When did the first bathhouse appear? The curious history of the Russian bathhouse. The Russian bathhouse conquered Europe

Favorite tradition of every Russian

Russian black bath

For Russian people, the bathhouse has always been and is not just a place where one can take hygiene procedures and cleanse one’s body of impurities, but a special, almost sacred structure, where cleansing occurs not only on the physical, but also on the spiritual level. It’s not without reason that those who visited the bathhouse, describing their own feelings, say:

How he was born again, became 10 years younger and cleansed his body and soul.

The concept of a Russian bath, the history of its appearance

A Russian bathhouse is a specially equipped room that is designed for water hygiene and thermal procedures for the purpose of prevention and healing of the entire body.

Today it is difficult to judge what prompted ancient man to the idea of ​​creating a bathhouse. Perhaps these were random drops that fell on a hot fireplace and created small clouds of steam. Perhaps this discovery was made intentionally, and the person immediately appreciated the power of steam. But the fact that the culture of steam baths has been known to mankind for a very long time is confirmed by numerous archaeological excavations and written sources.

So, according to the ancient Greek chronicler Herodotus, The first bathhouse appeared in the era of tribal communities. And having visited back in the 5th century. BC. the territory of the tribes inhabiting the Northern Black Sea region, he described in detail the bathhouse, which resembled a hut-hut, with a vat installed in it, into which red-hot stones were thrown.

Unwashed Europe and clean Russia

Later sources indicate that the bath culture existed in Ancient Rome, whose rulers spread it to the conquered territories of Western Europe. However, after the fall of the Roman Empire in Western Europe They forgot both the bathhouse and ablution as such. There was a ban on bath culture, which was explained, among other things, by widespread deforestation and, as a consequence, a shortage of firewood. After all, in order to build a good bathhouse and heat it well, it is necessary to cut down a lot of trees. Medieval Catholic ethics also played a certain role, which taught that nudity of the body, even for washing, was sinful.

The decline in hygienic requirements led to the fact that Europe for many centuries was mired not only in its own sewage, but also in diseases. Monstrous epidemics of cholera and plague only for the period from 1347 to 1350. killed more than 25,000,000 Europeans!

Bath culture in the West European countries was completely forgotten, as evidenced by numerous written sources. Thus, according to Queen Isabella of Castile of Spain, she washed herself only twice in her life: when she was born and when she got married. An equally sad fate befell King Philip II of Spain, who died in terrible agony, consumed by scabies and gout. Scabies finally tormented and brought Pope Clement VII to the grave, while his predecessor Clement V died of dysentery, which he contracted because he never washed his hands. It is no coincidence, by the way, already in the 19th and 20th centuries, dysentery began to be called “the disease of dirty hands”.

Around the same period, Russian ambassadors regularly reported to Moscow that the king of France stinks unbearably, and one of the French princesses was simply eaten lice, which Catholic Church called God's pearls, thereby justifying their senseless ban on baths and the culture of accepting basic hygiene procedures.

No less curious and at the same time repulsive are the archaeological finds of medieval Europe, which today can be seen in museums around the world. Eloquently testifying to the widespread filth, stench and uncleanliness, exhibits are on display for visitors - scratchers, flea traps and saucers for crushing fleas, which were placed directly on the dining table.

Today it has already been proven that French perfumers invented perfumes not in order to smell better, but in order to simply hide the smell of a body unwashed for years under the fragrance of floral aromas.

And all that remains is to sympathize with the daughter of the Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise, - Anna, who, after marrying the French king Henry I wrote to my father at home, saying:

Why did I anger you so much, and why do you hate me so much that you sent me to this dirty France, where I can’t even really wash myself?!

But what about Rus'?

And in Rus' the bathhouse has always existed, at least according to the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea, which back in the 500s. wrote that the culture of ablution accompanies the ancient Slavs throughout their lives.

According to ancient descriptions, the bathhouse was a log structure with a fireplace, on the hot coals of which water was poured from time to time, which turned into steam. According to popular beliefs, the guardian of the bathhouse and its soul is the bannik - a completely naked old man, whose body is covered with broom leaves. Bannik was supposed to be cajoled from time to time by treating him to bread and salt, which once again emphasizes the respectful attitude of the Slavs towards the bathhouse itself and its “essence”, which they literally idolized.

Appearing on the territory of Rus' back in the days of paganism, when people worshiped the cult of fire and water, both the bathhouse and the hearth were deeply revered by the Slavs, as researchers of Russian life note in their works I. Zabelin And A. Afanasyev. The bathhouse was not just a place where one could cleanse one’s body of dirt and take hygienic procedures, but also a kind of medical and preventive institution where people of the ancient medical specialty could put any sick person back on his feet.

In turn, the chronicles of the X–XIII centuries. indicate the ubiquity of the bathhouse Eastern Slavs, starting from the 5th–6th centuries, when it was affectionately called movnitsa, mov, mylnya and vlaznya. And even with the baptism of Rus', when the church began an active struggle against folk healers and all sorts of superstitions, the bathhouse did not cease to exist, but only strengthened its influence, as it became a place for mandatory visiting before performing the most important church rituals - baptism, wedding, communion and other things. .

“Heat my bathhouse in white!”

