In The Hot Box - The Sauna Based Spa Traditions

In Europe traditions of Sauna culture evolved from both the Roman Bathhouses in the South and the heated structures built for bathing in the far North. In the Americas similar sweat lodge rituals have been practiced for thousands of years.

Unlike the classic Healing Waters based spas, health benefits of the Sauna practice are focused on controlling and altering humidity and body temperature extremes.†

Discussed in this Article

Ancient Bathhouses

The Romans had a strong communal bathing culture was based around bathhouses, called thermae, (from Latin therm= heat). They are most known today for that water baths/ pools but they also utilized steam saunas. The bathhouses could take up multiple blocks and were built utilizing aqueducts that piped water into the city that was then heated by brazier underneath the hollow floors at the bathhouse.

Most baths contained an apodyterium— a locker room where bathers stored their clothes, a caldarium (hot room) for steam, and a frigidarium (cold room) with a tank of cold water for Cold Plunging; submerging the body in cold water, frequently practiced immediately after the exposure to the heat of a sauna. (The caldarium, also contained cold-water basins which the bather could use for cooling.)

Some baths also had a laconicum (a dry room) that may have been like a dry sauna. During rest periods from the hot rooms the tepidarium a tepidarium (the warm room), was used for massages with oils and body scrubs/ scrapings with metal implements called strigils.

These Baths were an essential part of civil and political life, and they spread the custom of mineral bath houses throughout their empire, into the rest of Europe, no doubt influencing the local bathhouse customs. Many features, like the alteration of hot and cold temperatures and the use of steam are prevalent in European sauna culture today.

(The Romans were in turn influenced by the Greeks before them. The Spartans had actually already invented an early version of a steam room.)

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Far from Rome and their stone resorts, in Northern Europe, the first man made bathhouses* were small hut like structures built away from main dwellings (since their use of indoor stoves made them fire hazards.) The oldest were smoke-houses; built with a wood burning furnace, and no chimney. Wood was burned down to coals inside while smoke escaped, visible for miles around. Then the door was then closed and a pile of stones on the furnace continue radiate heat.  

Scandinavian Sauna Culture

A Scandinavian🔍 spa usually refers to saunas. The climate being so cold, it's no surprise a ritual evolved around the hothouse huts designed to create enough heat to be safely naked and wet while bathing . Like the Romans, Scandinavian saunas are traditionally enjoyed in combination with shocking cold plunges, or the more extreme, rolling in fresh snow and/ or Winter Bathing - (another popular Northern European activity.)

Many traditions have specific rituals dictating a series of how long you spend in each temperature; 15 minutes in the hot sauna - 30 second cold plunge - 15 minutes relax in a room temp resting room - repeat.... two - five times.

🇫🇮 Saunas are most prevalent in Finland, where there are as many saunas as there are households - nearly 3 million!

Before hospitals it was common for women to give birth in saunas and recover there after. (Ideal because the soot actually made them comparatively sterile environments and they were built near a sources of water.) And before the spread of Christianity these Finnish saunas were sacred, mystical, places because of their association with healing.

Every Finnish sauna was once believed to have it's own guardian spirit, which might be the source of the modern Sauna Elf or saunatonttu tradition where, at Christmas, you leave the Sauna Elf a bowl of rice porridge. This association with the sacred also made saunas popular locations for casting love & healing spells on sacred holidays, like Midsummer.

“Behave in the sauna as you would behave in the church”

Talking is allowed in Finnish saunas but in hushed tones (unless one is calling for the door to be re-shut to keep the heat in!) and cursing is not cool, though snacks and cold drinks (like beer or soda and sausages) are perfectly acceptable inside the sauna itself. (Sometimes beer is even poured over the coals instead of water.)

Modern Scandinavian spas include variations of both dry and wet saunas, but the the traditional saunas are DRY HEAT built with wood burning furnaces and no chimney. Today, most are either a non-smoke version of wood burning or electrical, (which are considerably drier than the old smoke-houses) and can be heated up to 230°F (110 °C.)

Despite the name 'dry' water is splashed on the sauna rocks from time to time, with the Kauha (Finnish water scoop) to maintain the correct 10% to 15% level of humidity. 

