How and when did baths appear in Rus'? History of the bathhouse: varieties and the most interesting facts of their origin

The Russian bathhouse is inextricably linked with the history and culture of the Russian people, or rather, it is even older than the Slavic tribes from which the nation was formed. Historians claim that the bathhouse appeared long before the Slavs and cite as an example the statement of Herodotus, who argued that the ancient Scythians, who lived in ancient times (approximately the 5th-1st centuries BC), already used the bathhouse. They arranged a kind of camp bathhouse, which was a hygienic, therapeutic and cosmetic procedure and simply a form of relaxation and rest. They fastened several poles together, covered them with felt, and inside this hut they brought a metal vessel with hot stones. The Scythians poured water and threw herbs onto the stones, from which fragrant steam immediately began to rise. While inside the hut, the person not only sweated profusely, but also inhaled air saturated with healing fumes. Herodotus wrote: “No Hellenic bath can compare with the Scythian bath. Enjoying it, the Scythians scream with pleasure.” Scythian women, in addition, before the bath, ground pieces of bark and needles of cedar, cypress, and other aromatic plants on a rough stone. Water was added to this mixture to form a thick paste with a very pleasant smell. According to Herodotus, this mixture was rubbed all over the body. When they washed it off, it became clean and shiny.
The first documentary mention of a bathhouse in Rus' is considered to be the agreement of 906 between Prince Oleg and Constantinople on the construction of bathhouses for Russian merchants on the territory of the conquered city of Byzantium. Another mention of Princess Olga's revenge on the Drevlyans in 945, when she avenged their murder of her husband by burning the ambassadors in the bathhouse. A little later in the “Tale of Bygone Years” dated 1113, compiled by the chronicler Nestor, a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery. Nestor describes the journey of the Apostle Andrew to the land of the Slavs. According to legend, Saint Andrew preached the Word of God in the Kyiv and Novgorod lands, where Andrei witnessed a picture that amazed him: people were steaming in wooden huts, whipped themselves with brooms and ran out naked into the cold: “I saw the ancient baths... And when they fry them rosy, their clothes become ragged, and, taking a young twig, they whip themselves so badly that they come out almost lifeless, and cool their exhausted body with water. And they will come to life again. Then they are doing their own acts, not torment.” There are sources from other countries, for example: The Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea, who lived in the 5th century AD, writes that the bathhouse accompanied the ancient Slavs all their lives: here they were washed on their birthday, before the wedding and... after death. “And they do not have baths, but they make themselves a house made of wood and caulk its cracks with greenish moss. In one of the corners of the house they build a fireplace made of stones, and at the very top, in the ceiling, they open a window for the smoke to escape. There is always a container in the house for water, which is poured over the hot fireplace, and then hot steam rises. And in each person’s hands there is a bunch of dry branches, which, waving around the body, set the air in motion, attracting it to themselves... And then the pores on their body open and flow with water. There are rivers of sweat on them, and on their faces there is joy and a smile." An excellent description of steaming in a black sauna.
Mention of the bathhouse in chronicles before the 10th-12th centuries in Rus' was more often foreign, since in those days it was called: mov, movnya, movnitsa, soapnya, vlaznya, etc. In the charter of Prince Vladimir of Novgorod and Kyiv, who introduced Christianity in Rus' and is named was among the people the Red Sun, the baths were called institutions for the infirm. These were a kind of folk hospitals, most likely the first in Rus'. The chronicles of the 11th-12th centuries mention a water supply system built for Yaroslav's courtyard. The Moscow princes took water for the bath from the Moscow River or from the Neglinnaya River. Later, at the beginning of the 16th century, on the orders of Ivan Kalita, an oak pipe was laid from the river behind the walls of the Kremlin and supplied water to a deep well-cache, from which it was then scooped up in buckets and carried home.
Foreign historians and travelers tried to describe the Russian Bath in detail, considering it a landmark that gives color and individuality to the Russian people. IN early XVII century, the German scientist Adamus Alearius (Olearius) visited Russia and experienced the features of the Russian bath himself: “In Russia there is not a single city, not a single village that does not have steam baths. Russians can endure extreme heat. Lying on bath shelves , they order to beat themselves and rub their bodies with hot birch brooms, which I could not bear. From such heat, Russians turn red and douse themselves with cold water, jumping out of the bathhouse, lie in the snow, rub their bodies with it, like soap, and then. they again enter a hot bath. Such a change in opposite actions is beneficial to their health." He was even more surprised and amazed by what he wrote about in “Tales of a Persian Journey”, that when he looked incognito into one of the public baths in Astrakhan: “Men and women were in the bathhouse together and only a few of them covered themselves with brooms. The majority felt completely free.”
In those days, everyone steamed together in public baths, regardless of gender and age. The first attempts to separate the male and female visitors of the bathhouse into different rooms were made under Ivan the Terrible. Having visited Pskov, the tsar became extremely angry and convened a church council. The fact is that an unpleasant picture appeared before his eyes: in the Pskov public bath, not only city residents - men and women of all ages, but also monks and nuns - were steaming and running naked into the street. As a result, the latter were prohibited from entering the bathhouse together with members of the opposite sex. As for the rest, everything continued as before. Attempts have been made periodically to ban co-washing, but with little success. Only Catherine II, by a special decree, ordered the mandatory construction of a separate room for women at a public bathhouse, where boys over seven years of age were prohibited from entering. However, whole families washed themselves in home baths, with men and women together. However, in public (commercial) baths, people of all ages and genders also steamed together, although women were on one half, and men on the other.
Public baths began to be built in Rus' in ancient times. Due to the fact that there was nowhere to build family baths in the cities, and the authorities were afraid of epidemics, in addition to ordinary washing baths, therapeutic and health baths were built, but more often at monasteries. In 1091, Bishop Ephraim, later the Metropolitan of Kiev, ordered “to establish a building - a bathhouse for doctors - and to heal everyone who comes for free.” During these same years, the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Agapius, who became famous as a skilled healer, healed the sick with herbs and baths. According to the monastery charter, the sick were supposed to be washed in the bathhouse three times a month. The monks of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra studied ancient Greek treatises that appeared in Rus' after the Byzantine campaigns. They tried to use the healing properties of water and steam, described by Greek doctors, to treat various ailments. However, the baths were built not according to the model of the Greek laconicum, but according to the model of the Russian folk chicken hut. There was certainly a bathhouse in every village, and almost all houses had their own separate bathhouse. Its construction was allowed to everyone who had enough land. A decree of 1649 prescribed that “soaphouses should be built in vegetable gardens and in hollow places not close to the mansion.” Home baths were heated only once a week, on Saturdays, and therefore Saturdays were considered bath days and even public places were not open on them.