The white bathhouse, which V. Vysotsky sings about in his song, appeared in Rus' much later than the black bathhouse, gradually displacing the latter. At first, the Slavs built baths without a chimney, in black style, and a periodically opening door was used as natural ventilation. In a black bathhouse, smoke does not go into the chimney, but into the bathhouse itself, from where it exits through open door, as well as through a special hole in the ceiling or wall (the so-called “pipe”). After the firebox is finished and the coals have completely burned out, the door is closed, the chimney is plugged, and the shelves, benches and floor are washed generously with water to remove soot and the bath is kept for about 15 minutes before use so that it dries and gains heat. Then the remaining coals are raked out, and the first steam is released so that it carries away the soot from the stones. After that you can steam. A black sauna is more difficult to heat and cannot be heated during washing (like a white sauna), but due to the fact that the smoke eats up all the previous odors, a black sauna has its own charm, unattainable in a white sauna.

Later they began to build white baths, where the source of heat and steam was a stove-heater with a chimney.

In addition, at that time there was another interesting and unusual way steam directly in a Russian oven. To do this, it was carefully heated and the bottom was covered with straw. Then a person climbed inside the oven, taking with him water, beer or kvass, which he poured over the hot walls of the hearth and took a steam bath, after which he came out and doused himself with cold water. Even the infirm and old people did not deny themselves such an unusual pleasure, who were simply pushed into the oven on a special board, and then climbed healthy man, to wash and steam the weak, as expected.

A bathhouse for a Russian is more than love!

The bathhouse accompanied every Russian person from birth to death. In no other culture in the world has it become as widespread as in Rus', where visiting it was elevated to an obligatory cult and had to occur regularly.

Not a single celebration could take place without it, and when meeting even a random guest, the owner first of all invited him to visit the bathhouse, and then taste the treat and spend the night. It is no coincidence that in Russian fairy tales, in addition to shelter and dinner, travelers are always offered a bathhouse.

Hen and stag parties, as they would say today, necessarily ended with a visit to the bathhouse, and the young people themselves, having become spouses, were obliged to take it regularly, every time after marital intimacy, if they went to church the next morning. It was necessary to go to the bathhouse with almost any ailment, especially if it was a cold, runny nose, cough and joint diseases.

The therapeutic effect of this simple and pleasant procedure is comparable to the strongest effect on the entire human body. When every cell of the body receives an unimaginable charge of energy, forcing it to work in a new way, thereby restarting the natural processes of regeneration and self-renewal. And alternating high temperatures with cold, when after visiting the bathhouse it is customary to jump into the snow, an ice hole, into a river, or simply douse yourself with ice water - this is the best way to harden and strengthen the immune system.

As for the special love of Russians for the bathhouse, it was embodied not only in folklore, but also reflected in historical documents. Thus, the Russian historian and researcher of the customs and life of the Russian people N.I. Kostomarov repeatedly notes in his works that people went to the bathhouse very often in order to wash themselves, heal, and just for fun. According to him, for a Russian person, visiting a bathhouse is a natural need and a kind of ritual, which neither adults, nor children, nor rich people, nor poor people can violate.

In turn, foreigners who visited Rus' were surprised to note the habit of the Russian people to wash themselves very often and for a long time, which they had not encountered either in their homeland or in other countries. In fact, as a rule, we washed once a week, on Saturdays. But for foreigners who almost never washed, it seemed “very often.” For example, the German traveler Adam Olearius once wrote that in Russia it is impossible to find a single city or even a poor village where there is no bathhouse. They are simply here at every turn, and they are visited at every opportunity, especially during periods of ill health. And as if to summarize, in his writings he noted that perhaps such a love for the bathhouse is not without practical meaning, and that is why the Russian people themselves are so strong in spirit and healthy.

As for Europe, for the revival of the custom of steaming and washing regularly, it should be grateful to Peter I and the Russian soldiers, who, terrifying the same French and Dutch, steamed in the built a quick fix bathhouse, and then jumped into ice water, despite the frost reigning outside. And the order given in 1718 by Peter I to build a bathhouse on the banks of the Seine completely horrified Parisians, and the construction process itself attracted onlookers from all corners of Paris.

Instead of a conclusion

According to many researchers of the culture and life of the Russian people, the secret of the Russian bath is simple: it cleanses and heals at the same time. And the architectural design of the building itself is simple and consists of an ordinary room with a stove-stove, which allows a person of any income and position to have it.

As for the special love for the bathhouse and the popularity of the bathhouse ritual throughout history, this once again emphasizes the desire of every Russian person for cleanliness, neatness, health, clarity and decency. The bathhouse tradition, despite the fact that outwardly it remains an everyday phenomenon, is important element culture, which is reverently preserved, passed down from generation to generation, and remains an important sign of belonging to the Russian people. Thus, as long as the Russian people exist, the bathhouse will exist.

Since ancient times, people have visited the bathhouse in order to maintain hygiene and improve the health of their body. But today it is difficult to find specific facts about what prompted ancient people to create a bathhouse. Maybe it was a drop that fell on a hot stove and turned into a small ball of steam. Or maybe it was a thoughtful idea of ​​ancient scientists. But regardless of this, people have known about the steam room since ancient times, as evidenced by archaeological finds.

