Russian sauna

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

How wrong they are, these skeptics! In fact, the Russian bath is perhaps the most ancient, since its origin dates back to approximately the same period as the very birth of the Slavic tribe! Also, there was no written language as such, but we already see references to the bathhouse and its healing power in oral folk art.

it’s as if in the bathing procedure the two most powerful natural elements - fire and water - are brought together. The ancient Slavs, as you know, were pagans in their beliefs and worshiped a wide variety of gods. And the most "powerful", therefore, the most revered were the god of the sun and fire and the goddess of rain and water. Combining these two forces during the bath procedure, the ancient Slavs, as it were, attracted them to their side and thus took over part of their power. The pagan holiday of Ivan-Kupala, by the way, is also rooted in the depths of ancient Slavic beliefs. Jumping over the fire, our distant ancestors tried to "burn" evil and disease, to purify their souls. And night bathing in a river or lake personified unity with Mother Nature and an introduction to her vitality.

In almost all epics and tales, we can notice echoes of ancient beliefs in the healing and cleansing power of water. Our ancestors knew that health is associated with cleanliness. The legends about “dead” and “living” water that arose from such “vague guesses” tell that pure “living” water has healing power. The bathhouse was considered the keeper of "living" water and health, since it seemed to strengthen and direct the vital energy of a person in the right direction.

The bathhouse was at first considered a symbol of overcoming everything bad that can surround a person in earthly life, and at a later time it became the personification of friendliness and home. In Russian fairy tales, Ivanushka demands from Baba Yaga to steam him in the bathhouse first, to feed him, to drink and put him to sleep, and then lead him to questions. These ideas of hospitality have survived in the villages up to the present day, and now the guest who knocks on the house will first of all be offered to take a steam bath, and then they will be offered a table and bed. The bathhouse in the life of a Russian has always had such an important role that in the ancient chronicles of the 11th-12th centuries, which tells about the customs of the "Russians", we often find references to "soap houses".

Baths were called "soap houses", "movnitsy", "movyu", "vlaznyi" and "movnya". Even in the treaty with Byzantium (dating back to 907), the Russians specifically stipulated that the Russian ambassadors who arrived in Constantinople would "do the word" whenever they wanted. Baths are mentioned in the "Tale of Bygone Years" (945), and in the charter of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery (966). In those ancient times, the monks of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra were very knowledgeable in matters of medicine, since they had the opportunity to read the works of ancient Greek doctors, and it was Greek medicine that first drew attention to the benefits of a steam bath.

In an effort to verify the information received, the monks began to build baths and observe the healing effect they produced on the sick and "suffering". When the medicinal properties of the baths were fully confirmed, they began to arrange something like hospitals at the baths, and such baths were already called "institutions for the not powerful." These were probably the very first hospitals in Russia. The Russian bath cannot be compared with either European or Asian baths. The Russian bath, in contrast to them, has a much stronger effect on its heat. An indispensable attribute of a Russian bath - a birch broom - whips hot bodies at full might. It seems that this is not a bath, but torture.

At all times foreigners who got into a real Russian bath thought so. In the steam room, under the blows of the brooms, it seemed to them that "their death had come and was on the threshold." But after the bath, foreigners noted that they feel great. The amazing thrill associated with the Russian bath remains forever in the memory of foreigners. The fame of the Russian bath-healer spreads all over the world. In many foreign books of antiquity and today, travelers share their impressions of Russia. Is it possible to understand the Russian character without having been in a Russian bath? Russian baths have won the love of many people outside our country with their healing power. Fans of Russian baths build them both in France and in America. Once in Canada, our compatriot can take his soul in the Sandunov baths.

They were built on the prototype of the Sandunov baths in Moscow. The attractive power and healing ability of Russian baths are generally recognized. In one of the ancient Arabic manuscripts, there is a memory of one traveler who visited Russia and took a steam bath. From this source it became known how our ancestors arranged baths: “… They built a small wooden house. It had only one small window, which was located closer to the ceiling. All the cracks between the logs were caulked with tree resin mixed with forest moss. In one of the corners of the hut there is a fiery hearth surrounded by stones. There was also a large barrel of water in the bathhouse. When the hearth flares up, the stones are sprayed with water, and the door and window are blocked."

