History of the bathhouse: varieties and the most interesting facts of their origin. The history of the appearance of baths and an overview of various baths from around the world

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 please. 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 a high temperature (in some baths it could reach up to 100 degrees), and they could not imagine how Russian people accepted 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, Asclepiades 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 bath has a lot to do with it interesting events, which, like history, it would do well for contemporaries to know.

Regardless of who it was, a king or a 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 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.

There was a bathhouse in the house of every rich and poor person; as for the very poor, there were public baths.

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 any country, different peoples made their own adjustments to it. For example, Islam correlated cleansing in a 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 is confirmed by several interesting moments. Since Russians washed in bathhouses, no one had ever washed, that is, their ancestors had their own “style” in this matter. The fact how foreigners praised 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. In the Russian bath there were 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 set the desired temperature correctly, how hard to “brush” with a broom, and at what point to throw cold water on them.

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 of medical 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 inclinations to ancient culture. 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 famous personalities liked to visit Russian baths. 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 the treatment of diseases.

Video about the history of the Russian bath:

The first baths in Rus'

In Rus', baths have been known since ancient times. In his chronicles, Nestor dates their appearance to the first century AD, when St. The Apostle Andrew, preaching the gospel word in Kyiv, then went to Novgorod, where he saw a miracle - those steaming in a bathhouse. According to Nestor’s description, the people steaming in the bathhouse were similar in skin color to boiled crayfish:

“...Having heated up the stove in the wooden baths, they entered there naked and doused themselves with water. Then they took a rod (a broom) and began to beat themselves, and they flogged themselves so badly that they barely came out alive. Then, having doused themselves with cold water from the head, they came to life.”

Nestor concludes in his chronicle: “Not being tormented by anyone, they tormented themselves, and did not perform ablution, but torture.”

Water procedures in the form of bathing, dousing and steaming with a broom whipping the body were widely used by Slavic tribes Ancient Rus'. From ancient chronicles we learn that the bathhouse appeared in Rus' long before the baptism of the Slavs. Some historians believe that the bathhouse was allegedly brought to Rus' by the Arabs or Spartans. Other archaeological historians suggest, and quite reasonably, that the Russian bathhouse is the Slavs’ own invention. In confirmation of the latter, there is a completely special, unlike any other, ritual of washing the Slavs.

But some researchers also claim the opposite - that the first bathhouse made its way to the North through Slavic tribes from the East. Even the ancient Greek scientist and traveler Herodotus wrote that the hermits, who had baths in the form of huts, received steam by throwing hemp seeds onto hot stones. Herodotus also mentions that the Scythians, after burying the dead, cleansed themselves with a steam bath.

Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea, who lived in the 5th century. AD writes that the bathhouse accompanied the ancient Slavs all their lives: they were washed here on their birthday, and before the wedding, and... after death.

“And they do not have baths, but make themselves a house of wood and caulk its cracks with greenish moss. A fireplace made of stones is built in one of the corners of the house, and at the very top, in the ceiling, a window is opened to allow smoke to escape. There is always a container for water in the house, which is poured over the hot fireplace, and then hot steam rises. And in everyone’s hands there is a bunch of dry branches, which, waving around the body, set the air in motion, attracting it to themselves... And then the pores on their body open and rivers of sweat flow from them, and on their faces there is joy and a smile.” . This is what one Arab traveler and scientist wrote about the ancient Slavs.

In Rus' everyone went to the bathhouse

In the chronicles of the X-XII centuries, baths in Rus' are often mentioned. In those distant times, our ancestors called baths in their own way: mov, movnya, movnitsa, mylnya, vlaznya, etc.

From the chronicle of 966 we learn:

In the charter of Prince Vladimir of Novgorod and Kyiv, who introduced Christianity to Rus', and popularly called the “Red Sun,” baths were called institutions for the infirm. These were, of a kind, folk hospitals, in all likelihood, the first in Rus'.

In 1091, Bishop Ephraim, later the Metropolitan of Kiev, ordered “to establish a building - a bathhouse for doctors and to heal everyone who comes free of charge (i.e., free of charge. Author). During these same years, the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Agapius, who became famous as a skilled healer, healed the sick with herbs and baths. According to the monastery charter, the sick were supposed to be washed in the bathhouse three times a month.

The Laurentian Chronicle, compiled in 1377, mentions a bathhouse at the court of Princess Olga. The name of this bathhouse is interesting - “Istobka”. Probably derived from the word - to melt?

The famous figure, historian and scientist of Russia Karamzin, in his work “History of the Russian State,” cites the testimony of foreign travelers who visited our land in ancient times:

... “The inhabitant of the midnight lands loves movement, warming his blood with it. He gets used to enduring frequent changes in air and strengthens himself with patience... He despises the bad weather characteristic of the northern climate... He is tempered by his fiery bath.”