At all times, the bathhouse was not a banal place for bathing for Russian people, but a sacred place where both body and soul were cleansed. After all, the spiritual state for the Russian people is more important than physical form. People who visited the steam room for the first time were delighted with the sensations they received and claimed that they were born again, several years younger in body and soul.

The first mention of a Russian bath

The first steam rooms began to appear in ancient Greece. But even in those distant times, their main purpose was not the banal acceptance water procedures. For the Greeks, the bathhouse was a place where they spent useful time free time. Here people relaxed and socialized with friends and even exercised. The ancient bathhouse was somewhat reminiscent of a club of people with similar interests. But even then people noticed the unique healing and preventive properties of the steam room. And the bathhouse got its name for a reason. Translated from ancient Greek, the word “bath” is interpreted as “expulsion of pain and sadness.”

The history of the emergence of the Russian bath in Rus' began later than in European countries. But our people used it not only for washing. From time immemorial, it was a place where various medical procedures were carried out that filled a person with health and good spirit. According to historical data, clergy were engaged in healing in Rus', and this prompted Grand Duke Vladimir to issue a decree transferring the bathhouse into the ownership of the church.

What was the first Russian steam room like?

The history of the appearance of the village bathhouse began with a small and very low wooden building, which quickly heats up and retains heat inside for a long time. Partially the walls of the steam room sank underground or were crumbled with soil. This helped keep the room warm for quite a long time without flooding.

In the construction of the first baths, the most accessible and cheapest material at that time was used - wood. Typically, birch or linden logs were used, which have a pleasant aroma and are resistant to moisture. The construction of a structurally simple wooden structure was carried out by experienced carpenters who passed on the secrets to their children. And it turned into family tradition. The very first “black bath” had the simplest design, and consisted of two separate rooms.

The washing-steam room was the main one and a firebox was built in it, where on one side there was a water tank, and on the other, wild stones were laid out, which, after heating, were the main heat source. The steam room was equipped with special equipment and had the following features:

1. A mandatory attribute of the steam room was a shelf - a long bench made of wood, which was placed opposite the stove next to the wall. It served as a lounger on which a person sat while he was steaming. Benches for bath equipment were installed in the steam room. They were made of wood, and usually it was linden or birch.
2. Copper or metal basins, various ladles, washcloths made of natural plant materials, brooms and other bath utensils were used as bath equipment. The detergent was usually ash or liquid soap. In the corner there was always a tub made of wood, which was filled with cold, clean water.
3. In the corners of the room there were always hanging bunches of medicinal herbs that emitted a pleasant aroma. Usually it was thyme, mint and other herbs. Plus, the herbs were used as soft brooms, which were used for healing massage.

Additionally, a dressing room was set up in the bathhouse - a small room where people left their clothes and other things that should not be wet. Here we caught our breath after taking water procedures. A vat filled with kvass, beer or another native Russian drink was installed in the dressing room, without which a visit to the bathhouse would lose its meaning. Kvass was used not only for drinking, but also poured onto stones or brooms steamed in it. For convenience, coarse felt material or hay was always spread on the floor in the dressing room.

What was the difference between a white bathhouse and a black bathhouse?

The creation of the Russian white bath in Rus' occurred later than the black steam bath, but thanks to its convenience, it gradually replaced its predecessor. The first steam rooms did not have a chimney through which smoke was exhausted, but Fresh air launched through a periodically opening door. In such a steam room, smoke accumulated inside the room, which created a lot of trouble. Later, a white bathhouse appeared, where a heater equipped with a chimney to remove waste gases from the combustion of wood acted as a heat source.

To heat a black bath, people had to do a lot of unpleasant things:

• after finishing the fire in the bathhouse, the door was closed, and the floor was washed from soot with water;
• Before using it for its intended purpose, the room had to be kept for at least a quarter of an hour so that it would dry out and gain heat;
• then they removed the remaining coals and released the first steam, which washed away the soot from the heater, and then moved on to water procedures.

The bathhouse, in black terms, is very uncomfortable in the firebox and it will not be possible to heat it while washing. But the acrid smoke eliminates any smell from previous visitors, which cannot be achieved in modern steam rooms. This feature was very loved and appreciated by our ancestors.

In addition to the black bath, in those ancient times there was another interesting way to steam directly in the Russian stove, which was in every village house. The stove was heated thoroughly, and straw was spread on the bottom. After this, the man climbed inside, taking with him a basin of water, which was poured over the hot stove walls. After taking a steam bath, the person came out and doused himself with ice water. Even elderly people could afford such a strange pleasure, who were pushed inside the stove on a specially prepared board.

Bathhouse is a way of life and a tribute to traditions

The history and traditions of the Russian bathhouse are a way of life that accompanied Russian people from the day of their birth to the day of their death. No other World culture did not take a bath, as they did in Rus'. It became an obligatory cult, which was carried out at regular intervals.

1. Not a single solemn event took place without a bathhouse. A random guest in the house, first of all invited by the owner to the steam room and then to the table. This tradition was even reflected in Russian folk tales and ancient chronicles.
2. Any bachelorette or bachelor party never passed without a visit to the steam room. And even after the legalization of relations, married couples were required to take water procedures every time they had marital intimacy, especially before attending church.
3. The bathhouse was visited by people with various illnesses, especially colds, runny nose, cough or joint problems. The therapeutic effect of a seemingly simple procedure had a powerful effect on the human body, expelling any illness.
4. Regular visits to the steam room were an excellent preventative measure to prevent various types of diseases. In the steam room, all cells of the human body were charged with energy, which forced them to function in a new way, starting the regeneration process. And thanks to the sharp change from high to low temperature, when immediately after the steam room people dived into an ice hole or into the snow, the body was hardened and the immune system improved.