The Russian bath amazed the imagination of foreigners accustomed to bathing with warm water. Therefore, the Russians, who, after the burning bathhouse, dived into the ice-hole, were seen by strangers as heroes. The structure of the baths has not undergone any changes for a long time, it remains so to this day. The idea has remained the same, but its implementation has changed. Initially, the baths were a small wooden hut, cut from solid logs. They tried to put the bathhouses near water bodies so as not to experience difficulties with water. The internal structure of the bath is as follows: about a third of the entire room is occupied by a stove. A fire is kindled below, which heats the stones placed on top, and also heats the bathhouse. When the stones become hot, the fire is extinguished, the pipe is closed with a damper and steamed, pouring water on the stones to generate steam.

They soar, climbing on the shelves (emphasis on the second syllable), which are something like a staircase with four or five wide steps. The higher a person climbs onto the shelves, the hotter and more “vigorous” the steam. On the last shelf, almost under the ceiling, only the most hardy and strong bathers risk steaming, who do not care about 100-degree heat.

This is the so-called white bath. At first it was built only from logs, but then brick baths appeared. We find the first mention of a brick bath in the annals of 1090, and it was built in the city of Pereyaslavl.

If there is a white bath, then, of course, there must be a black bath, - attentive readers will say, and they will be absolutely right! There was such a bathhouse. At first, even before the appearance of the white baths, the Russian people heated the bathhouses in a black way for centuries. There are few real connoisseurs of such a bath now, but this idea is not fading away. There is a widespread misconception that steaming in black is suffocating from soot and burning in a small room near an open stove. Of those who think so, there is not a single person who has experienced what a black bath is.

You should not be afraid that the steam bath will soon cease altogether. There are many places throughout Russia where the preference is given to the primordial Russian tradition. Baths in the villages

Central Urals, Western Siberia and other places were built in accordance with the precepts of the ancestors who knew a lot about a real bath. They say: "The black bath will wash off white."

So what is the difference between a black bath and a white one? Only in the way of heating the room. After all, the house itself (both under a white and under a black bath) was lined up in the same way and was very small. It had only two small rooms with a rather low ceiling. The height of the ceiling corresponded to the height of an adult male. The small size of the bath made it possible to heat it properly. The main difference between the black-fired sauna and all the others is the absence of a chimney.

The door to the bathhouse was made very strong, without cracks. In order for it to close tightly and there was no draft, a wooden step was made in front of the door. The first room of this bath house is called the dressing room. It was equipped with a maximum of amenities. In the dressing room there was a bench and a clothes hanger. The dressing room is much smaller in size than the bath itself, from which it was separated by a thin wooden partition. They preferred to make such a partition from linden or pine. A door was made in the partition, which closed tightly, thereby preventing the penetration of smoke and steam into the dressing room.

In one of the corners of the bath there was a stove on which large round boulders lay. There was a tub with a large supply of water next to the stove. The bathhouse had one small window, and it was located above the stove. Thus, the bathhouse could be ventilated as needed. As already mentioned, the stove in the black bath was without a chimney, so that smoke and soot went directly into the steam room. Naturally, after the first attempt to heat the bathhouse in this way, the walls and ceiling of the steam room became smoky, and this soot did not lend itself to removal at all. It was for this black color of the walls and ceiling that the bathhouse was called black. After the bath is heated, all windows and doors are opened so that the smoke comes out and the air in the steam room becomes fresher.

Of course, no one started to steam until all the smoke had disappeared, otherwise in such a bath one could easily get crazy. After airing the bathhouse, it must be prepared so that you can steam in it. To do this, the bath is "steamed": a special scraper is carried out along the walls, the excess soot is washed off by dousing the walls with hot water from the gang, and only after these manipulations are "steamed" by splashing water on the stove. This method of steam bathing is called "black". It is the most ancient and originates, figuratively speaking, in the Russian oven.

After all, long before the baths appeared, the Russians were steaming in the stoves. How did this happen? Quite straightforward, but nevertheless very witty. The absolutely remarkable property of the Russian stove was used to keep the heat long after food was cooked or bread was baked. Having removed soot and ash from the furnace mouth, they tried to wash the walls, laid straw on the pallet, put a tub of water in the same place and put a broom. Further, help was required: the one who steamed first sat on a shovel or even on an ordinary board, and the assistant carefully slid him into the mouth. The stove damper was tightly closed, and the person began to steam. Having sprinkled water on the walls of the oven, they received an absolutely wonderful fragrant steam with the smell of freshly baked bread.

