History and origins

Finnish saunas, as we know them today, originated from the smoke sauna . They first started appearing in the Scandinavian and Baltic area. Over time, other types of saunas and spas appeared in the Americas, Greece, Rome, Russia, Turkey and several parts of Asia.

Early sauna history

The sauna story begins during the stone age, where first signs of the sauna have been found. The first saunas were pits dug into the earth, covered by animal skins. Fire pits were created outside the "sauna" and rocks heated in it. Once heated, they were taken into the animal skin covered pits in the ground and the show could begin. The stones in the enclosed area made the temperature rise. Water was thrown onto the rocks, causing an outburst of humidity.

It has been theoretisized in an Estonian book titled "Saun", that the reason behind this is that it is much easier to heat up air than water. One would have had to create something bucket-like and drag it along whereever they went. A sauna was a much easier way to cleanse. Evidence of such saunas have been found all over the Northern hemisphere. Whereever a natural cavern or pit could be found in the earth or created with ease, such a sauna could be built in no time.

In the Americas, native people also used saunas as a cleansing establishment, but there it had a much more ritual role. Mixtures were made from herbs with healing properties. These were then placed onto the hot stones. The steam that rose from it, had a range of other healing properties in addition to the usual positive effects.

 

Ancient sauna culture

The Greeks learnt about sauna on their travels to the eastern parts of the Mediterranean. Herodotos saw tribes in Eastern Europe rolling hot stones into small tents, where they went to sweat. The Greeks adopted it, refined it and and passed their knowledge to Rome. In Greece and Rome the sauna is somewhat different from the Finnish sauna , the Russian banya , the traditional smoke sauna and those that native americans used.

In Rome and Greek, the sauna is not the only main event, but part of a bigger complex that included sporting areas, pools, eating areas, massage etc. The Roman Caesar Caracalla created terms of unheard size (for up to 6000 persons), hoping to win the minds and hearts of the people.

In Eastern Rome, the sauna culture withstood the effects of time and change. From there, sauna made its way to Arabs, who spread the hamman to eastern countries, Northern Africa and Spain. The hamman is a place of relaxation, unlike the Roman and Greek establishments that were mostly for sporting.

 

Middle Ages

The sauna was used in the middle ages. Some records indicate that it was even popular, but most likely the sauna was a realm for the wealthy. There are records that indicate that in Rostock, the maximum amount of money that could be spent for decorating a bath-robe, was set by law to ban the ridicule and spending of "outdoing your neighbour". Sauna accessories were beautifully and expensively decorated and stealing occurred.

The Middle Ages were a time of going backwards in many regards - and so did the sauna culture during that time. The religious leaders exercised opression and nonsense. Sauna, bathing, cleansing and washing were not looked at positively.

The church forbid washing at certain times altogether. Not washing oneself was heavily endorsed as christian behaviour. During the Baroque age, even doctors started saying that washing oneself with water was bad for health. The bad effects and deterioating skin was covered up by scents, make-up and plaster. Only after the French revolution, sense started returning to people.

Sauna today

Sauna is spreading fast these days and its excellent qualities and healing properties are widely recognized. There are areas where saunas are very common - in Finland, Estonia, other Baltic countries, Scandinavia, Europe. Saunas are gaining ground in other areas fast. 

Perhaps the biggest push the sauna got during the last century, was during the 1924 Olympics in Paris. In the same day, during running events, the two Finns brought home two gold and silver medals by a huge stretch. There was blistering heat and only a quarter of all runners finished the race. When searching for the reasons behind this success, all eyes turned to the sauna. During the next Olympic games, the Finns even constructed a sauna in the Olympic village.

The future

Steambaths of the world have had their popularity ups and downs. In terms of raw numbers we are on top of the curve right now. At no point in the history have there been so many saunas in the world. Where do saunas go to from there? 

At a company karting event, I invited Gareth and all to continue our discussion in the sauna. "What is a sauna? Is it just another place where you drink?" was the candid question I got in reply. It provoked smiles. There are many misconceptions, but that one I had not heard before.

In Finland, they say, there are more saunas than cars. Over here it's much the same. But it made me remember that there are places where saunas do not exist at all. I have had many friends and colleagues confirm this. 

This and the curiosity that people new to the sauna exhibit leads me to believe that the future is bright. There is room and willingness to expand.

What kind of a steambath will come out on top seems predictable. The so-called Finnish sauna has a firm lead that will continue. As urbanizations continues, other saunas that can fit onto a small area like infrared and the steam will prosper as well.