The history of the origin of the Russian bath in Russia is reflected in folk art and documented in chronicles. Another great Russian historian engaged in the study of the customs and traditions of the peoples of ancient Rus' - N.I. Kostomarov wrote many times in his written works that people went to the steam room every day not to take a steam bath or improve their health, but for their own pleasure. He also wrote that steaming in a steam room for the Russian people is an original ritual that has never been violated by either children or adults.

The Russian bathhouse conquered Europe

Peter the Great contributed to the wide spread of the tradition of steaming in Rus'. He issued a decree that exempted the owners of the steam room from paying duties. During the reign of Peter the Great, a huge number of public Russian baths appeared in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where people gathered for a pleasant pastime. They were intended for Merchants, intelligentsia and nobility. Today in Moscow the unique Sandunov steam room, more than two centuries old, has been preserved.

Foreigners visiting ancient Rus', noted with amazement that Russians are accustomed to washing themselves frequently, which is not typical for the peoples of other countries. In reality, there was a tradition of washing every week on Saturday. But foreigners, who rarely took water procedures, believed that Russians visited the steam room all the time. Famous German traveler it was written that in Russia there is not a single populated area, be it Big city or a small village where there is no bathhouse.

In European countries, the custom of steaming began to be revived thanks to Peter the Great and his army, which terrified the French by the fact that the soldiers steamed in the bathhouse, after which they dived into the ice hole, despite the fact that they were standing on the street severe frost. And when in 1718 Peter the Great gave the order to build the first steam room on the banks of the luxurious Seine River, the Parisians were simply horrified. And the construction of the bathhouse itself aroused the interest of onlookers who came to gawk at this miracle.

What is the secret of the popularity of the Russian bath?

According to most researchers Russian history and its traditions, the secret of the bath is very simple: it cleanses the spirit and body, filling them with pure thoughts and health. And the architecture of the simple structure is a standard room made of wood, which houses a stove-stove, which allows people with any level of income, both a rich nobleman and a simple poor farmer, to have a steam room.

Considering the special attachment to the bathhouse and the demand for the ritual of steaming throughout history, we can confidently say that Russians strived to be clean, neat, healthy and with a clear mind. And the bathhouse helped them with this. The tradition of going to the bathhouse resembles a simple everyday phenomenon and at the same time is a culture and even a way of life of Russian people. This custom has been and will continue to be passed on from generation to generation, remaining a sign of belonging to the Russian people.

The emergence of baths in Rus' dates back to approximately the same period as the formation of the Slavs itself. There was no written language yet, but in oral folk art they already mentioned its healing power. After all, here the two most powerful natural elements - fire and water - merged together, and the ancient Slavs, who, as is known, were pagans, combining forces, attracted them to their side and thus took over part of their power. The bathhouse was also considered the personification of hospitality and home.

Remember Russian fairy tales: in them, Ivanushka demanded that Baba Yaga first steam him in a bathhouse, feed him, give him something to drink and put him to bed, and then carry on conversations.

Mention in written sources dates back to the 10th century. In the “Tale of Bygone Years” it was said about the Slavic baths: “I saw a marvel in the Slavic land... I saw wooden baths, and they would heat them up very much, and they would undress and be naked, and they would douse themselves with leather kvass, and they would lift up young rods and beat them
themselves, and they will finish themselves off so much that they barely crawl out, barely alive, and douse themselves with cold water, and only then will they come to life. And they do this constantly, not tormented by anyone, but tormenting themselves, and then they perform ablution for themselves, and not torment.” And indeed, the Russian bath cannot be compared with either European or Asian baths.

It, unlike them, has a much stronger effect on a person. And the indispensable attribute - a birch broom - whips the hot bodies in such a way that to foreigners it resembles torture. In the steam room, under the blows of the brooms, it seemed to them that “their death had come and was standing on the threshold.” But after the bathhouse, foreigners noted that they felt great. AND the glory of the Russian healing bath spread throughout the world.

In Rus', almost every house had a bathhouse. They heated themselves only once a week, on Saturdays, and therefore Saturdays were considered bath days, and they did not work on these days. But large public baths were especially valued, where people went not only for washing, but for steam and relaxation, because large steam rooms create a completely unique and stunning effect.

It is interesting that in the 15th-17th centuries, washing together between men and women was practiced. In principle, this was also the case in Europe at that time, but foreigners were surprised by the freedom of morals and relationships during washing. In their general opinion, the Russians were completely devoid of false modesty. Families came to the bathhouse, with
children. Here, in the common room, there were also “washers” - girls prostitute. By the way, such amusements shocked even the
Casanova! And only under Catherine the Great, by a Senate decree, it was forbidden for men to wash together with women, and children over 7 years old were asked to be taken to their own department - based on gender.