During the construction of St. Petersburg, Peter I allowed everyone to build bathhouses in the new city without any restrictions, in particular, for the construction of a bathhouse in St. Petersburg there was no need to pay a fee, as in other places in Russia. Later, Peter established a special bath office, which was in charge of the baths of St. Petersburg. However, he himself repeatedly introduced a tax on baths, experiencing great difficulties during the conduct of the Northern War and the war with the Turks. Although he was not the first king to demand tribute from private baths.
The cost of entry to a public bathhouse was low so that everyone, even the poorest, could visit the bathhouse without harming their wallet. An interesting record has been preserved in the state archive that on May 11, 1733, permission was received from the medical office to open a medicinal bathhouse in Moscow, the owner of which was strictly obliged “... to use only external diseases in that bathhouse and not to repair difficult operations without the knowledge and advice of a doctor.” And take a real price for your work and without frills, so that there are no complaints about it.” In these medicinal baths, which were called bader baths, it was forbidden to sell strong drinks.
In Rus', the most common bathhouse was the black bathhouse." Its peculiarity was that it consisted of one or two rooms and there was no stove - instead there was a fireplace with big amount stones heated by direct flame. Such a bathhouse was a smoking one because it was heated over a black stove with a free exit of smoke through a doorway or a special window. When the stones heated up, the hearth was cleared of ash, the bathhouse was cleared of soot, after which the bathhouse stood and warmed up evenly. And only after that was she ready for debate. Using bricks and clay, they began to install a stove and a chimney in the bathhouse, and such a bathhouse was already called a white bathhouse. However, the black sauna existed for a long time due to the fact that a tax on “smoke” was periodically introduced, that is, a tax was taken from buildings with a chimney. This was the main reason for the slow development of white baths.