In the chronicles of the 11th-12th centuries. the water supply system built for the Yaroslav's Courtyard is mentioned. The Moscow princes took water for the bath from the Moscow River or from the Neglinnaya River. Later, at the beginning of the 16th century, by order of Ivan Kameta, an oak pipe was laid from the river deep into the banks behind the walls of the Kremlin and supplied water to a deep well-cache, from which buckets carried it wherever needed.

"Why are Urusuts healthy and strong?"

In the winter of 1237, Genghis Khan's grandson Batu approached Moscow with his cavalry. He saw log buildings near the river, from which thick steam was pouring out. From there, people often jumped out in a hurry, naked, threw themselves into the ice hole and plunged, while others rolled around in drifts of snow.

This is how the writer and historian Vasily Yan describes this historical episode in the novel “Batu”:

“Batu Khan threw his whip at the log houses:

What are these crazy people doing?

These houses are called soap houses,” the interpreter explained. - There, residents of Mushkara (Moscow) beat themselves with birch brooms, wash themselves with hot water and kvass, then plunge into the ice hole. It is very good for health. That’s why the Urusuts (Rusichs) are so strong.”

Back in the first half of the 12th century, the granddaughter of the Kyiv prince Vladimir Monomakh, Eupraxia, having been interested in traditional medicine since childhood, drew attention to the health benefits of the Russian bath. Collecting various medicinal herbs useful for humans, she prepared decoctions from them and used them to treat not only noble people, but also ordinary peasants. “She did good to people with her medicine,” people said about Eupraxia, for which she was nicknamed Dobrodeya.

At the age of fifteen she was betrothed to a Byzantine prince. Having moved to Constantinople with her husband, Eupraxia studied the Greek language in a short time and became engrossed in the books of Greek scientists: Hippocrates, Galen and Asclepiades. Over time, becoming an outstanding doctor of her time, she collected and studied numerous recipes traditional medicine, fought for people to maintain cleanliness, without which they “wouldn’t be healthy.” Eupraxia already spoke about the “peculiarity” of the Russian bath, its benefits, which “prevents illness and strengthens the body.”

The inclined poles connected by their upper ends were covered with woolen felt. A cauldron of water was placed in the middle and hot stones were thrown into it.

Some American Indian tribes to this day use a bathhouse, which is a cone-shaped low hut, inside of which the earth is deepened, and in the middle there is a hole for heated stones. The stones are heated over a fire, then they are raked into a hole in the hut and water is sprinkled on them. This method has become widespread among tourists and people working on expeditions (geologists, builders, etc.).

It is believed that comfortable baths were built in the countries of the Ancient East - India, China, Egypt. In China in the 17th century. there were “stone trading soaps with warm waters, and there were healers in them.” Scientists claim that in Ancient Greece, the doctor Hippocrates prescribed bath procedures for half of his patients. After the conquests of Alexander the Great in Ancient Greece, and then in Ancient Rome, oriental-type baths with heated floors spread.

Bath in the Middle Ages

Bath in the Middle Ages

Public baths

“The baths, a long heritage of Rome, were the rule throughout medieval Europe- both private and very numerous public baths, with their baths, steam rooms and loungers for relaxation, or with large swimming pools, with their crowding of naked bodies, male and female interspersed. People met here as naturally as in church; and these bathing establishments were designed for all classes, so that they were subject to seigneurial duties like mills, forges and drinking establishments. As for wealthy houses, they all had “soaphouses” in the basements; there was a steam room and tubs - usually wooden, with hoops stuffed like barrels. Charles the Bold had a rare luxury item: a silver bathtub, which was carried with him across the battlefields. After the defeat at Granson (1476), she was found in the ducal camp."

In Europe, city baths were used not only for their intended purpose: “In Naples, when the ninth hour came, Catella, taking her maid with her and without changing her intention in any way, went to those baths... The room was very dark than each of them was pleased,” wrote Giovanni Boccaccio in “The Decameron.”

Giles Fletcher mentioned bathhouses in Rus' at the end of the 16th century: “You will often see how they (to strengthen the body) run out of the bathhouses in soap and, smoking from the heat, like a pig on a spit, throw themselves naked into the river or douse themselves with cold water, even in most severe frost» .

In the 17th century, Charles Carlyle remarked: “There is no city in their country where there are not public and private baths, as this is an almost universal remedy against disease.”

Personal baths

“As for the baths,” wrote Ibn Jubair in the 12th century, “their number is countless. One of the city's sheikhs ( Baghdad) told us that there are about two thousand of them there, both in the western and eastern parts."

Descriptions of Russian bath practice were left by Johann-Georg Korb, Samuel Collins, Stanislav Nemoevsky.