Bath also played important role not only in matters of hygiene, but also in various rituals. Not a single important event took place without her. family life. On the eve of the wedding, the bridesmaids always took a steam bath, and the bride and groom were sent here on the second day of the wedding. It was believed that this was supposed to provide them with a happy life together and numerous offspring. In villages, women often gave birth in a bathhouse. Even at the wake there was a place for a bathhouse. Friends of the deceased who took part in the funeral came here after the funeral and on the forties. Sometimes a bath broom was left on the grave of the deceased: this was supposed to symbolize the cleansing of his soul before God.

Types of Russian baths

• “In black” are the very first baths. They had an open fire that warmed the entire room. And the smoke came out through a door or an vent in the ceiling. Usually there was also a heater made of pellet boulders and a boiler for hot water.
• “In white” - such a bathhouse necessarily had a stove with a container for heating water. Of course, it was much easier and more convenient to wash in it. By the way, modern individual baths also have this design.
• A bathhouse inside a stove (the stove mouths in ancient Russian houses had very wide arches: half a meter high and one and a half meters deep). In this case, the oven
  was heated, water was heated in cast iron. After the firebox, the ash was removed, straw was poured in, and those who wanted to wash themselves climbed into the stove, where they could even gently steam themselves with a broom.

And finally, let's talk about the usefulness of the Russian bath:

• under the influence of bath procedures, resistance to various colds increases and the body hardens;
• activating the activity of the sweat and sebaceous glands helps remove toxins from our body, and the skin is also perfectly cleansed;
• increased activity of the heart and lungs while visiting the bathhouse has a training effect and promotes their endurance;
• staying in a steam room helps effective relaxation muscles and restoration of performance.

Today, almost everyone can become the owner of their own bathhouse, which is both modern and practical on the one hand, and traditional healing, on the other hand. To do this, you only need some investment to actually buy this bathhouse. On the CIS market today you can find real professionals in this business who will make you a log bathhouse of excellent quality, in compliance with all rules and regulations, and in an extremely short time. And after just a short period of time, you will be able to enjoy the magical effect of a real Russian bath on your body.

Advice for beginner vapers

Before visiting the steam room, do not wet your hair. Dry hair protects the head from overheating and improves the feeling of high temperature. You can put on a wool or felt cap and wet it with cold water from time to time.

It is not allowed to enter the steam room while lathered, much less wash there with soap.

A birch broom will fill the steam room with a pleasant aroma, and “treating” the body with a broom will have a beneficial massaging effect and enhance the effect of hot steam.

If you decide to douse yourself with cold water, which is effective means for hardening, do not forget that in hardening it is important
principle of gradualism. Start with cool water and gradually move to ice water.

Pregnant women and small children should not visit the steam room. The procedure is contraindicated for a number of diseases and even for mild ailments accompanied by a slight increase in body temperature. You should not go to the bathhouse after a heavy meal, and especially on an empty stomach.

Subject to these rules, the bathhouse will bring undoubted health benefits. So enjoy yourselves!

22.01.2016

I think that every person living in Russia will be very interested in listening to the history of the Russian bathhouse. After all, we go to it, but we don’t know where this tradition came from, who brought it to us. In this article we will try to tell you about this.

The Russian bath originated from very ancient times. Herodotus himself also said that the Scythians who lived in Ukraine used a bathhouse. They installed three sticks inclined towards each other, and covered this “structure” with felt. Then, they installed a vat in the middle of the resulting “room” and threw hot stones into it. Having climbed into this bathhouse, they threw hemp seed into the vat, which caused intense heat to rise.

Among all nations, the bathhouse was considered a special, sacred place. The saying that after washing in a bath it is as if you were born again goes back to ancient times. Below we will consider which peoples and countries began to introduce the bathhouse into their culture.

Certain tribes of America still use the “ancient” bathhouse to this day. That is, a cone-shaped hut was built, in the middle of which a small depression was dug. Stones heated over a fire were placed in this hole and water was sprinkled on them. Now this method is used by tourists, forwarders, geologists and others.

Procopius of Caesarea, a historian who lived in the 5th century AD, wrote that the bathhouse was an integral part of the life of the ancient Slavs. In the baths they celebrated all the celebrations, washed the child who had just been born, and in the same way escorted the deceased to the other world. At that time, the bathhouse was “built” something like this: in the corner (in the house) a hearth was built from stones, and somewhere a window was opened to allow smoke to escape, and there was also a container of water with which hot stones were sprinkled. Each person took a broom in his hands and, waving it around, attracted heat to himself. In this way, people cleansed their body and soul. The bathhouse is a combination of four elements (as the ancestors believed) - fire, water, earth and air. A person who took a steam bath became stronger and healthier. There was even an opinion that if the patient was not cured after the bath, then nothing would help him. East Slavic myths mention that the bathhouse was used by the Gods themselves.

In Russia, a steam bath in the 5th century was called mylnya or vlaznya. Already at that time people enjoyed this grace. Regardless of whether a person is rich or poor, he could afford to cleanse himself in the bathhouse. The bathhouse was a consolation from problems, evil eyes and adversity. A little later, inviting a person to the bathhouse became the basis of hospitality. To begin with, the guest was called to “cleanse himself” and only then was he treated to drinks and food.

