How long has the sauna been used?

The sauna comes from a very old custom of people who want to clean their bodies by bathing in a room where stones are heavily heated by the fire of burning wood, and then sprinkled with water, which evaporates quickly. The fact of the healing effect of heat is one of the first discoveries of humanity. According to linguists, the English word “bathing”, which is related to the word “baking” (burning, roasting), originally meant “heating”.

In a room where the temperature is maintained by the heat accumulated in the stones, the body begins to sweat.
Therefore, prof. Mehl called this bath a “bath with rocks”. Searching for sources in customs and literature, he proved that this bath was important in ancient times and was widespread in the Old World and among the first inhabitants of America. Halotherapy.

Also in Central Europe, especially in Germany today, this type of bathing can be found under the name “Badstube”. At the end of the Middle Ages, however, it disappears almost everywhere except in Finland and parts of Russia. At the turn of the century, it could still be found in a few isolated cases among alpine villagers. She found a double application there: for baths and, in between baths, for drying (eg fruit, flax).