Russian bath

Story

Word bathhouse found in written sources since the 11th century. Other names: soap box, soap dish, movnitsa. The Tale of Bygone Years (1110s) contains a story about a Slavic bathhouse, put into the mouth of the Apostle Andrew:

And he came to the Slavs, where Novgorod now stands, and saw the people living there - what their custom was and how they washed and whipped, and he was surprised at them. And he went to the country of the Varangians, and came to Rome, and told about how he taught and what he saw, and said: “I saw a marvel in the Slavic land on my way here. I saw wooden bathhouses, and they would heat them up too much, and they would undress and be naked, and they would douse themselves with leather kvass, and they would take brooms and begin to tail themselves, and they would finish themselves off so badly that they would barely get out, barely alive, and they would douse themselves with cold water, and that’s the only way they would come back to life. . And they do this constantly, not being tormented by anyone, but torturing themselves, and then they perform ablution for themselves, and not torment.” Those who heard about this were surprised.

The most famous Russian baths are the Sandunovskie Baths. Founded in 1808 as public baths, they continue to operate to this day. The buildings of the Sandunov Baths are cultural monuments. In the swimming pool of the highest men's category, scenes from the film Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein were filmed. According to legend, Napoleon himself steamed in them when he entered burning Moscow.

Types of Russian baths

Traditional Russian baths (village) are divided into:

• Baths heated “in black” are cut according to the “five-wall” principle, that is, they have a “bathhouse itself” and a “dressing room” separated by a chopped wall. The door to the bathhouse itself is usually small and has a high threshold, which slows down the flow of cold air from the dressing room. All baths have an open hearth, which heats not only the stones, but also the walls of the bath. Smoke from the fireplace comes out through a partially open door and an vent (“side” since it is a board that is moved to the side, and yet it is not an vent) in the ceiling. Usually it has a heater made of pellet boulders and a boiler for hot water. It is heated with wood, preferably deciduous wood (for example, birch). If the firebox is not heated correctly, the sauna becomes “bitter”. The wood inside the bathhouse smokes heavily, resulting in the walls of the bathhouse - dark color, but this also serves the purpose of disinfecting the bathhouse. “Before use, it is necessary to ventilate from smoke and clean the shelves from soot.” There is a concept that “the bathhouse must stand,” that is, after the end of the fire, some time must pass. Plus, after finishing the fire, add boiling water onto the stones with a ladle, open the door and let out the “first steam”, so the bathhouse is less “bitter”. Sometimes the ceiling is swept with a broom, but with good firewood, soot practically does not settle on the walls.

• White-heated baths come in various designs. Such a bathhouse must have a stone, brick or metal heating stove with stones placed in it (on it) to produce steam and with a tank (register) for heating water. This bathhouse is much simpler and more pleasant to use. Modern individual baths also have this design.

• Bathhouse inside a Russian stove. The stove is heated and water is heated in the cast iron. After firing, the ash is removed from the hearth of the furnace and straw is poured. The heat is raked into the corner of the stove. After this, you can wash yourself by climbing into the oven and even carefully steam with a broom so as not to drag soot onto yourself. This is probably where the Ukrainian name for the bathhouse comes from - “laznya”.

Excerpts from the book “Russian Steam” G. B. Dobrovolsky:

What should the steam chamber of a Russian bath be like? First of all, it must meet two basic requirements - have a minimum volume and at the same time ensure maximum comfort for the people using it. The first requirement is due to the need for good control of its main technological parameters - temperature, humidity and the qualitative composition of the steam-air environment. The second is the ability to steam on a shelf, in a lying position and easily carry out possible bath procedures, with the help of a regular massage therapist or mutually caring for each other.

Finnish sauna

Russian and Finnish baths have common roots and, despite the common misconception about the “dry steam room,” they are no different from each other.

Dry sauna

The name has nothing to do with the Finnish sauna. A dry sauna is a type of dry air bath. Due to the low humidity, a dry sauna is easier to tolerate than a steam bath.

Roman baths

In the Roman bath (therma) there were several rooms: first, a person entered the antechamber, which was called the “apoderium”, this room was used for undressing. Next, the person went to the next “warm room,” which the Romans called “tepidarium,” followed by hot and steamy rooms, the temperature in which reached 85 ° C - “calidrium” and “laconium.” After the steam room there was a cooling and aromatic room called “Lavarium”. The Roman bathhouse had a library, sports grounds, and massage rooms.

Roman bath

Turkish bath

The active principle in a Turkish bath is the marble of the room itself, heated to 45-50 °C, and air with a humidity of up to 100%.

Japanese bath

Sento is somewhat different from our generally accepted idea of ​​a bathhouse. There is no steam room as such in sento - first, a person is repeatedly rubbed with a washcloth and doused with water until completely clean, after which he is immersed in an individual or shared large wooden bath - ofuro. Here you are supposed to blissfully stretch out and soak in hot water. After which the procedures are repeated. In a real sento there were always young maids - yuna - who not only washed and rubbed clients, but could also provide them with intimate services for a fee.