For the first time one could read about the bathhouse in the inventories of the brilliant man monk Nestor the Chronicler. His “Tale of Bygone Years” says that the bathhouse was first mentioned in the 1st century AD. This happened when the Holy Apostle Andrew, after preaching the gospel teaching in Kyiv, went to Novgorod, a “real miracle” appeared before his eyes. People entered the bathhouse naked and “warmed up” there until they were the color of boiled crayfish, after which they doused themselves with water and beat each other until exhaustion with brooms. This ritual took place daily. For St. Apostle Andrew this was savagery; he commented on it like this: “people joyfully torture themselves.” Also, based on Nestor’s description, you can find out that in 906 an agreement was concluded between Russia and Byzantium, which dealt with... a bathhouse. It was stated there that upon the arrival of the Byzantine merchants they should be given water, food and allowed to steam in the bathhouse as much as they wanted. There is an interesting fact that happened in 945. After the death of Prince Igor, Princess Olga took revenge on the Drevlyans three times, and when the Drevlyan ambassadors arrived to negotiate with the princess, she ordered the bathhouse to be lit for them. The unsuspecting ambassadors were calmly washing themselves off the road when Olga’s servants locked them outside and they burned alive.

The first baths were built exclusively from logs, but in 1090 a brick bathhouse was built in the city of Pereslavl.

At that time, visitors from other countries (Germans, French), having experienced first-hand what a Russian bathhouse was, began to build similar ones in their countries. But these baths were very different from real Russian ones. Few travelers could withstand such high temperature(in some baths it could reach up to 100 degrees), and they could not imagine how Russian people took such hot air masses. Smart foreign doctors knew that steaming in a bathhouse is very useful, as a diaphoretic for the body, but since Russians steam, it’s not only not useful, but even dangerous. They argued that this caused brain and muscle tissues to relax and function worse, and it was extremely detrimental to women’s skin and youth. But even foreigners knew that the Russians had such a day - “bath”, it was a Saturday day on which it was customary to take a steam bath.

Those who did not have a bath could steam directly in the oven. They swept the floor clean, covered it with straw, and as the foreigners said about this, “they steamed so hard that the breath flew out of them.” But nevertheless, these methods are still used to this day, albeit rarely.

At that time, using the healing methods of Hippocrates, Russian healers (having learned about the benefits of the bath) began to help sick people. In the charter of Prince Red Sun (as Vladimir was popularly called) there were baths for the “infirm.” These were the first in Rus', a kind of hospital. At the beginning of the 12th century, the granddaughter of Vladimir Monomakh, the famous healer and healer Eupraxia, lived in Rus'. She, one might say, preached visiting the bathhouse. Already at the age of 15, she was wooed to the Tsarevich of Tsaregrad and moved to live with him. Having quickly studied Greek language, Eupraxia read the ancient recipes of powerful healers - Hippocrates, Asclepiad and Galen. Becoming, over time, a healer, thanks to a large number studied recipes, she preached personal hygiene. Eupraxia said about baths that they strengthen the body and spirit of a person.

The history of the Russian bathhouse is associated with many interesting events, which, like history, it would not hurt to know to contemporaries.

Regardless of who it was, the king or the commoner, everyone had to observe the “wandering” custom at that time. After spending the night together, people had to go to the bathhouse in the morning, and then bow before the images. Devout people they were afraid to go to church even a few days after spending the night together. Such people succumbed to light ridicule and jokes (after all, it is quite strange when several people stand in front of the church and do not go inside). Until the beginning of the 18th century, everyone exclusively underwent the following ritual. Before the wedding, the groom had to take a steam bath, and after the night the couple went there together. The bride's mother, on the eve of the wedding, baked bread, which was called "bannik", thus blessing the newlyweds for happy life. She wrapped this bread, two fried birds (most often chicken) and two cutlery sets in a tablecloth, sewed them up and gave them to the matchmaker. This was done so that after the newlyweds left the bathhouse, the matchmaker would treat them to this blessed lunch. People firmly believed that the bathhouse would wash away all their sins.

Every rich and poor person had a bathhouse in their home; as for the very poor, there were common bathhouses for them.

The bathhouse was the place without which not a single Russian person could imagine himself. She gave peace, pleasure, relaxation, cured illnesses, and rejuvenated the soul. It was a ritual that could not be ignored. Before entering the bathhouse itself, a person was given a radish, and in case of thirst, there was always cool kvass in the dressing room. Mint and other aromatic herbs played a very important role. Mint was put into kvass, the benches were covered with mint, dominique and other fragrant herbs. Mostly birch trees were used.

After the Russian bathhouse became common in virtually every country, different peoples made their own adjustments to it. For example, Islam correlated cleansing in the bathhouse with religious thoughts, just like that.

Now no one can reliably say where the Russian bathhouse originated. Some say it was brought by the Spartans, others think it was brought by the Arabs, but it is quite likely that the Russian bathhouse was invented by the Slavs. Why not? This assumption confirms several interesting points. Since Russians washed in bathhouses, no one had ever washed, that is, their ancestors had their own “style” in this matter. The fact that foreigners praised the Russian heritage and the fact that only after contemplating it in Rus' they began to build the same ones in their own country. Who knows, maybe the Slavic forefathers really are the founders of this wonderful ritual.

In general, anyone who had land for it could build a bathhouse. And in the middle of the 17th century, a decree was even issued on how far from a residential building a bathhouse should be built. This was done solely for safety. In home baths, both women and men washed together, without any embarrassment, but the common ones were divided into male and female halves. And only in 1734 there was a ban on the entry of men into the women's baths, and women into the men's baths.