The black bath is still considered the standard of steam bath conditions, the secret is that the stones heated by direct fire gave amazing fine steam, called light, its quality was unsurpassed and the effect was unforgettable, which is why Russians always wish each other “light steam”.

By the beginning of the 20th century, there were more than 300,000 baths in Russia. Public baths began to be called commercial baths. In addition, there were noble baths - institutions that were more relaxing than hygienic. Post-revolutionary years, the Soviet government began to eradicate the historical past, which is why Russia was overwhelmed by typhus, consumption, even the plague. The authorities again began to restore baths, but not a family bath but a public bath and not a steam bath, but simply a washing room, or as they were later called bath-laundry factories. The concept of a bathhouse began to be replaced by simply a washing procedure. Traditions began to be forgotten. The bath business is practically dead. But with the destruction of Soviet power and the abolition of the “common fund”, baths and the bath business began to revive again. Of course, it’s too early to talk about mass production, but gradually the consciousness of society is turning towards an understanding of the need to use natural factors to maintain healthy image life. For people of the past, the bathhouse was a place not only for physical cleansing and ablution, but also a place for relaxation, relaxation, and healing. In the bathhouse they gave birth, received treatment, told fortunes, had conversations and meetings, and retired. The bathhouse was the cultural center of every family. Modern family Often there is a lack of such a core that connects and unites everyone; there is no place for cleansing and relaxation, hardening, restoration. Most medicine tries to correct advanced diseases that could have been prevented with simple and effective bath procedures, when applied constantly and with knowledge of technology.
But much more than the simplicity of morals, foreigners were struck by the unprecedented toughness and physical health of the Russians.
Back in 1779, doctor William Tooke, a member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, wrote: “Only a few diseases are common among Russians, and they can treat most with simple home remedies and diet. Women here give birth easily, and very often childbirth takes place in a bathhouse. Quantity There are extremely few stillborn children here compared to other countries... In general, Russians know only a few medical potions. Moreover, very often, instead of them, Russians use a steam bath, which undoubtedly affects the entire human body with exceptional health and longevity. "that we observe among Russians, they owe a lot to the bathhouse."
The English doctor, Edward Kentish, also pointed out that many fatal diseases are not as fatal for Russians as for other peoples. He attributed such resistance to disease only to frequent visits to the steam bath. Many other foreign doctors of that time shared the same opinion. For example, the Spaniard Sanchez, the doctor of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, argued that the bathhouse helps Russians against smallpox, diseases of internal organs, colds, and chronic diseases caused by excessive drinking and eating. “I don’t hope that there will be a doctor who would not recognize a steam bath as beneficial. Everyone clearly sees how happy society would be if it had an easy, harmless and so effective method that it could not only preserve health, but heal or to tame illnesses that happen so often. For my part, I consider only one Russian bath, prepared properly, to be capable of bringing such great benefits to a person when I think about the many medicines from pharmacies and chemical laboratories coming from and imported from all over the world. , then how many times did I want to see that half or three-quarters of them, through the great expense of constructing buildings everywhere, would turn into Russian baths, for the benefit of society.” At the end of his life, having left Russia, Sanchez contributed to the opening of Russian steam baths in all the capitals of Europe, but they began to actively build Russian baths only after the defeat of Napoleon in Russia, when Russian troops reached Paris, installing not only camp, but also stationary baths along the way .

Alexey Bely

The Russian bathhouse has a long history. It arose, as scientists say, along with the birth of the Slavic clan-tribe. From oral folk art, from time immemorial, references to the healing power of the bath have come down to us.

In the bath procedure, the most powerful elements of nature - water and fire - merge together. The ancient Slavs were pagans and worshiped many gods, but the most respected were the gods of the Sun, fire and water. In the bathhouse, people united these forces and, as it were, accepted their protection and received a piece of their power.