Bath traditions and etiquette

People have long known about the benefits of baths. This is due both to the process of cleansing the body itself, and to the fact that bathing in a bathhouse actually has a beneficial effect from a medical point of view (due to the structural features of human skin, which is equipped with sebaceous and sweat glands). Exposure to steam and hot water, profuse sweating that appears during the “parking” process stimulate the excretory system of the skin and thereby help the body get rid of toxins and dissolved toxins. In this regard, different nations The world has its own etiquette when visiting a bathhouse. For example, in Ancient Greece they went to the bathhouse every other day, accompanied by slaves who carried with them oil, soda, greasy clay, linen, a towel and brushes; a hot bath was taken in a round vat; followed by ablutions in cold water.
By folk beliefs, the bannik lives in the bathhouse - the spirit of the bathhouse.

Before the wedding, in the villages there was a tradition of the bride and the groom's mother taking a steam bath together (and, possibly, together with other older women of the groom's family). She looked at how healthy her future daughter-in-law was. One book mentions a review from a future mother-in-law: “The bones are wide. Even if she gives birth to three, she won’t grunt!” In rural areas, if there was a black-fired hut, the bathhouse was the only, most sterile and suitable place for childbirth. It is known from folklore that after a quarrel, “it is best for spouses to make peace in a bathhouse.”

Proverbs and sayings about the bath

• I washed myself in the bathhouse and felt rejuvenated.
• Bathhouse is the second mother!
• The body soars, it gives health!
• The bathhouse soars, the bathhouse rules.
• It stuck like a bath leaf.
• In the bathhouse they will throw gangs at you.
• Who is talking about what, and the lousy one is about the bathhouse.
• Going to the bathhouse is to wash your body, not to drink vodka.
• Preparing a sauna is like tuning a musical instrument!
• The day you take a steam bath, the day you don’t grow old.
• Vanya was cured - the bathhouse helped him.
• A bathhouse without steam is like cabbage soup without fat.
• If you steam the bones in the bathhouse, you will fix the body.
• In a bathhouse, a broom is more valuable than money.
• In a bathhouse, a broom is the boss of everyone.
• The bathhouse drives any disease out of the body.
• After the bath, sell your last footcloths, but drink beer.
• I washed myself in the bathhouse and was born again.
• Everyone is equal in the bathhouse.
• Sell ​​your underwear, but drink after the bath- this statement is attributed to Peter the Great.
• There are no generals in the bathhouse.

About the bath - in literature and art

The theme of the bathhouse and everything connected with it has become widespread in works of art:

• The theme of the bathhouse is widely reflected in folklore, jokes and ditties. In particular, in Russian folk tales there is often a motif of the hero going to the bathhouse, associated, as a rule, with his exhaustion (Afanasyev, 207), or with the theft of some vital attribute for him (Afanasyev, 187). Quite often, the motif of washing in a bathhouse is associated in Russian fairy tales with the motif of roasting and subsequent eating of the hero by his antagonist (Serpent Gorynych, Baba Yaga, sorcerer, etc.): cf. Afanasyev, 202-205. The connection between these motifs probably goes back to the folk practice of steaming in a Russian oven, or to the ritual washing of the victim during a sacrifice.
• Lubok picture “Serebryanitsky general trading baths”. Rare story. Found at the end of the 18th century.
• One of the most famous songs by Vladimir Vysotsky is called “Banka” (“Heat a bathhouse for me, hostess...”).
• Samuil Marshak's poem about the bathhouse was set to music by the bard Alexander Sukhanov.
• Many works performed by Mikhail Evdokimov are related to the bathhouse.
• The bathhouse is present as an important location in the series of films by Alexander Rogozhkin “Peculiarities of the national hunt”, “Peculiarities of the national fishing”, “Peculiarities of the national hunt in winter”.
• The episode in the bathhouse, where Evgeny Lukashin and his friends drink alcohol, serves as the beginning of the plot in E. Ryazanov’s film “The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!”

Modern bathhouse

Baths and saunas have become widespread as a place of relaxation both in Europe and, more recently, in Russia, in combination with swimming pools and gyms or as independent enterprises. A modern bath usually includes a dry-air sauna and a steam room (sometimes with several different conditions), jacuzzi, cold bath, often also solarium, etc.

In Europe (Scandinavian and German-speaking countries), the tradition of men and women - including children - steaming together in public baths, completely naked (usually there are also separate days or times for women only and men only). Historically, baths were the most sacred places after the church, and were not associated with sex or sexuality.

see also

Links

• Baths: gallery of medieval images. . Archived from the original on November 28, 2012.
• Falkovsky N. I. Baths and port washrooms // Moscow in the history of technology. - M.: Moscow worker, 1950. - P. 162-167.