When the bather wanted to get out of the oven, he knocked on the flap, and he was taken out of the oven in the same way that he was placed there. In general, this process was very reminiscent of baking bread: like a loaf, they "put" a person in the oven, and when he was "browned" from the heat, they quickly took them out. After steaming, a person poured cold water on him, and if there was a river nearby, he ran and plunged into the river. Most likely, bathing with hot water was not very common, much more often they simply steamed, alternating with cold dousing. But the head was washed in a very strange way (in the modern sense).

Wood ash was first used to wash your hair! Rather, not the ash itself, but the so-called lye, which was made from ash. Only then they began to wash their hair with an egg, it is this ancient method that has survived to this day. And now many beauties, wanting to preserve the beauty and shine of their hair, wash them in the old fashioned way with an egg. Isn't this the best confirmation of the wisdom of our ancestors, when a modern man thoughtfully refuses fashionable patented cosmetics, preferring to them folk remedies, tested for centuries!

If we want to trace the entire "path" of the development of the Russian bath, then it will be like this: first - a Russian stove, in which we could steam after cooking and baking bread. Then the cramped mouth of the stove "expanded" to the size of a dugout, which was heated in black. The stove as such had not yet appeared; instead of it, a pile of stones was piled up in the center of the dugout, on which water was splashed. The smoke came out not only through the entrance hole of the dugout, but also through the cracks in the roof. Then the cramped and low dugout "grew up", becoming a small house, half dug into the ground. Such black baths were heated by stoves and they already had a separate heater and several shelves. And only after that did the Russians begin to equip their black baths with chimneys so that the smoke would not accumulate in the steam room, but go outside. This is how white baths appeared - first wooden, and then stone.

But with the advent of the white bath, the black bath did not give up its positions - they began to exist at the same time. To this day, in many villages you can find baths that are heated both in white and black. Russians have always been very democratic and therefore tried to take into account the interests of all residents of a village, village or city, building two types of baths. After all, there are still people who like the smoke sauna much more. They argue that the steam in the black bath is more fragrant and healthy than in the white one, because only in the bath, heated in the old way, a special, some kind of ancient feeling of home comfort and warmth is preserved.

Probably these very feelings were experienced by the primitive hunters who returned from the hunt: all the hardships are behind and finally you can relax and unwind, enjoying the peace. And a modern man, whom civilization has saved from the harsh need to fight wild animals and the elements for his existence, sometimes just needs to feel like an ancient hunter and warrior, capable of hard physical labor. After all, to be honest, our male contemporaries have become more effeminate in comparison with their courageous ancestors.

And the black bathhouse with its primitive sensations, apparently, awakens in them some kind of generic, genetic memory, which, as it were, brings them back to those harsh times. And this is so great! Having briefly felt like a warrior, a man tries to preserve this feeling in himself: when he knows that a lot depends on his courage and decisiveness, he behaves in a completely different way. He really becomes more courageous, some kind of special calm dignity appears in him, that brutality that is gradually being lost in our refined, civilized society. That's for sure. Tested in practice!

Actually, this, of course, is not a scientific theory - about the genetic memory, which is "awakened" by a hot Russian bathhouse, heated in a black way. But after all, something really happens to them (with men, in the sense), because they somehow come out of the Russian bath in some other way! If you want to check - go to some remote village, which still has an old black bathhouse. It is guaranteed that your civilized companion, whose most "bloodthirsty" act was cutting the meat fillet you bought in the supermarket, after visiting the black bath, will express an ardent desire to go hunting. You will simply be amazed to the depths of your soul at the changes that have taken place.

And besides, after such a bath, something happens to the body: it becomes more obedient, flexibility and grace, almost animalistic, appear, and the whole body becomes ten years younger! Marvelous! And doctors have found a scientific explanation for the "life-giving" properties of the black bath: it turns out that the smoke contains special antiseptic substances that destroy pathogenic bacteria and microbes. This is why the black bath is so beneficial.

Of course, now not everyone has such an opportunity - to experience the effect of the black bath on themselves, and not everyone can withstand it. What a sin to conceal, from being unaccustomed to a black bath and not to get sick for long, especially if a person has never soaked in a bath before! But anyone can take a steam bath in a white bathhouse: this is both pleasant and no less useful.

The original Russian white bathhouse looked inconspicuous from the side. The wooden hut was half-buried in the ground.

