Finnish sauna is the Finnish name for a sauna. In Russia (and beyond), a sauna is usually understood as a steam room with dry steam, which is incorrect. Finns do not know such a sauna.
In practice, a sauna is no different from a sauna – Finns also give off steam, they also use birch brooms. Usually, the temperature is maintained in the range of 70-110 °C, and humidity is regulated by the amount of water pumped from the bucket onto the heater (fin. kiuas).
Saunas or baths can be heated "in black" and "in white". Electric heaters are usually installed in modern apartments.
According to statistics, in Finland, every second dwelling (apartment, separate house) has a sauna. If the apartment does not have its own sauna, then the house must have a shared sauna, usually located in the basement or in the basement of the building. In total, about 2 million saunas are used in the country – for 5 million people.
A bit of history
Initially, the sauna was a building in which there was one room heated to the heat. The fire in the hearth warmed up the stones above, storing heat. The smoke sauna, which had no chimney, was heated so that the smoke could escape through the existing cracks and vents. They sweated in the steam room, sitting on the shelf, and threw water on the heater. After sweating and rinsing, we washed. Nowadays, a separate bathroom for washing and often a locker room are usually attached to the steam room.
Traditionally, the sauna room was used not only for washing. High heat, smoke that kills germs, and frost for most of the year were the reasons that the sauna was the cleanest and most sterile room. They nursed the sick and gave birth to children here. Malt was also cooked in the sauna, and meat was smoked in Western Finland. Traditionally, when settling in a new place, the sauna was the first dwelling in which they lived while the real house was being completed. The sauna is a significant place for relaxation and relaxation, which is described by the saying: "when the black organ of the heater sings, you forget the sorrows of everyday life."
The largest wood—fired sauna in the world is the sauna of the Finnish naval school Merisotakoulu. It was built in 1904 in Suomenlinna. The area of the steam room is 65 m2, the height is almost 5 meters. The shelves can accommodate 180 people. The sauna is still used by students and staff of the educational institution.
Customs
Brooms
Usually in Finnish baths, they warm up first to sweat in peace. After that, they give a couple and often pat themselves with a birch broom.
After the steam room, they usually go to refresh themselves, if possible in a lake or sea, in winter in an ice hole or snowdrift. Of course, there are no strict canons, bathing customs are a purely personal matter and depend on habit, health and age.
The bath major is a playful expression of the Finnish language, meaning jokingly the head of the bathhouse. His duties include heating the bathhouse, monitoring the availability of firewood and water.
Healing and ritual ablution
The sauna was and is a health remedy or part of the ways to treat many different diseases. Due to the heat (and frost in winter), the sauna is a very hygienic place. According to an old saying, if neither sauna, tar, nor vodka help, the disease is fatal. The following procedures were performed in the sauna: They put jars, bled, massaged, and fixed joints. The sauna is still used to prevent colds and when they occur.
In rural Finland, a sauna is a place where people were born and died. They delivered babies in the bathhouse and washed the newborn for the first time.