Notes

1. Statement of Chinese Land. - M.: Science, 1961. - (Countries and peoples of the East).
2. Braudel F. Chapter 2. Superfluous and ordinary: housing, clothing and fashion // Material civilization, economics and capitalism, XV-XVIII centuries = Civilization matérielle, économie et capitalisme, XVe-XVIIIe siècle. - M.: The whole world, 2007. - T. 1. - 592 p. - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-7777-0332-3
3. Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali at-Tusi. Elixir of happiness. - St. Petersburg Oriental Studies, 2002. - 332 p. - (Monuments of Eastern culture). - ISBN 5-85803-210-9
4. Ibn Jubayr. Journey . - M.: Nauka, 1984. - 296 p. - 5000 copies.
5. Boccaccio G. Decameron / Trans. from Italian A.N. Veselovsky. - M.: Ripol classic, 2001. - 744 p. - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-7905-0979-7
6. Fletcher J. About the Russian State = Of the Russe Common Wealth / Transl. M.A. Obolensky. - M.: Zakharov, 2002. - 169 p. - ( Famous books). - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-8159-0195-4
7. Description of Muscovy in the reports of gr. Carlyle / Trans. from French with preface and note. I.F. Pavlovsky. - 1879. - T. 5. - 46 p. - (Historical Library).
8. Korb I.-G, Zhelyabuzhsky I., Matveev A. Birth of an Empire. - M.: Sergei Dubov Foundation, 1997. - 544 p. - (History of the House of Romanov in the memoirs of contemporaries). - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-89486-003-2
9. Collins S. The current state of Russia, set out in a letter to a friend living in London / trans. P. Kireevsky. - M., 1846. - (Readings in the Imperial Society of Russian History and Antiquities).
10. Foreigners about ancient Moscow. Moscow XV-XVII centuries / Comp. M.M.Sukhman. - M.: Capital, 1991. - 432 p. - ISBN 5-7055-1141-8
11. Leonid Semenovich Bretanitsky. Architecture of Azerbaijan XII-XV centuries. and its place in the architecture of the Near East. - Science, Ch. ed. Eastern literature, 1966. - P. 540. - 556 p.

    131. Ensemble of the Shirvanshahs' palace. General plan (according to the measurements of S. Dadashev, M. Useinov, etc.)… 7. Palace baths (XV)…

The history of the appearance of baths in the world

In all centuries, people have strived for water. Even at the dawn of civilization, our ancestors realized that it has life-giving, healing powers. Indeed, by washing away dirt, water makes the body clean. However, invigorating moisture has long been used not only for hygienic purposes - it helped relieve fatigue and cleanse the body of toxins and diseases. Bathing and ritual ablutions in the sacred waters of the great rivers - the Nile, Ganges, Jordan, Volga, Amazon - played a role significant role in the development of civilization.

It is difficult to say who was the first to build a bathhouse and how long ago people began to visit this place intended for washing. The first written mention occurs in the middle of the 5th century. BC e. and belongs to the great historian Herodotus. However, he already assumed that the first baths appeared simultaneously among many peoples inhabiting our land and were of natural origin. Ponds heated by hot springs served our prehistoric ancestors as both a steam room and a bathhouse.

In regions where there were no thermal springs, hot stones were used for hygienic needs and water was poured onto them. But this was preceded by a discovery reflected in one of ancient legends: “One day, drops of rain, seeping through the roof of the hut, fell on the stones of the hearth, and the room was filled with aromatic heat.” Thus, according to their primary origin, already in prehistoric times the foundations were laid for two types of baths, thermal and oven.

Thermal - created on the principle of natural thermal springs. The stoves in such baths were located outside the main premises, usually in the basement or buried in the ground (Irish bath).

Stove ovens - built on the basis of strong heating of stones or other heating sources, followed by dousing them with water to produce hot steam. To obtain heat, a primitive fire, characteristic of Indian baths (temescal), or stones heated over an open fire (distinctive of Scythian baths), which were later transformed into heater stoves, could be used.
Centuries passed. Bathing establishments, spreading throughout the world, changed, new types appeared. To date, several types of baths have emerged that have stood the test of time. These are Roman, Oriental, Turkish (with different air temperatures in different rooms), Irish (a mild version of Turkish, but with a more advanced ventilation and heating system), Japanese water and sawdust, Russian steam, Finnish sauna (dry-air high-temperature bath).

The variety of types of baths can be explained by climatic features, national traditions, geographical location etc. However, such a wide variety does not prevent one from experiencing and appreciating all the benefits of bath procedures.

Fans of water hygiene procedures dream of choosing the most useful and most economical to use. Therefore, it is important to know all the advantages and disadvantages of the most common types of baths, and at the same time follow the history of their origin.

Baths of Ancient Egypt

The Egyptians were among the first to elevate body hygiene to a cult. This was determined by the hot climate, way of life and religious principles: the priests, using aromatic products and oils, performed hygienic ablutions up to 4 times a day. Quite comfortable public baths were built for everyone else. During excavations in Cairo, archaeologists discovered the walls of baths with loungers-baths hollowed out in stone needles, the remains of sports facilities, a swimming pool, hospitals with various medical instruments, herbal cosmetics and medicines, filling and draining water into pools and baths were used copper pipes. Later, the Egyptians created special original devices to heat water: fireplaces were installed in the basement, which, through special holes, heated stone sun loungers arranged in several tiers with hot steam.

