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Posted on April 1, 2006 by Alphonso Sirtle | Posted under Shopping and Product Reviews
The History Of The Finnish Sauna
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The Native American Inipi or Sweat Lodge, the Russian Banya, the Japanese Onsen, or the Turkish Hamam are all examples of saunas from earlier days. The sauna has been a tool to mankind for centuries. It can best be described as a tiny room that is heated to around 80 degrees Celsius and it is a place one visits to relax both physically and mentally. You can go back 6000 years to the stone age and youll discover saunas were already in use back then. The first wooden saunas in Finland were built as early as the 5th century. They were made up of a log building that was a single room and it was heated by fire and smoke which is why it was called a smoke sauna. The sauna would generally be a dwelling as well as a sauna. If you are inexperienced you will probably find your first sauna attempts uncomfortable but a little practice and you will find them a very pleasant experience. What you need is about a half hour and a towel. You start with taking a shower then you enter the sauna. Stay for only a few minutes. Youll know when it is time to leave if you listen to your body and your senses. When youve had enough take a shower to refresh you. Cool off and then repeat a couple of times. The sauna has always been an important part of the Finnish culture not only as a place to bathe but also as a place to heal the sick and even to give birth. Today there are a variety of different styles of spas in Finland but lets have a look at the earliest ones. Actually it is a bit difficult to define the very first spa because the definition of sauna can be a bit vague. Would a hot room with water thrown on hot rocks count? Would areas that are designed specifically for bathing count? Nomadic people wandered the land and even they used a sauna. Even as primitive as it might seem today it was definitely effective. They would make a hole in the ground, heat it, and cover it with a tarp to keep it warm. An open fire in the hole is how it was heated. When the fire had gone out the bathers would use their sauna. The Native American sauna was very similar to the earliest Finnish style. Later in history these simple saunas would evolve and the smoke sauna would arrive. This is a very traditional style of sauna where there is a fireplace that does not have a chimney. These were called smoke saunas. A fire was used to heat the stones that were in a dome shaped hearth while the smoke is able to escape from the room through a tiny hole in the roof. The stones are piled free handed. It can take 5 or 6 hours for the stones to warm but once they have heated they remain warm for quite some time. This was typical of the style used right from the beginning. By the 11th century a closed top oven had replaced the open stove and thus the hearth for cooking and the sauna were no longer shared. The sauna soon developed into a bath house. By the later part of the 18th century the brick stove was used and this was much less likely to start a fire. The cased in stoves often had several sections with the lowest used to burn the wood, and the second tier used for the stones. This style of sauna was used right up until the 1920s when a new type of heater was designed. Obviously the smoke system wasnt the cleanest as it left soot on the benches and has to be cleaned quite often. The modern style heater has a chimney and a metal casing. The stones are still used to retain the heat. Keeping the room hot takes quite some time and cooling the rocks off is accomplished by throwing water on the stones. The most convenient modern sauna uses electricity to heat the rocks because its much cheaper. Although recently the wood heating system has gained popularity. In the earlier days the sauna was generally found away from the main house. In fact there were separate sauna buildings built that were used for both bathing and warming on the benches. As the living standards improved separate wash areas were set up away from the hot room. Running water simplified the entire process and it also meant that the saunas could be built away from water sources like wells, streams, or lakes. Today the urban sauna is still very important. In Finland alone there are more than one million saunas found in apartments, and another one million in summer cottages. Thats two million saunas for a population of 5 million. That should certainly tell you something about the popularity of the sauna. New models ensure that there are plenty of Finnish Sauna options. Havent tried it? Dont you think you should? About The Author: Alphonso has been working in the home remodeling industry for last 5 years. Take advantage of his experience and written material on hot tub |
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