There are many holidays associated with fire and water. For example, on Ivan Kupala, our ancestors jumped over the fire, cleansing themselves of evil and disease, and nightly swimming in a river or lake allowed us to merge with nature and partake of its vital juices.

Remember fairy tales where living and dead water appear. These are echoes of ancient beliefs in the cleansing and healing power of water. People have long known that health is directly related to cleanliness. The Slavs considered the bathhouse the keeper of that very “living” water, guiding vital energy in the right direction.

The meaning of the bath

At first, the bathhouse was a symbol of overcoming evil forces, but over time its meaning changed - it began to personify home and friendly intentions. Again, in Russian folk tales, Ivanushka tells Baba Yaga that first the guest needs to be steamed in the bathhouse, fed, watered, and only then questioned. This idea of ​​​​hospitality was preserved for a long time in villages in Rus'.

In the life of a Russian person, the bathhouse had such great importance, that in ancient chronicles, which tell in detail about the morals of people, one can find numerous references to soap houses. That’s what the baths were called back then, and they also had nicknames such as “vlazni”, “movnitsy”, “movyi”. For example, in the agreement with Byzantium, dated 907, there was even a special clause that stipulated that the Russian ambassadors who arrived in Constantinople would “create a language” whenever they wanted. There are notes about the baths in the “Tale of Bygone Years” and the charter of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. The monks then were very well-read and knew a lot about medicine, since they had the opportunity to study the works of ancient Greek healers, and they were the first to notice how much benefit a steam room could give to the human body. Collecting such useful information, they began to set up baths at the monasteries and observe their effect, what healing effect they had on the sick. When the healing properties of heat and steam were confirmed, peculiar hospitals began to be organized at the baths, which were called “institutions for the infirm.” Most likely, they can be called the first hospitals in Rus'.

Foreigners and Russian bathhouse

The Russian bathhouse cannot be compared with Asian ones, and even more so with European ones, because in it the effect of steam is much stronger. And all because the main attribute is a broom, which whips hot bodies, and from the outside it seems that this is just torture. This is how it looked like to foreigners who were entering the steam room for the first time. Under the blows of the birch broom, it seemed to them that their last hour had come, but only after leaving the bathhouse did they feel a surge of strength and vigor. Thus, foreigners remembered for the rest of their lives the acute, surprisingly unusual sensations associated with the steam room. It was they who spread the fame of her throughout the world as a healer of many ailments. There are many foreign books in which travelers share their vivid impressions of traveling on Russian soil and there is certainly a mention of the bathhouse.

For example, an ancient Arabic manuscript describes how our ancestors built baths. It says it was small wooden house with one small window located almost near the ceiling. The cracks between the logs were filled with tree resin and forest moss. In the corner of the bathhouse they placed a fireplace, which was lined with cobblestones, and there was certainly a barrel of water there. When the stones became heated from the fire, they sprayed water on them, having previously blocked the door and window.

Foreigners were amazed that local residents, after a hot steam bath, would dive into an ice hole or snowdrift with a running start. Therefore, they seemed like unprecedented heroes.

Bathhouse in white and black

People soar by climbing onto shelves that look like ladders with several steps. The higher you go, the hotter and thicker the steam. Only the most experienced and most seasoned steamers are able to stay on the top shelf, because the temperature there is very high.

The “white” bathhouse and the “black” one were built in exactly the same way. It was a small log house with two rooms and a low ceiling, but the bathhouse was unique in that it did not have a chimney. And there is no need to be mistaken that steaming in such a bath means suffocating from soot and smoke. Now they are very rare, but in Western Siberia and the Middle Urals there are still some and some prefer them.

Such a bathhouse is called black because after the first heating, the ceiling and walls immediately became black, because due to the lack of a chimney, smoke flowed from the hearth into the steam room. When the bathhouse warmed up, the windows and doors were opened and the smoke came out. Naturally, no one started steaming until everything had evaporated. Then the bathhouse was steamed: the walls were doused with hot water and a scraper was used to remove the soot, and then steam was added by splashing water on the heater. This method is considered the most ancient.