The internal washing rooms of the bathhouse were serviced not only by specialist bath attendants, but also by experienced massage therapists who provided their clients with massages and all kinds of procedures using potions and incense. All this helped relieve fatigue, relieved excess weight, cured all sorts of ailments. In one of the oldest Egyptian papyri, called “ Beginning book transformations of old into young,” provides many recipes that helped both women and men “get rid of the unpleasant signs of old age.” An unknown author listed steam baths, massage, baths, herbal preparations and various masks as the main means of rejuvenation and healing. Ancient Egyptian baths became a model of therapeutic and preventive procedures for many ancient peoples, primarily for the Greeks and Romans, who adopted many of the original designs for the construction of baths and pools.

The ancient Egyptian baths were widely known and also acted as medical institutions, because many and varied diseases at that time were treated with the help. The big advantage of Egyptian baths was that they were available not only to wealthy residents, but also to the poor. Thanks to the Egyptian ones, Greek baths appeared.

At one time, archaeologists found the remains of a two-story bathhouse at the excavation site of an ancient Egyptian city. The upper floor contained huge stone benches, which were heated by the floor below. Visitors who wanted to take a steam bath lay on the stones, and the bathhouse attendants rubbed them with special ointments and gave them a massage. There was a small hole at the bottom of the stone through which steam escaped, which is why the Egyptians widely used inhalation treatments. Soap was not used in Egyptian baths, as instead it was a paste of water and beeswax.

Also in the Egyptian baths there was a small swimming pool for water, which was located on the top floor in the middle of the room. In addition, the Egyptian baths had a healing room, as well as a specially designated room for gymnastics.

The water drain was made in the floor, and the water went into the citywide system. With the help of such a system it was possible to heat most of the city.

The Egyptian bath became the ancestor of the Turkish hammam.

Bathhouse in Western Europe

It was not only in Ancient Greece, Rome and the Middle East that people used hot springs for healing. After the Crusaders' campaigns in Western Europe in the 14th-16th centuries, eastern baths also began to be built. They were called Roman and Turkish. But soon the baths were banned as obscene establishments.

This was one of the reasons for epidemics of terrible diseases. The use of thermal springs and the tradition of hydrotherapy gradually declined. The ancient Roman baths, their meaning, traditions, and methods of treatment were forgotten. And only in the Renaissance, when the development of culture, science, and medicine resumed, did they remember about hydrotherapy. However, due to epidemics of plague and cholera in Europe, treatment with water was unsafe.

It was only in the 19th century that baths appeared again in Europe. Doctors again began to use the healing properties of water in their practice in the form of baths, saunas, and various water procedures.

African bath

The peoples of Africa widely used hydrotherapy in their rituals and mystical rites. The water here was considered sacred. In all countries where sand was available, they dug a hole in it according to the size of the body, and built a fire in the hole from small branches. Having removed the remains of the fire, they poured dry heated sand and applied leaves and herbs useful for the body, depending on what hurt someone. Sometimes, instead of a fire, the pit was doused with boiling water.

They lay down in a hole, covered themselves with medicinal herbs on top and raked sand hot in the sun onto their bodies. The time spent in such a bath was determined by the well-being of the patient being treated.

Icelandic bath

Since 1856, the Icelandic bathhouse, which was a simplified oriental bathhouse with a shower and a dry, hot steam room with heated walls, became widespread. Channels were made in one of the walls of the steam room to discharge exhaust air. The bath procedure consisted of preliminary warming up for half an hour in a not too hot room, sweating (about 15 minutes) in the steam room, massage and showering.

Icelandic bathhouses, like Georgian ones, are based on natural hot springs. Houses and greenhouses, in which even pineapples are grown, are heated with water from these sources. The capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, is the most environmentally friendly city in the world, as it is not polluted by waste from the combustion of coal, oil and gas. Translated from Icelandic, the word “Reykjavik” means “cove of steam”. It is very interesting to read a comparative review of various baths and saunas.

Georgian bath

On the territory of Georgia, even during the times of the ancient state of Urartu, baths were built on the basis of hot springs and had natural steam. The attraction of Tbilisi (“the warm city”) has always been the sulfur thermal baths. Everyone who came to this city tried to visit them. Among the guests was Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, who described the bath ritual in detail.

“The Persian led me into the baths: a hot, iron-sulfur spring flowed into a deep bath, carved into the rock. I have never seen anything more luxurious than the Tiflis baths either in Russia or Turkey. Georgian baths are little known, unlike the Japanese ofuro bath, known throughout the world. I will describe them in detail.