In Scandinavia anyone is allowed to take water from the Kiula (water bucket,) for the stones, but usually the job is taken by whoever is closest to the stove.

At some Finnish saunas you'll find bundles of leafy green birch branch besom (brooms) called vasta or vihta, used by bathers to gently 'beat' the body to increase blood circulation. They add a pleasant aroma to the session, a hold over from the more ancient Finnish smoke saunas, (below) called Savusauna, but it's not a common practice these days, and you won't find besom used in the rest of Scandinavia.

The Finnish are so fond of sauna culture that they're often a daily practice, an after work ritual visited rain, shine or snow. I saw saunas inside even the cheapest, smallest hostels, and every communal apartment building had one, with residents assigned a weekly time for use.

They are real communal experience, they even used to combine BBQing with saunas, hanging sausages to 'grill' in the hot sauna while they relax. (They're called 'sauna sausages' and you can still find them in a few places.)

The sauna was part of ancient bridal rituals, and modern bachelorette parties now often include a special bridal sauna or morsiussauna. The sauna's decorated with candles & flowers and the bride-to-be is washed with an egg, salt and flour.

Traditional Finnish spa culture is practiced in the nude in very tiny huts, where you might sit on a towel (laudeliina or pefletti) to protect the cleanliness of the wood, some facilities separate the sexes, but many do not. (Though mixed public saunas are more likely to employ swimsuits; in my experience most women wore suits and the men were evenly split between nudity and briefs.)

When I visited the community run Sompasauna is Helsinki the sauna was so small there was a line outside the door with naked people waiting their turn outside in the cold while those inside the hotboxes were packed in like sardines, I was nearly on the lap of the old man next to me and bumped my head on the ceiling more than once when standing.

♨️ HOT TIPS ♨️ (literally) - The Finnish saunas are at much more extreme temperatures than Americans are used to. There is usually a 'mild' sauna option, ~175°F (~80ºC - which is still hotter than most US spas) and a 'hot' sauna, which can be ~212ºF or more (~100ºC+) - which makes your lungs feel like they are on fire! (I lasted all of 30 seconds in one, lol.)

The corners of the sauna are by far the hottest, so sit closer to the door if it's your first time, and lower your head beneath the steam level if it gets to strong, especially right after water is poured over the rocks.

🇳🇴 In Norway nudity is less common, some saunas may be 'textile optional' in some areas but swimwear is more frequent.

One popular Nordic version of spas are Floating Saunas. You will find them up and down the Langkai and Aker Brygge in Oslo, where hot cedar dry saunas conveniently float on barges along the docks so patrons can follow their sauna with a swim in the river (even in winter!)

🇸🇪 Sweden is more known for the eponymous🔍  massage technique incorrectly^ named after it than their sauna culture, but they too follow the Scandinavian sauna spa model.

A Swedish sauna is called a Bastu, (derived from Bad=bath and stuga=cabin.) and, like Finland, single sex spas spaces and nudity is common. (In mixed saunas you will find people generally cover themself in towels when not actually in the sauna rather than strutting around bare in their birthday suit.) Bastus are also social spaces and far less reverent than their Finnish cousins; its not uncommon for a group of friends to get together and drink (a lot) at a spa.

In the Scandinavian Lapland and the far north🔍 there are places were hot saunas are built from snow! The best Nordic Spa's, even those further south, all take advantage of the beautiful surrounding landscapes of the region, with many saunas and baths often being outdoors, so you can relax under the Northern Lights.

🇩🇰 The Spa culture in Scandinavia's most southern country, Denmark, is less extreme than it's Nordic neighbors, both in terms of frequency of practice and sauna temperatures. The Danes only heat their saunas to a more moderate temperate 160ºF - 195ºF (70ºC - 90ºC). Their spas are also not exclusively sauna based, featuring baths, hot tubs & relaxing pools.

The Danes do have several unique contributions to the Scandinavian spa culture though. Like the saunagus ritual, which involves a person swinging steam throughout a sauna with a towel, usually infused with a fragranced oil.  