This prevented the winds from blowing through the bath, thereby quickly cooling it. In addition, such a "down-to-earth" arrangement of the bath was very convenient for the correct placement of the stove and chimney. Unlike the black bath, a chimney rose above this one. The bathhouse was divided into two parts. The dressing room (the smaller part) was arranged according to tradition, simply, but taking into account the needs. The bathhouse itself, or steam room, took up most of it. Its main attraction was a stove with a chimney.

The stove - the heart of the bathhouse - had several levels. The lowest level was a small notch - a blower. There was a stove above it. Chimneys ran from the stove in the wall. And there was a layer of stones on the stove. A tub of water next to the stove allowed steam to be added as needed. This design of the stove provided good "draft" during combustion, as well as ventilation for the sauna room. Very often, for this reason, the steam rooms in the white baths were without windows.

The air in such a bath is always saturated with oxygen. It is no less hot than in a black-fired sauna, but not as hot and tart. In such a bath, combustion products are practically not felt in the air, and only the aromas of wood, broom and medicinal concoctions dominate.

There is no doubt that those who experience breathing difficulties due to any diseases cannot do without a bathhouse, which is heated in white. The pure aromatic steam of such a bath has a cleansing effect on the lungs. Breathing in a fragrant bath is similar to inhalation. Such baths became the prototypes of modern baths, which inherited their healing power from traditional Russian baths. There are a lot of creative and inventive people among sauna lovers who use their knowledge in order to bring the ancient construction of the bath as close as possible to modern conditions. And this is very important, because more and more often people use not a bath, but a bath or shower.

Most people now have little opportunity to have their own wooden bathhouse. But the state provides support for the construction of public baths. Many factories, stadiums and rest homes have first-class baths. They are paneled with wood and give excellent steam. Often, buildings are equipped for baths that were not originally intended for these purposes.

There are baths in basements, stone buildings. In such cases, it is somewhat more difficult to achieve real vigorous steam, especially if the walls of the bath are lined with tiles. In addition, many people usually gather in public baths.

Evaporation from many hot bodies affects the humidity in the air. High humidity saunas are more difficult to tolerate than dry saunas. The temperature in them is not high. Of course, the steam effect in such baths remains strong, but it is more difficult for the skin to cleanse and "breathe". Often there are public baths in which there is no stove, and steam enters the steam room through a pipe from the utility room where the stove is heated. The technical delivery of steam to the steam room is the brainchild of civilization. It is good in that by moving the valve, you can reduce or increase the steam supply.

Many people are very fond of baths, but public baths do not bring them the desired pleasure. Such people should not give up their dream of their own bath. Try to find a way out: build a bathhouse based on your means and territorial capabilities. The minds of many engineers were occupied with the construction of a modern bath. So there were options for arranging a bath in a city bathroom. With a certain diligence and skill, a bath in a city apartment can be of excellent quality. First, you should consider wall cladding in your bathroom. For this, birch boards can be adapted.

Knock down the removable shields from the boards. Thus, you can turn the bathroom into a bath, dressing the walls in fragrant wood. Second, craft a wooden shelf and mount it into the wall above the bathroom. You can make the shelves removable or foldable.

You cannot do without a heater in a real bath. In a city apartment, this can also be arranged. Place the mini electric oven flush with the shelf. Put the required number of round stones in a metal dish and place on an electric oven. The heat from the heated stove acts on the stones. By sprinkling hot stones with water, you will get real steam.

In the case of a mini electric oven, you should be especially careful and careful.

When organizing such a bath, monitor the safety and health of the electrical wiring and sockets. "Bare" contact in contact with water can cause a short circuit and even a fire. Plugs and switches are absolutely not suitable for such a bath. They are too dangerous. In order to avoid serious problems during the design and construction of a bath, contact the services of a fire service specialist.

The air of a city bath can be given a fragrant and healing aroma of plants by placing a bouquet of herbs at the ceiling. You can also add a decoction of herbs to the bath.

The healing scent, rising, will work on your body and make breathing easier. Another way to take a steam bath in a city bathroom is quite simple, but effective for some diseases of the musculoskeletal system or if you want to get rid of excess weight. For this you need two wooden frames. They must be knocked down by the "lattice". One of them will serve as a stove bench. The second will function as the seat back. The frames must follow the shape of the bathtub and be firmly anchored in it. Fill the bathroom with a small amount of hot water - about 5-6 liters. Fix the frame made with a "lattice" at a distance of 20-25 cm from the water.