History of the Russian bath. What happened before the bath

Long before baths appeared, the Slavs steamed very cleverly - in... stoves. They used its remarkable property of retaining heat after, for example, baking bread. Soot and ash were removed from the furnace mouth, straw was laid on the tray, a tub of water and a broom were placed. Then whoever steamed first sat on a regular board, and an assistant pushed him into the mouth. Then the oven damper was tightly closed, and the person inside steamed, having first splashed water on the walls of the oven, receiving fragrant steam with the smell of fresh bread.

When the steamer finished, he knocked on the valve, and it was taken out in the same way as it was placed. He doused himself with cold water or ran to plunge into the river.

Favorite tradition of every Russian

Russian black bath

For Russian people, the bathhouse has always been and is not just a place where one can take hygienic procedures and cleanse one’s body of impurities, but a special, almost sacred structure, where cleansing occurs not only on the physical, but also on the spiritual level. It’s not without reason that those who visited the bathhouse, describing their own feelings, say:

How he was born again, became 10 years younger and cleansed his body and soul.

The concept of a Russian bath, the history of its appearance

A Russian bathhouse is a specially equipped room that is designed for water hygiene and thermal procedures for the purpose of prevention and healing of the entire body.

Today it is difficult to judge what prompted ancient man to think about creating a bathhouse. Perhaps these were random drops that fell on a hot fireplace and created small clouds of steam. Perhaps this discovery was made intentionally, and the person immediately appreciated the power of steam. But the fact that the culture of steam baths has been known to mankind for a very long time is confirmed by numerous archaeological excavations and written sources.

So, according to the ancient Greek chronicler Herodotus, The first bathhouse appeared in the era of tribal communities. And having visited back in the 5th century. BC. the territory of the tribes inhabiting the Northern Black Sea region, he described in detail the bathhouse, which resembled a hut-hut, with a vat installed in it, into which red-hot stones were thrown.

Unwashed Europe and clean Russia

Later sources indicate that the bath culture existed in Ancient Rome, whose rulers spread it to the conquered territories of Western Europe. However, after the fall of the Roman Empire in Western Europe They forgot both the bathhouse and ablution as such. There was a ban on bathing culture, which was explained, among other things, by widespread deforestation and, as a consequence, a shortage of firewood. After all, in order to build a good bathhouse and heat it well, it is necessary to cut down a lot of trees. Medieval Catholic ethics also played a certain role, which taught that nudity of the body, even for washing, was sinful.

The decline in hygienic requirements led to the fact that Europe for many centuries was mired not only in its own sewage, but also in diseases. Monstrous epidemics of cholera and plague only for the period from 1347 to 1350. killed more than 25,000,000 Europeans!

Bath culture in Western European countries was completely forgotten, as evidenced by numerous written sources. Thus, according to Queen Isabella of Castile of Spain, she washed herself only twice in her life: when she was born and when she got married. An equally sad fate befell King Philip II of Spain, who died in terrible agony, consumed by scabies and gout. Scabies finally tormented and brought Pope Clement VII to the grave, while his predecessor Clement V died of dysentery, which he contracted because he never washed his hands. It is no coincidence, by the way, already in the 19th and 20th centuries, dysentery began to be called “the disease of dirty hands”.

Around the same period, Russian ambassadors regularly reported to Moscow that the king of France stinks unbearably, and one of the French princesses was simply eaten lice, which the Catholic Church called God's pearls, thereby justifying their senseless ban on baths and the culture of accepting basic hygiene procedures.

No less curious and at the same time repulsive are the archaeological finds medieval Europe, which today can be seen in museums around the world. Eloquently testifying to the widespread filth, stench and uncleanliness, exhibits are on display for visitors - scratchers, flea traps and saucers for crushing fleas, which were placed directly on the dining table.

Today it has already been proven that French perfumers invented perfumes not in order to smell better, but in order to simply hide the smell of a body unwashed for years under the fragrance of floral aromas.