They are also responsible for the concept of hygge🔍 - the ability to create a warm atmosphere and enjoy good things in life with great people - essentially it describes the joy of comfy living. While visiting any Scandinavian Spa could be considered "enjoying the good things in life," the Danish emphasis on the comfy may explain why their spas focus on the relaxation of pools instead of extreme hotboxes, and why their saunas are set to cozier temperatures.

Like the Nordic countries, Danes enjoy invigorating winter bathing (after all you're never more than about 30 miles from the sea🔍.) But even here the Danish waters are milder than those in the frozen north.

Spa's are less formal in Denmark than in Finland, there's no need to treat one like a church, but they are not as lax as Sweden, (you'll want to check before bringing your own alcohol.)

Danish customs vary greatly from spa to spa concerning bathing naked, but brief nudity while changing into bathing gear is no cause for concern even at a public, outdoor winter bathing spot.

🇩🇪 Scandinavian Sauna popularity has spread to most of Europe and they are now the most common type of spa in many places. In Germany the spa rituals continued to evolve into a new German tradition called Aufguss, from the German word for infusion, which involves curated music, and complex oil infused steams.

The Aufguss (or Nordic Aufguss, as it's sometimes called) are often presided over by a Sauna Meister (master)^ - the only one allowed to throw the aromatic water & oils on the hot stones. He or she selects & blends specific oils for their fragrance in harmony with the heat and desired mood; also acting as DJ, choosing melodies to synchronize with the heartbeat of the participants and the rhythm of their elaborate towel waving ritual, (similar to the Danish saunagus, to move the blanket of steam onto each bather equally,) all making the Aufguss a multi sensory relaxation spa experience.

Some get creative with the Nordic theme, incorporating oil infused snowballs that melt in the session, and many German saunas host a monthly “sauna night” where they stay open late and feature live music, or other entertainment. Germany is one of the European countries that embraces the fully nude spa experience with textiles verboten^^ even in most mixed spa areas, but don't let that stop you, they never body shame!

* It's theorized the first 'steam/ smoke' houses in the north were actually created with fire pits inside closed off caves, long before separate bathhouses structures were specifically built. The south may have had a similar evolution lost to time, but more likely the closed off area of the cave and later bathhouse were simple not necessary in the warmer climate, where bathing outside was never a danger.

** Swedish Massage  wasn't created by a Swede. The long strokes of directional, steady pressure was practiced and the techniques named by a Dutch man, Johan Georg Mezger. Only later was Pehr Henrik Ling's unrelated Swedish Movement System of gymnastics somehow mistakenly transposed to Swedish Massage System creating the term Swedish Massage. The Swedes, and most of Europe would just call this type of massage a classic massage.

^  The Sauna Meister is such a respected art there are even Meister competitions. 

^^ "Forbidden"

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Russian Banya

🇷🇺 Russian saunas, called Banya, have Slavic🔍, not Nordic roots, though Slavic and Nordic traditions clearly influenced each other where they met geographically, like between modern day Finland and Russia. And it's these similarities between banyas and Finnish saunas, like swatting with birch, oak and /or eucalyptus twigs, (called venik in Russia,) that are the practices which set Finnish saunas apart from the rest of Nordic sauna tradition.*

Banyas are described in Russian literature as early as the 10th century in the Radziwiłł Chronicle. Like the Finnish, they evolved from bathing hothouses producing heat up to a of range 200°F (93°C) in both black banya (or "black-way,") where smoke escapes through a hole in the ceiling, darkening the walls & ceiling, and white banya, ("white-way,") with exhaust pipes venting out the smoke.  

The banya emphasizes mental and emotional cleansing as well as hygiene. Unlike the Scandinavian dry heat the Russian tradition sometimes uses WET STEAM. Wood burning fires may heat boulders, clay balls or large cauldrons of hot water or stone stoves with water tanks to create the continuous steam. Oils and herbal infusions can be added to the steam, like eucalyptus or mint and sometimes beer.

Steam that hot can scald, so wool or felt caps and protective mittens are worn to protect sensitive areas. To help keep the body cool a pillow of wet leaves is often used beneath the face. 

