A Brief History of Bath House Culture
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Bathing has played an important role in cultures around the world. Since the Neolithic Age, we have used water to not only cleanse and purify, but create a collective experience and sense of community. With the rise of awareness around hot cold therapy and a new wave of luxurious bath houses popping up in major metropolitan cities, we thought we’d turn turn our attention to how bath house culture has evolved throughout history.
ROMAN BATHS
While bathing is something we mostly do in the privacy of our own homes, bath houses used to be places where people would come together to relax, soak and converse. Back in the Neolithic Age, nomadic tribes used natural hot springs to find reprise from the cold. The earliest known public bath house was built in the Indus Valley around 2500 BC. Later on, around 300 BC, public bathing was integrated into Ancient Roman society. Men and women of different socio-economic backgrounds would bathe together, reading and discussing politics as they washed. Accomodating up to 6,000 people, these lavish public bath houses were decorated with palatial marble columns and ornate arched ceilings, testament to how bathing was considered to be an art form in Ancient Rome.
TURKISH HAMMAMS
Associated with Islamic culture, Turkish hammams are places of huge spiritual significance. Here, purifying the body is synonymous with purifying the soul. The hammam is a hot steam room often featuring a large bench centrepiece made from limestone. Bathers use the steam to open up their pores and induce sweat, before they are scrubbed and massaged. Along with being used for religious rituals, hammams were places where members of the community would go to socialise and even celebrate major life events like birth and wedding ceremonies.
JAPANESE ONSENS
Japan is home to over 25,000 natural hot springs, or onsens, thanks to the country’s abundant volcanic activity. Buddhist monks may have helped to instigate Japan’s onsen culture as early as 552 BCE. Emphasising cleanliness and sanctification, these natural hot springs were perfect for purification. To this day, communal bathing continues to be a core part of Japanese culture. There is even an expression, hadaka no tsukiai, which translates roughly to ‘naked friendships’ and refers to the idea that spending time de-robed in front of friends and strangers allows for more open and honest conversation because we have nothing to hide behind.
FINNISH SAUNAS
Meaning ‘hot steam bath’ in Finnish, saunas are everywhere in Finland. Nearly all Finns take a sauna at least once a week (even people who are imprisoned have access to saunas, they’re that ingrained in Finish life). There’s been a recent fascination with the HEALTH BENEFITS OF SWEATING, but Finnish saunas date back to at least the 12th century if not earlier. A necessity of freezing European winters, traditional Finnish saunas are made from solid wood and steam is created by throwing water on rocks (löyly) which are being heated on top of a sauna stove. After warming the body in the sauna, Finns traditionally jump in a hole in an ice-covered lake or roll in the snow to stimulate blood circulation, setting the tone for our contemporary take on hot cold therapy.
KOREAN JJIMJILBANGS
Korean bathhouses, or jjimjilbangs, can be traced back to the 15th century. Back then, these kiln-like structures were places where local priests would heal the sick. Today’s iterations are open 24-hours a day and are mapped out more like wellness spas. They feature different rooms (including sleeping rooms, saunas, ice baths and herbal pools) and services like body scrubs and massages.
RUSSIAN BANYAS
Unlike Turkish hammams and Japanese onsens, which are sacred places of silence and meditation, Russian banyas are lively and loud places. Blending the public baths of Ancient Rome and Nordic wooden saunas, Russian banyas are wooden bath houses where patrons are rigorously lashed with veniks. Made from birch, juniper, oak, eucalyptus, nettle or pine, the veniks come into contact with the skin and release essential oils from the plants. The water left from soaking the venik is then used to rinse the hair and body. This invigorating bathing ritual has been enshrined in Russian and certainly warms up a miserable Moscow winter.
INDONESIAN FLOWER BATHS
A centuries-old practice, Indonesian flower baths are thought to have healing and medicinal properties. A tub is filled with water and decorated in fragrant fresh flowers: frangipanis, jasmine, rose petals, lotus, lavender and orchids. In Hinduism, flowers hold symbolic significance in religious ceremonies and daily life. Flower baths were initially used as a purification ritual to cleanse the body, mind and soul but can be enjoyed by anyone visiting Indonesia as a beautiful bathing experience.