In 1733, permission was issued to build medicinal baths. It was forbidden to keep alcoholic beverages in them. As a rule, such baths were built from logs. The art of construction was passed down from generation to generation, and people did not use any drawings or graphics. The ancestors approached the question of where to place the building very important and scrupulously. This was no less important than establishing a site for the construction of a church. The Russian bathhouse had no rooms with different temperatures, as in the Roman thorns, but they had a room with lavas of different heights, that is, the higher, the hotter.

During the time of Peter I, the chamberlain cadet Berkholz lived in St. Petersburg, who in his notes about Russia described all the charm of the Russian bathhouse and the level of service in them. Russian women knew how to do it right desired temperature how hard to “brush” with a broom, and at what point to douse with cold water.

Peter I then lived the life of a simple carpenter, and he, like other Russian people, had a bathhouse, without which he could not imagine his life. It was he who, as a result, became the first organizer health resorts in Russia, built on the basis of a bathhouse. Having visited many foreign resorts and hydropathic clinics, Peter I ordered that these healing waters be found in Russia. Thus, “marcial waters” were discovered for the first time. They got this name due to the fact that the water turned out to be ferrous, and therefore they named it in honor of the god of war - Mars. Peter I contributed to the fact that Russian baths became more common in Western Europe. He ordered the construction of baths for his soldiers in Paris and Amsterdam. And after the battle with Napoleon, baths were built in all liberated countries.

The Russian bathhouse - its history is quite interesting, and it begins to change a little with the coming to power of Peter I. At that time, “fashion” and inclination towards ancient culture began. They began to erect buildings similar to Roman houses. A replica of Roman thorns was built indoors Grand Palace in Tsarskoe Selo.

As you can find out from sources, many people liked to visit Russian baths famous personalities. Suvorov organized a “washing” for his soldiers in whatever city they were in (the main thing was that there was a Russian bathhouse there). The de general himself withstood very intense heat, after which he took on about 10 buckets of cold water. Denis Davydov often came, as did the singer and actress Sanduna. It is important that after the singer’s arrival, a type of bathhouse was named “Sandunovsky baths” in her honor. They differed from the rest in their buffet and a large number of drinks, including champagne.

In 1874, in St. Petersburg alone there were about 312 bathhouses. All of them were supplied with Neva water. These baths were divided into “trade” and “numeric”. A visit to the commercial bathhouse cost from 50 kopecks to 10 rubles, which was quite expensive, and not everyone could afford it. In the “numbered” baths the prices were more moderate, that is, they were made for poor people. They were divided into 3 classes: 1st class - 15-40 kopecks, 2nd class - 8-15 kopecks, 3rd class - 3-5 kopecks, which was, in general, available to everyone.

In order to make the process more pleasant for the “soul and body,” the Russians furnished the bathhouse with various attributes. But still, each family bathhouse differed from each other in its design, temperature conditions and approach to treating diseases.

Video about the history of the Russian bath:

In front of the broom, both couriers and oligarchs are all equal, because they walk exclusively naked.
Where exactly the first baths appeared, history is silent. But they took three paths to conquer the world. The first led from Ancient Egypt to Sparta, and then (via Rome and Byzantium) to Turkey. Turkish baths have warm floors and walls. The second bathing route is through the Russian north to the Finns, and through Siberia to America. In a Russian bath, the air itself is heated with hot steam. And the third path led from the Far East to Central Asia and Japan. Here the body is warmed with water, sawdust and stones.

1. Rome

Whether it was a bathhouse or a city, the ancient Romans built up their baths as a feast for the eyes, with ideas like gilding and painting. The largest are the Baths of Caracalla, at one time - more than two thousand naked bodies. There was also a gymnasium, a library and a cafeteria. Roman baths are generally an analogue of today's fitness clubs. There the Romans pumped their muscles with weights and played ball. The main thing is to assign a slave to the abandoned clothes, otherwise the bathhouse thieves will take everything down to the last sandal. The baths were heated by pipes with hot water: they were laid under the floor and behind the walls.
Today, the washing palaces are in ruins, and the Baths of Caracalla (or what remains of them) are under the protection of the Roman police.

The hammam is an octagonal marble room with heated floors. The ceiling must be in the shape of a dome, so that condensation does not drip onto hot bodies, but flows peacefully down the walls. There are hot flat stones on the floor, on which it is convenient to lay out tired bodies. Trampling someone underfoot is a common thing here: this is how mustachioed bathhouse attendants give a soapy massage.
On the women's side, the girls consume sherbet and smear themselves with rose oil. Once upon a time, Turkish women here rubbed their legs, armpits and private parts with arsenic ointment to get rid of excess curls. Others even treated the ears and nasal cavity. Of course, there is competition in harems! Virgins had a special status: only they could steam naked, the rest wore thin clothes that reached the floor.
There is a prominent Turkish bath in Istanbul, called Cagaloglu, in operation since 1741. Once upon a time, Turkish sultans steamed here, and now they even make movies. For example, the epic about Indiana Jones.