The banya ritual starts with a basic self cleaning, followed by the sauna, which is a communal experience were venik are used to waft the hottest air at the top of the sauna down to across the body (a massage via steam) and also to directly massage the muscles with the leafy branches.

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In spring and summer venik are fresh. In winter the dried leaves are soaked before use or, with some forethought, the fresh venik can be frozen in summer and thawed just before use in the winter.

The hot steam room may be followed by a bucket shower (literally cold water dumped on you like you just won the Super Bowl) and/ or a cold plunge in a pool or outdoor water source or even snow, then finally relaxation in a quiet, warm area enjoying herbal teas or traditional kvass (a cereal based fermented alcohol.)

Usually the venik massage and accompany rituals are self administered but you can have a Parenie treatment where attendants perform the venik massage, (rather aggressively for ~10 minutes) followed by the bucket shower & cold plunge, and then a salt & honey body scrub. 

Variations of the Slavic style bathhouses are spread across Europe, particularly in the Balkans. And in Jewish Bathhouses long brushes made of raffia, known as schmeis, are used in place of birch twigs.

* Like the Finnish there's are mythological spirits connected to the banya, but the Slavic version is creepier than Finnish sauna elves. Every banya are said to house Bannik, little men with wild white hair, long, straggly beards, long nails and hairy hands who live behind the stove. Bannik are capricious, malicious and a bit of pervy - when angry they might throw boiling water or burn down the bathhouse and they like spying on bathers, particularly the naked women. They also predict the future - to consult one you stand with your back exposed in the door of the bath. If the future is good, he strokes your back lovingly, if it looks bad he grabs your back with his claws.

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Baltic Bathhouses

Bathhouses are an extremely important part of Baltic culture, considered a cleansing of the soul from negative energy as well as the body, and the rituals, stemming from a Pagan ancestry, border on mysticism...

There is a deep mythology of sauna spirits that look after the sacred space and can grant desires or punish those who disrespect the bathhouse.

In Latvia Pagan gods were said to visit the sauna in times of birth and death and in Lithuania legend states that time spent in a bathhouse does not count towards your lifespan. 

...but they didn't develop into a broad social activity like they did further north. In the Baltics the bathhouse can often be a more private ritual. You don't always bath alone, but when you have company it's people you are close to.

The Baltic🔍 bathhouse comes from the same smoke-house tradition that the birthed Scandinavian saunas, (with some Slavic influences from the east, like a black-house variation, similar to black banyas, where smut/ soot builds up on the walls & ceiling, creating the name black-house.)

Most are small enclosures built around chimney stoves  utilizing WET steam heat at temperatures anywhere from 190°F (88°C) to over 210°F (99°C.) A great amount of water is thrown on the stones allowing for the build up of moisture in the air to reach near 100% humidity.

Sometimes calming oils, scented teas or waters, (like menthol, mint, eucalyptus, caraway, thyme and chamomile) are used to soothe breathing in the extreme moisture.

Like most saunas, it is also combined with a cold plunge in a lake, river, sea or the snow, and just as in Russia, a thick cap and mittens may have to be worn to prevent sensitive areas of skin being burned from the steam at the more extreme temperatures. (Made of felt or thick cotton with a round brim, pointy and witch or elf-like.)

🇪🇪 In Estonia traditional smoke-houses, called Suitsusaun, date at least as far back as the early 13th century and are still quite common; found in family homes, museums, and even bars. (I heard even some gas stations have them, but I haven't been able to verify, 😆)

There's a fascinating documentary, Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, about the Estonian smoke sauna tradition.

Historically the houses were used for swatting  (bathing) in Slavic tradition, as well as for birthing, and town saunas are still used today as actual communal bath houses for citizens in remote areas without running water to bathe weekly.

Estonia is also the only Baltic bathhouse that is a communal/ social practice, and like the Finnish cursing in the bathhouse is frowned on. They too sometimes use besom, called viht, on themself or their fellow bathers.

🇱🇹 In Lithuanian a sauna was not only for bathing but, traditionally, also the place to have your hair done, do your laundry and even see the doctor.