And all that remains is to sympathize with the daughter of the Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise, - Anna, who, after marrying the French king Henry I wrote to my father at home, saying:

Why did I anger you so much, and why do you hate me so much that you sent me to this dirty France, where I can’t even really wash myself?!

But what about Rus'?

And in Rus' the bathhouse has always existed, at least according to the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea, which back in the 500s. wrote that the culture of ablution accompanies the ancient Slavs throughout their lives.

According to ancient descriptions, the bathhouse was a log structure with a fireplace, on the hot coals of which water was poured from time to time, which turned into steam. According to folk beliefs, the guardian of the bathhouse and its soul is the bannik - a completely naked old man, whose body is covered with broom leaves. Bannik was supposed to be cajoled from time to time by treating him to bread and salt, which once again emphasizes the respectful attitude of the Slavs towards the bathhouse itself and its “essence”, which they literally idolized.

Appearing on the territory of Rus' back in the days of paganism, when people worshiped the cult of fire and water, both the bathhouse and the hearth were deeply revered by the Slavs, as researchers of Russian life note in their works I. Zabelin And A. Afanasyev. The bathhouse was not just a place where one could cleanse one’s body of dirt and take hygienic procedures, but also a kind of medical and preventive institution where people of the ancient medical specialty could put any sick person back on his feet.

In turn, the chronicles of the X–XIII centuries. indicate the ubiquity of the bathhouse Eastern Slavs, starting from the 5th–6th centuries, when it was affectionately called movnitsa, mov, mylnya and vlaznya. And even with the baptism of Rus', when the church began an active struggle against folk healers and all sorts of superstitions, the bathhouse did not cease to exist, but only strengthened its influence, as it became a place for mandatory visiting before performing the most important church rituals - baptism, wedding, communion and other things. .

“Heat my bathhouse in white!”

The white bathhouse, which V. Vysotsky sings about in his song, appeared in Rus' much later than the black bathhouse, gradually displacing the latter. At first, the Slavs built baths without a chimney, in black style, and a periodically opening door was used as natural ventilation. In a black-style sauna, smoke does not go into the chimney, but into the sauna room itself, from where it exits through an open door, as well as through a special hole in the ceiling or wall (the so-called “pipe”). After the firebox is finished and the coals have completely burned out, the door is closed, the chimney is plugged, and the shelves, benches and floor are washed generously with water to remove soot and the bath is kept for about 15 minutes before use so that it dries and gains heat. Then the remaining coals are raked out, and the first steam is released so that it carries away the soot from the stones. After that you can steam. A black sauna is more difficult to heat and cannot be heated during washing (like a white sauna), but due to the fact that the smoke eats up all the previous odors, a black sauna has its own charm, unattainable in a white sauna.

Later they began to build white baths, where the source of heat and steam was a stove-heater with a chimney.

In addition, at that time there was another interesting and unusual way to steam directly in a Russian oven. To do this, it was carefully heated and the bottom was covered with straw. Then a person climbed inside the oven, taking with him water, beer or kvass, which he poured over the hot walls of the hearth and took a steam bath, after which he came out and doused himself with cold water. Even the infirm and old people did not deny themselves such an unusual pleasure, who were simply pushed into the oven on a special board, and then climbed healthy man, to wash and steam the weak, as expected.

A bathhouse for a Russian is more than love!

The bathhouse accompanied every Russian person from birth to death. In no other culture in the world has it become as widespread as in Rus', where visiting it was elevated to a mandatory cult and had to occur regularly.

Not a single celebration could take place without it, and when meeting even a random guest, the owner first of all invited him to visit the bathhouse, and then taste the treat and spend the night. It is no coincidence that in Russian fairy tales, in addition to shelter and dinner, travelers are always offered a bathhouse.

Hen and stag parties, as they would say today, necessarily ended with a visit to the bathhouse, and the young people themselves, having become spouses, were obliged to take it regularly, every time after marital intimacy, if they went to church the next morning. It was necessary to go to the bathhouse with almost any ailment, especially if it was a cold, runny nose, cough and joint diseases.