The owner left me in the care of a Tatar bathhouse attendant. I must confess that he was without a nose; this did not stop him from being a master of his craft. Hassan (as the noseless Tatar was called) began by laying me out on the warm stone floor; after which he began to break my limbs, pull out my joints, and hit me hard with his fist; I did not feel the slightest pain, but an amazing relief. (Asian bathhouse attendants sometimes become delighted, jump on your shoulders, slide their legs along your thighs and dance on their backs in a squat, e sempre bene.) After this, he rubbed me for a long time with a woolen mitten and, having splashed me heavily with water, began to wash me with a soapy linen bubble. The feeling is inexplicable: hot soap pours over you like air! “A woolen mitten and a linen bladder must certainly be accepted in a Russian bath: connoisseurs will be grateful for such an innovation.

After the bubble, Hassan let me go to the bath; That’s how the ceremony ended,” Mountain water flowed from the hot springs into the Georgian baths through ceramic pipes. This water filled marble-lined pools located under a domed roof, through which soft light entered the room. The baths were located in grats, illuminated by torches. The Georgians invited guests to their baths, held holidays there, and sang long, sad songs in many voices. In ancient times, Georgian baths worked around the clock, many people spent the whole day in the bath. Women often visited the bathhouse, so they were distinguished by their health, beauty and remained attractive for a long time.

Restored according to old traditions, Tbilisi sulfur thermal baths are still successfully used for bathing, relaxation and treatment of various diseases and attract tourists.

Roman baths

Baths of Greece

The epic of Ancient Greece tells in great detail the history of Greek baths. Alexander the Great, while carrying out a military campaign against Egypt, learned about the baths there, he was amazed by them and really liked them. Upon returning home, the first order was to build Greek baths that would not be inferior in comfort. The order was carried out in as soon as possible throughout Ancient Greece, so-called eastern-type baths were built, that is, baths with heated floors

At first, Greek baths were called laconicums, since they were built by the Lacedaemonians. The Greek bath itself had a round shape. The Greek bath was heated with help, which was located in the middle of the room, as in the Roman thermal baths. Also in this room there were various baths and pools with cool water. To keep the water constantly clean and transparent, it was scooped out regularly

The Greek baths were also healing centers where both the poor and the rich got rid of their symptoms. As the number of Greek baths grew, they became cozier and more comfortable. They were built from expensive materials and decorated with precious metals and stones. But such Greek baths could only be visited by rich and famous city residents.

Baths were widespread in Hellas. The Greek bathhouse received its name “laconicum” from the city of Laconica, from where bathing procedures spread throughout Greece. The ancient Hellenes, primarily the Spartans - the founders of the bath ritual, proclaimed the cult of a powerful body and strong spirit. Men and boys doused themselves with cold water to maintain physical health - bathing in warm water was not recognized and was considered a sign of weakness, which is excusable only for women. Nevertheless, it was the Greeks who put into practice the idea of ​​combining hot water and steam and learned how to set and control the required temperature conditions of air and water in the bathhouse.

The ancient Greek bathhouse was a round room made of hewn stones. In its center there was an open stone hearth, for which charcoal was used to fire it. After sweating in the steam room, the Greeks doused themselves with water from a jug, took baths or swam in the pool. The temperature contrast of excellent heat and cool water provided the skin with cleanliness and tone. Special copper devices were used in the laconicum - shears, intended for body cleansing and massage. After bathing and bathing, it was customary to rub the body with oil and other incense and be sure to put on a clean tunic.

For the Greeks, laconicum was not only an institution intended for hygienic procedures, but also a hearth public culture. The Greek bath was originally an integral part of the sports complex (gymnasium) and served as a means of restoring strength after strenuous physical exercise. The bathhouse was loved and regularly visited by many ancient Greek philosophers, including the famous founder of dialectics, Socrates. The great thinker and mathematician Pythagoras, who, according to legend, became an Olympic champion at the age of 18, traveling around the East, visited Egypt, where, studying the doctrines of local priests, great attention devoted time to Egyptian baths and water-massage rituals using incense. Being a lover of bath procedures, he promoted among his compatriots healthy image life, which for him consisted of physical exercise, walks on fresh air and water procedures. The philosopher taught his students and followers to live simply, to shun luxury, and to take care of the health of soul and body. One of his instructions has become a life program for many: “Purity of thoughts must be combined with purity of the body.” The centuries-famous Hippocrates, the founder of natural medicine, rightly considered baths to be the best cure for all diseases. Attaching the utmost importance to water and steam procedures, he developed many recommendations for using the bath to maintain health and treatment.

The social significance of the laconicum, in which all conditions were created to maintain physical and spiritual health), was very high. It is no coincidence that all the ancient Greek rulers were involved in the construction and arrangement of baths, and this was recognized as the most important social and national matter, as evidenced by the statements famous philosopher Plato: “The construction of baths is the responsibility of the state!”