There are no written records of the original Baltic bathing rituals but modern practices are fairly consistent across the region, so its likely they trace back to a single common tradition. Todays it consist of 3-4 sauna warming sessions with cooling periods between.

The first sauna session is at a medium temperature to adjust to the heat. Then before the second there is a cleansing or salting (gently applied, not used as a scrub.) After the second session bathers will douse with cold water or dip in a cold pool between saunas periods. Then final sauna session may use additional salt treatments, (this time as a course, exfoliating scrub) or a honey treatment spread on the skin, alone or with lemon juice, (In Estonia they may also incorporate treatments with the local "therapeutic" mud.)

🇱🇻 The purest modern expression of Baltic bathing may be the Latvia's Pirts - believed to be descended from a practice of Pagan Pirts (pirts masters or herbal medicine women) who ran the pirtis as houses of healing, the saunas are were associated with birth, ritual cleansing and death rituals.

I was lucky enough to participate in one of these amazing 3-4 hour rituals at the Ziedeljas Wellsness Resort outside Riga. (Some Lithuanian bathhouses also use the Latvian name pirtis, and follow a similar ritual practice.)

The pirts master performs a rhythmically wafting of the heat/ steam over the bathers body as well as a swatting, massage with the besom, called pirtsslota (or wampas, in Lithuania, an apt name for a bundle you are "womped" with.)

There is also a Latvian tradition of laying rugs woven from plants, flowers and herbs on a sweating shelf in their saunas to infuse the steam with the plants essence.

This emphasis placed on the kind and amount of greenery used inside the pirts is one of the things that distinguish it from other sauna traditions and it's often combined with herbal phytotherapy (the drinking of therapeutic teas .*)

Gathering the vegetation in Latvia to be used for the pirts is so valued it's part of the rituals of days like John's Day, celebrated on the summer solstice. John's Day itself is, in fact, a conversion of the much older Herbal Day, named for this sacred gathering the solstice being the day when it was believed people are closest to the sacred realms of nature.

* From Greek phyton=plant, literally "that which has grown," [from phyein=to bring forth, make grow, PIE 🔍 root bheue=to be, exist, grow.]

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Mild Mediterranean Saunas

It's no surprise that traditional saunas in the Mediterranean Spas are most similar to the steam bathhouses of Rome, the regions direct ancestor. They are also very social (the conversation often as heated as the stones.)

The biggest difference between Southern European bathhouses though and those of the North are the temperatures. The more temperate climate in the South has led to lukewarm saunas compared to those in the cold North, who are starved for heat in the winter and prefer scalding bathhouses.

Mediterranean🔍 saunas tend to be about 100°-125°F (40°-50°C.) The exception being Northern Italy where they're a bit hotter, in the 170°F range (80°C)  (perhaps because being near the Alps🔍 they have colder winters.) But even then, the emphasis is always on pleasant, relaxation rather than heavy sweating.

Olive oil is utilized in massage as well as beauty treatments, offered in modern spas, and they often uses fragrance infusions in their steam. In Southern Italy bathers tend to wear swimwear in mixed saunas. Italy is also highly influenced by the Ottoman traditions that took over after the Romans and most spas include hammam services.

Proximity to the Mediterranean Sea means many coastal spas offer thalassotherapy* – which is a broad term that covers treatments using all things sea; seawater, seaweed, algae, sand and sea mud.

[Not a new philosophy, (Hippocrates in ancient Greece recommended seawater to relieve ailments and Roman soldiers used hot seawater baths to recover from battle) but the modern therapy theories developed in 20th century in France.]

* From Greek thalassa = sea + therapia = healing

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Korean Jimjilbang Saunas

🇰🇷 Like the rest of Asia, Korea has ancient mineral water bathing traditions, but the modern Korean Spas, called Jimjilbang, didn't become a thing until the late 20th century, so it's difficult to separate which of the many practices available there are authentically Korean and which are modern spa additions.

