room. They are heated by the stove and when water enters they create thick, dense steam. It is recommended to choose stones responsibly in order to benefit from the steam room. The most common are jadeite, dunite, porphyrite.
Attributes of a Russian bath
Read the blog for even more detailed and interesting information about baths and bath procedures.