The Hellenes were proud of their bath facilities, rightly believing that they owed their athletic build and Spartan health to physical exercise and a bathhouse. The ancient Greeks went further than the Egyptians; they made their own design changes in the construction and arrangement of baths, expanded their functions and thereby created all the conditions for the emergence of Roman baths.

Irish bath

In it, hot air comes from under the floor and along the walls through special pipes. Thanks to this, it is easy and free to breathe in it. Like the hammam, it consists of several rooms with different temperatures. Canadian bath

The main thing in it is a large bag filled with hay or leaves. It creates a special microclimate, which allows... Climbing into the bag, you can not only sweat well, but also saturate your skin with a wonderful forest aroma.

Bath in Italian

It’s a bit reminiscent, but instead of sawdust, it uses heated sand. After such a bath it is good to swim in sea ​​water and soak up the Italian sun. This bath treats joint diseases and regulates skin self-hydration.

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The Russian bathhouse was first mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years. This is the 10th century. But some historians believe that the bathhouse appeared in Rus' much earlier, in the 5th–6th centuries.

Since ancient times, it has been considered a sacred place where four elements simultaneously dominate: water, fire, earth and air. They cleanse a person not only physically, but also spiritually.

The Russian bathhouse is fundamentally different from European and Asian ones - in its high heat and such an integral attribute as a birch broom. The Russian bath ritual shocked visiting foreigners, who called the action taking place torture and self-torture.

When the British came to Rus' through the North, they noted that these barbarians drowned the huts “in black”, then families bathed in them, torturing each other with twigs, and then, whooping, threw themselves into a river or pond.

The first Russian baths were black-style baths. There was a stove without a chimney. Smoke and soot went directly into the steam room. The walls and ceiling instantly became smoky and black - which is what gave these baths their name.

They steamed in them only after they had been well ventilated. They opened all the windows and doors to let the smoke escape. Later they began to install stoves with a chimney. And such baths were called white. They also steamed in Rus' in ordinary home ovens. They had spacious mouths - almost one and a half meters deep and about half a meter high. After cooking, the ash was removed from the warm oven, the soot was washed off, and straw was laid. They put a tub of hot water to sprinkle the roof of the stove, climbed inside, lay down and steamed.

In Rus', everyone used the bathhouse: princes, noble people, and ordinary people.

Not a single celebration was complete without a bathhouse. So, after the birth of a child, this event had to be “washed” in a bathhouse. The wedding ceremony was not complete without it. On the eve of the wedding, the bride and her friends went to the bathhouse. Accordingly, the groom and his friends visited the steam room. The day after the wedding, the newlyweds also went to the bathhouse. Upon leaving it, they were met by the matchmaker and treated to fried poultry and “bannik” - bread with which the mother of the bride blessed the newlyweds for the crown.

Foreigners were amazed that Russians preferred the bathhouse as a place of communication. As Courlander Jacob Reitenfels wrote, “Russians consider it impossible to form friendship without inviting them to the bathhouse and then eating at the same table.”

Almost every house in Rus' had its own bathhouse, which was heated once a week. Saturday was considered a bath day. Even public offices were not working. The construction of baths was allowed to everyone who had enough land. A decree of 1649 ordered “soaphouses to be built in vegetable gardens and in hollow places not close to the mansion” to avoid fires. The whole family washed themselves in home baths.
Olearius (German scientist 1603-1671), who traveled to Muscovy and Persia in 1633-1639, wrote that “Russians can endure intense heat, from which they become all red and become exhausted to the point that they are no longer able to stay in the bathhouse, they run naked into the street, both men and women, and douse themselves with cold water, but in winter, running out of the bathhouse into the yard, they roll in the snow, rub their bodies with it, as if with soap, and then go to the bathhouse again." .

However, nobles and rich people gave preference not to households, but to large public baths, where people of all ages and genders also steamed and washed together. Many “enlightenment” and “moralists” of that time called public baths the main hotbed of debauchery. Although in Europe at that time, washing men and women together was common.

But the freedom of morals and relationships that reigned in Russian baths surprised foreigners. In their opinion, the Russians were completely devoid of the false modesty inherent - as they said - in every civilized (that is, European) person. Families with small children came to the baths. Here, in the common room, walking girls called rubbing girls worked. There were separate rooms and nooks for wealthy clients of all classes.

Only after the Decree of Catherine the Great was joint “washing” prohibited. In 1743, the baths were divided into women's and men's. TO 19th century V major cities Expensive, richly furnished bathhouses with good service and excellent buffets appeared.

But the most famous and luxurious were the Sandunovsky baths in Moscow. The entire elite of the Russian nobility visited this bathhouse and where foreigners began to go with pleasure.

In 1992, Sanduny was declared an architectural monument and taken under state protection. Russian steam baths did not take root abroad. But sometimes in Europe you can see a sign with the name of a place containing the word banya.