One unique thing about jimjilbang though is the style of their dry saunas, called Kilns which combine the healing mineral benefits of a traditional bath spa with the dry heat benefits of a sauna. [Jimjil means essentially heating, + bang = room]

The kilns are domed 'huts' with low arched doors, inside a large open room. They're often elaborately decorated inside and out with mosaic walls and are of a variety of temperatures & materials, each building material claimed to have a specific health benefit. A jimjilbang will have between 4-10 separate kilns.

Hanjeungmak Kilns have relatively low temperatures, no higher than 125°F (50°C) and their insides are often beautifully plastered with jade, gold, salt, or other minerals.

Bulgama Kiln have more intense heat and may be made of of wood, charcoal, salt or clay, but you aren't meant to stay in these long.

All kilns are meant for relaxation, not heavy sweating - which would be uncomfortable as you're dressed in a cotton uniform at the jimjilbang, and you would be stuck in sweaty clothes for the rest of your visit. (If you do want to get sweaty plan that portion for the end of your stay so it won't matter that your uniform gets wet.)

Additionally there is usually one freezing cold ice 'sauna' included.

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There are also Salt Cave Spas all over in the world, based on a similar wellness theory to the Korean Mineral Kilns. Some are natural caves others man-made with sea-salt brick and loose salt floors. Ranging from cool to down right freezing - they're sort of mineral anti-saunas, if you will

Sweat Lodge Rituals in the Americas

Across the Atlantic🔍 a tradition of Sweat Lodges, similar to dry saunas emerged in the Americas. The lodges are waist-high circular domes heated by smoldering rocks and are meant to be symbolic of the womb of Mother Earth.

Unlike smoke-houses the sweat lodge heat is created by rocks (sometimes volcanic, sometimes river) that have been heated in a fire outside the lodge.

Practices last around 2 hours over four ‘sessions’ with only brief ‘breaks’ where the entrance is temporarily opened. Multiple participants sit in the dark of the lodge and the practice is accompanied by chanting and singing. 

Throughout Mexico and Central America these sweat houses are called Temazcal.* They trace all the way back to the Mayans, where they were used for healing and purification after battle (real and athletic; temazcals are often built adjacent to Mesoamerican ballcourts.)

The domes are made of rock or mud and ceremonies are led by a curandero (healer or medicine man/woman) often referred to as a temazcalero and the water splashed on the rocks can be infused with herbs.

The practice sometimes incorporates a mud treatment applied before entering the lodge and applications of aloe or herbs during the ceremony, and participants may even drink tea inside the dome. (Though not ever ceremony includes these comforts.) Most modern temazcalli are practiced wearing a swimsuit, and may be followed by a cold plunge in the ocean🔍 or a cenote (a natural pool in a limestone sink hole.)

Native Americans also have a sacred sweat lodge tradition, observed and recorded by Europeans as early as 1643, but it has no doubt been practiced since much earlier.

It has none of the niceties like aloe of the temazcal though, and the lodge is pitch black inside. They claim the extreme discomfort is part of the point, a representation of getting through the struggles of life. The sweat lodges are used in ceremonies of purification called Inipi, meditation, prayer and to connect to ancestors and the spirit world. (The extreme heat bringing on an altered state of mind.) 

Their dome is made from leafy branches and blankets and the heated rocks are handled with antler prongs.  The ceremonies can use rhythmic drumming along with the singing, and clothing is required to prevent sexual distraction from getting in the way of the spiritual pursuit. Before entering the participant may raise their hands in respect and have smudge pot smoke wafted in their face.

* From the Aztec, Nahuatl word temazcalli:  tema=steam or bath + calli = house.

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       As for me, I like a sauna that combines the traditions of dry and wet heat, preferably with a variety of temperature options. I've never been much for the cold plunge though, and sweat lodges don't sound appealing. (I have a heart condition that makes extreme temperature changes inadvisable, but also am just a bit of a wuss!)

      I've yet to try any of the Slavic traditions and am very much looking forward to my first swatting! So be sure to check back for an updates...

How about you? What's your favorite sauna temp & style? Have you ever gone in for the full sweat lodge or winter bathing experience? Tell us all about it in the comments, maybe you'll change my mind :)

† Those with high blood pressure should avoid saunas, the extremes and sudden changes in temperature can be dangerous.