On this frame, the person who wants to take a steam bath is placed. A second frame is installed under the back and head. Thus, a person is above the water that floats. At the end of this bath design, you need to cover the bath with a thick cloth. Do this carefully so that there is no steam leakage. Thus, only the head is not steamed in such an extravagant bath.

The steam in the closed space of the bath is quite tart, and this enhances the healing effect of the bath on your body. The proposed design is quite economical. Of course, it cannot be compared with a real bath, but still something!

A real Russian bath is now a great luxury. There are few people left to heat the stove with wood or coal. In addition, most people have a bath in the country. Therefore, they have little time for "bath preparation". It is possible to speed up the process of heating the bath with the help of new technologies. Perhaps it is precisely because most of the bathhouses now run on electricity or gas that it is possible to take a steam bath in a smoke-heated bathhouse only in villages. There are still alive traditions and the knowledge that the "black" bath washes in a white way.

Country baths are also a good way out of the "bath" crisis. A bathhouse in the country can be very tiny, designed for 2-3 people to steam in it. Wealthy people can afford a grandiose bath facility with a relaxation room, a swimming pool, a shower room, etc. You can build a separate bathhouse or place a bathhouse under the same roof as a summer cottage. You can use any material for the construction of a bath, based on your own considerations in this regard. It is enough to sheathe the steam room with wood, and then the scent of wood will become the spirit of your sauna.

You can also avoid problems with high air humidity. A small bathhouse is built in Russian traditions: a dressing room and a steam room. A more expanded version of the bath includes a larger number of rooms, the first of which is the entrance hall. Outdoor shoes and outerwear are removed in this room. The next room is a dressing room or dressing room. Here, a person is freed from underwear. There is only one way from the dressing room - to the bathhouse directly. In some cases, it is arranged taking into account all the bathing preferences of the owner. In the central hall of such a bath, the temperature is average and the steam is negligible. There are benches or couches. You can wash in this room. Massage is also best done here, because the air temperature here is very suitable for this procedure.

From here you can get into the dry heat and steam cabin. The steam room is heated with hot air, it flows through the pipes and is regulated by a valve. In addition, there is a sauna heater in the steam room, which is heated by an electric oven, so you can always add the park if you wish. A wonderful Russian tradition - to plunge into cold water after a bath - is also implemented in the modern version of the bath. If possible, you can arrange a pool at the bathhouse. Its design should allow you to frequently change the pool water.

Also, it should have a heating system - this will help you create the right temperature of the water in the pool. In addition to the pool or instead of it, you should build a shower at the bath. For him, build a special shower stall with hot and cold water. It is very convenient to use the mixer tap in the shower, which allows you to take a shower with water of the desired temperature.

The relaxation room is a place for a pleasant pastime after a bath. The arrangement of this room remains the owner's priority. Without what you cannot imagine a rest after a bath? A TV, a refrigerator with beer, a samovar, a sofa and much more can be in the rest room at your request. Time has not left the bathhouse without technical changes. The properties of the bath remain the same, but the structure itself changes, in detail adapting to the new time. This applies not only to the mass of amenities with which a modern person is used to surrounding himself. Changes have also taken place in the oven. Not everyone strives to make the process of heating a bath gas or electric. There are also those lovers of steam who prefer the stove.

The modern version of the sauna stove has become more complicated due to the details. The firebox necessarily has a blower, which makes it easy to remove ash from the stove. The blower has become much longer than it was before. It also provides traction, without which the fire in the stove would be weaker. The chambers with stones, which are used to generate heat, are protected by a layer of sand.

Sand protects stones from rapid cooling, reduces heat loss. The structure of the sauna chimney is very similar to the indoor chimney structure. The only difference is that the chimney notch above the stove itself is made wider and filled with stones. The more stones, the hotter the bathhouse will soar.

The stove has long been installed by master stove-makers. And now such specialists are not extinct. Therefore, if you do not consider yourself to be among the masters of stove business, seek help from a person who knows this delicate matter. Sometimes ignorance of the exact technology of building a bath leads to completely different results than expected. So, when building a bathhouse at your summer cottage, you must try to foresee all the surprises and not fantasize with the construction technology, but clearly follow the instructions of specialists and always remember the folk wisdom:

WHO DOES ANYTHING AT THIS IS ALL

FAST HURRY FOR PEOPLE ON LAUGHTER.

Brave Danilo and smokes, and blows, and he himself does not know what will happen.

But after having rebuilt the bathhouse, it will be possible with a clear conscience to collect bath accessories and heat it hotter, as they say, "at the first call."