The therapeutic effect of this simple and pleasant procedure is comparable to the strongest effect on the entire human body. When every cell of the body receives an unimaginable charge of energy, forcing it to work in a new way, thereby restarting the natural processes of regeneration and self-renewal. And alternating high temperatures with cold, when after visiting the bathhouse it is customary to jump into the snow, an ice hole, into a river, or simply douse yourself with ice water - this is the best way to harden and strengthen the immune system.

As for the special love of Russians for the bathhouse, it was embodied not only in folklore, but also reflected in historical documents. Thus, the Russian historian and researcher of the customs and life of the Russian people N.I. Kostomarov repeatedly notes in his works that people went to the bathhouse very often in order to wash themselves, heal, and just for fun. According to him, for a Russian person, visiting a bathhouse is a natural need and a kind of ritual, which neither adults, nor children, nor rich people, nor poor people can violate.

In turn, foreigners who visited Rus' were surprised to note the habit of the Russian people to wash themselves very often and for a long time, which they had not encountered either in their homeland or in other countries. In fact, as a rule, we washed once a week, on Saturdays. But for foreigners who almost never washed, it seemed “very often.” For example, the German traveler Adam Olearius once wrote that in Russia it is impossible to find a single city or even a poor village where there is no bathhouse. They are here at every turn, and they are visited at every opportunity, especially during periods of ill health. And as if to summarize, in his writings he noted that perhaps such a love for the bathhouse is not without practical meaning, and that is why the Russian people themselves are so strong in spirit and healthy.

As for Europe, for the revival of the custom of steaming and washing regularly, it should be grateful to Peter I and the Russian soldiers, who, terrifying the same French and Dutch, steamed in the built a quick fix bathhouse, and then jumped into the icy water, despite the frost reigning outside. And the order given in 1718 by Peter I to build a bathhouse on the banks of the Seine completely horrified Parisians, and the construction process itself attracted onlookers from all corners of Paris.

Instead of a conclusion

According to many researchers of the culture and life of the Russian people, the secret of the Russian bath is simple: it cleanses and heals at the same time. And the architectural design of the building itself is simple and consists of an ordinary room with a stove-stove, which allows a person of any income and position to have it.

As for the special love for the bathhouse and the popularity of the bathhouse ritual throughout history, this once again emphasizes the desire of every Russian person for cleanliness, neatness, health, clarity and decency. The bathhouse tradition, despite the fact that outwardly remains an everyday phenomenon, is an important element of culture, which is reverently preserved, passed on from generation to generation, and remains an important sign of belonging to the Russian people. Thus, as long as the Russian people exist, the bathhouse will exist.

The history of the bathhouse goes back to ancient times. Based on archaeological and historical data on the history of the origin and spread of the bathhouse, it can be argued that it was a “multi-focal” process.

The history of the bathhouse goes back to ancient times. Thus, the Egyptians already about 6 thousand years ago attached great importance to the cleanliness of the body and used baths everywhere. Egyptian priests washed themselves four times during the day: twice during the day and twice at night. Because everywhere there were beautifully designed baths available to everyone. Adherence to baths and massage, and moderation in food allowed the Egyptians to maintain a slim figure and helped them successfully fight premature aging. Egyptian doctors of that time were considered the best in the world, and their art in treating various diseases could hardly be done without water procedures, that is, without a bath.

1.5 thousand years BC, the bathhouse was widely used for hygienic and medicinal purposes in India.

In Ancient Greece, baths first appeared among the Spartans. They were a round room with a stone open hearth in the center.
The bathhouse was especially loved and popular among the ancient Romans. There was literally a bathhouse cult here. Even when greeting people when they met, instead of greeting the Romans asked: “How are you sweating?” The Romans simply could not imagine life without a bathhouse. “Bath, love and joy - we are together until old age,” - this inscription has survived to this day on the wall of one ancient building.

In the bathhouse, the Romans not only washed themselves, but also had conversations, drew, read poetry, sang, and held feasts. The baths had massage rooms, areas for physical exercise and sports, and libraries. Rich Romans visited the baths twice a day.

Both private and public Roman baths (therms) were distinguished by exceptional luxury - precious marble pools, silver and gold washstands. By the end of the 1st century. BC e. 150 public baths were built in Rome.