The city of baths is about Budapest. Right in the middle of the capital there are thermal springs, which would be a sin not to convert into baths. So the Hungarians chose not to sin: during the time of Turkish rule in the 17th century, they built the famous Cesar, Kiraly and Rudas. Glass roofs, intricate mosaics and wave pools, but the most precious thing is the water. In 1937, at the Bathing Congress, Budapest was named an international city of therapeutic water treatments. Today there are about 20 thermal baths in the capital.
In the bathhouse called Szechenyi you can accommodate a hundred people - and all of the royal family. Because in the middle of Budapest, in a city park, a natural palace was built for baths. Here is the hottest spring in Europe, 77 degrees Celsius. Enthusiasts wash directly in the open air.
Interesting fact: under Soviet rule, Magyar women could enter the bathhouse naked, wearing only an apron with a pocket for a key. Nowadays, even in single-sex establishments they wash in

The sauna method, which was later dubbed Russian, was invented by the peoples of the Urals, combining together a wooden frame, a hearth with coals, stones and water, which is generously poured over these stones. The Russian bathhouse could be heated either white or black. The black soap house is a wooden structure without a chimney at all. The smoke escapes through the open door, and the soot settles on the walls and ceiling. It’s good to place such a hut on the bank of a river, so that from the steam room you can go straight into the water, the old-fashioned way. A white sauna for sissies is a dressing room with a samovar and bagels, a steam room with a stove, a bench and a chimney.
The most famous Russian baths “with history” are Moscow Sanduny. A true admirer of the steam room must wash at least once in the department where the last shots of Battleship Potemkin were filmed.
Until 1743, citizens of both sexes washed together in Russian baths, until a Senate decree stopped fornication

In the 50s of the last century, thrifty Germans discovered a bunch of spare parts from tanks and decided to solder electric heaters from them. This is how electric baths were invented. In order to quickly sell their goods, advertisers came up with a legend about Finnish saunas. Supposedly this is a civilized washing room without any harmful fumes for dirty brooms. Everything is dry, clean, sterile. Don't splash water in all directions - it will give you an electric shock. Inside there are decorous American soldiers in a row, not drunken bearded men under benches. But the sauna is the same Russian bathhouse, only in Finnish. Northern neighbors also revere birch branches, oak benches and a steamed glass.
The most famous sauna is the one that Finnish citizens built in the Olympic village of Berlin for the 1936 games. Alas, purgatory turned into hell under the bombs of World War II. And in Finland itself today there are more than 2 million saunas (for 5.3 million people).
Interesting fact: in neighboring Sweden, it is not the sale, but the purchase of “love” from available citizens that is considered a crime. But in Helsinki in the right saunas - please choose from. If you want, they will offer you a local beauty, but if you want, they will offer you a Russian or a cheaper Estonian.

Baba Yaga is not at all an insidious cannibal, as fairy tales teach. Calling Ivan Tsarevich into the oven, she was not going to bake pies with human flesh, but to properly wash the dirt. This is how they used to wash in Siberia: they raked out all the coals from the heater, put a basin with boiling water - and washed for health. From there, the custom of bathing in the hearth reached America. The Indians dug their baths right in the ground, and it was possible to climb into such a steam room only on all fours. Later they began to build a special wigwam on the edge of the settlement: in the middle there were hot coals, and around them red-cheeked Indians whipped each other with brooms made of corn stalks. This structure was called "temazcal": there was a window on the ceiling, the walls were low, even in full height you won't get up. Therefore, the Indian bathhouse attendants were entirely hunchbacks and dwarfs.
The royal baths of the Mayan Indians can now be found in Mexico in the suburb of Cancun, the city of Chichen Itza. But you won’t be able to wash there: the city has been empty for five hundred years

Bathhouse in Japanese is called "ofuro". Instead of a traditional stove with coals and benches, there is a wooden barrel with hot sawdust. You sit in such a barrel almost up to your neck and imagine yourself as Diogenes. Instead of sawdust, you can sit in ordinary water, heated to 45 degrees. The main thing is to keep your head cold. And no soap - the fat of slaughtered animals is unsympathetic to Buddhists.
The public Japanese bathhouse is nicknamed “sento”: it’s a bit cramped for ten people in a barrel at once, so the Japanese sit side by side in the pool. And they don’t complain about the overcrowding: the sento is rather a club where exhausted men in barrels decide the fate of their homeland.
The Tokyo onsen bathhouse (with water brought from hot springs) has dozens of baths and barrels. These kegs are not filled with rum or even beer, but with live Japanese gentlemen. Simpler people go to public bathhouses, which are on every corner and are simply called “yu” - hot water.

Don't dig a hole for someone else - dig it for yourself. That's exactly how it is in Central Asia, in particular in Tajikistan, they go to the bathhouse: they bury themselves in sun-baked sand. Hardworking Tajiks scrape its special black variety from the rocks, which can be passed on to the younger generation as part of the dowry. If in the Turkish region you saw a head sticking out of the ground, you should know that this is not a bathhouse, but childish pranks. Because a person in a bath should have a cold compress on his forehead and a protective umbrella over his head. And the venerable doctor Avicenna advised his relatives to feed their heads with watermelon, so that sweat and other liquid caused by melons would go straight into the sand. Look, some cotton plant will sprout on the site of the family bathhouse. Saving!
In Uzbekistan, in the town of Nurata there is not a house, but a complete chashma. That is, “spring” in Tajik. The local chashma is a prayer house, a bathhouse and holy relics. That is why the local sand and soil are considered healing.