It is interesting to note that the sweating rooms were heated in the same way as in modern Russian baths and Finnish saunas: in the corner there was a brazier stove, on a bronze grate of stones over hot coals. There were also rooms with dry and wet steam.

In ancient Rome, baths were also valued as a remedy for many diseases. In particular, the outstanding Roman physician Asclepiades (128-56 BC) was even nicknamed “the bather” for his commitment to bath hydrotherapy. Asclepiades believed that to cure a patient, cleanliness of the body, moderate gymnastics, sweating in the bathhouse, massage, diet and walks in the fresh air are necessary. “The most important thing,” Asclepiades asserted, is to capture the patient’s attention, destroy his blues, restore healthy ideas and an optimistic attitude towards life.” It was the bathhouse that created such sensations in the patient.

The steam bath in Rus' (soap room, movnya, mov, vlaznya) was known among the Slavs already in the 5th-6th centuries. Everyone used the bathhouse: princes, noble people, and ordinary people. In addition to its purely functional purpose, the bathhouse played a large role in various rituals. For example, a bathhouse was considered necessary on the eve of a wedding and on the next wedding day, and a visit to the bathhouse was accompanied by a special ceremony.

Many foreign travelers have written about Russian baths.

Olearius (German scientist 1603-1671), who traveled to Muscovy and Persia in 1633-1639, wrote that Russians firmly adhere to the custom of washing in the bathhouse... and that is why they have many public and private bathhouses in all cities and villages . Olearius, by the way, mentions that the Russians came to the conclusion that False Dmitry was a foreigner because he did not like baths. “Russians,” reports Olearii, “can endure intense heat, from which they become all red and become exhausted; that they are no longer able to stay in the bathhouse, they run naked into the street, both men and women, and douse themselves with cold water, but in winter, running out of the bathhouse into the yard, they roll in the snow, rub their bodies with it, as if with soap, and then They’re going to the bathhouse again.”

The construction of baths was allowed to everyone who had enough land. A decree of 1649 prescribed that “soaphouses should be built in vegetable gardens and in hollow places not close to the mansion.” Home baths were heated only once a week, on Saturdays, and therefore Saturdays were considered bath days and even public places were not open on them. Usually, whole families washed themselves in home baths at the same time, men and women steamed together. However, in public (“trade”) baths, people of all ages and genders also steamed and washed together, although women were on one side, men on the other. And only in 1743, by Senate decree, it was prohibited. In “trade” baths, men and women wash together and men over 7 years old enter the women’s bathhouse, and women of the same age enter the men’s bathhouse, respectively.

As written in one ancient treatise, there are ten benefits of bathing: clarity of mind, freshness, vigor, health, strength, beauty, youth, purity, pleasant skin color and the attention of beautiful women. Let us note that those who understand the use of a steam bath go to the bathhouse not so much to wash themselves as to warm up and sweat.

Warming leads to a beneficial change in the functional state of organs and systems of the body, increased metabolism, and promotes the development of protective and compensatory mechanisms. This is explained by the beneficial effects of heat and sweating on the cardiovascular, respiratory, thermoregulatory and endocrine systems in most people. The bath calms the nervous system, restores vigor, and increases mental abilities.

Look at what the Portuguese Sanchez, the doctor of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, wrote about the Russian steam bath back in 1778 (this treatise can be found in Moscow in the Lenin Library): “I don’t hope that a doctor will be found who would not recognize the usefulness of steam bath. Everyone clearly sees how happy society would be if it had an easy, harmless and so effective way that it could not only maintain health, but also heal or tame diseases that so often happen. For my part, I consider only one Russian bathhouse, prepared properly, to be capable of bringing such great benefits to a person. When I think about the multitude of medicines from pharmacies and chemical laboratories, coming out and being brought from all over the world, how many times have I wished to see that half or three-quarters of them, built everywhere at great expense, would turn into Russian baths, for the benefit of society.” And at the end of his life, having left Russia, Sanchez contributed to the opening of Russian steam baths in all the capitals of Europe.