Russian bath - secrets and features of a traditional steam room. Russian bathhouse - a phenomenon or a tribute to traditions Bath complex Russian steam rooms

Steaming in a sauna is not just a pleasant procedure, an opportunity to relax and unwind. The Russian bath has long been famous for its healing and rejuvenating properties. A real wood-fired bathhouse in the Barin bathhouse complex near Moscow will allow you to get rid of accumulated stress and fatigue, cleanse your body and soul, gain positive emotions and recharge your batteries. We work all year round. The birch wood-fired bathhouse is located in a cozy two-story house, equipped with a swimming pool with warm water. At guests' disposal are birch, oak and juniper brooms, eco-steaming (with herbs and essential oils) and, of course, the art of professional bathhouse attendants.

A Russian wood-fired sauna cleanses the body, activates metabolism and removes toxins - after the sauna you feel refreshed, invigorated and full of energy. The conditions created in a wood-burning bathhouse - steam and temperature changes - help restore blood vessels, strengthen the heart muscle, remove excess moisture and toxins and normalize the water-salt balance. We recommend visiting a bathhouse or sauna with a swimming pool regularly for those who want to get rid of extra pounds, improve skin condition, restore the functioning of the respiratory system, and overcome chronic diseases of the ENT organs. The Russian bathhouse is an excellent cosmetologist: a good steam room with a birch broom cleanses the skin, eliminating acne and blackheads, and makes the surface of the skin velvety and healthy. And, of course, steaming is a woman’s best friend in the fight against cellulite.

The sauna and Russian bathhouse in the Barin bathhouse complex are equipped to completely recreate the classic conditions in which our ancestors steamed. We heat the bathhouse with natural wood - unlike many other inexpensive modern bathhouses in the Moscow region, where artificial heaters are installed. Thanks to the use of birch firewood, a unique finely dispersed steam is created in our bathhouse. City baths and saunas, which abound in Shchelkovo, Fryazino, Chernogolovka, Balashikha, Ivanteevka, Korolev, Mytishchi, Krasnoarmeysk and other cities of the Moscow region, cannot boast of this. In cities, most often it is not possible to install a special wood-burning stove. In “Barin”, located in a cozy corner of the Moscow region far from noisy cities, there is such an opportunity. Our bathhouse-sauna with a swimming pool is always waiting for its guests!

On this page you will find wood-fired bathhouses in Moscow with fresh photographs and current prices. Also in this section of ours you will find reviews about Russian baths in Moscow.

Real Russian bathhouse in Moscow

In Moscow, modern spa salons with Hamm, Japanese baths and Finnish saunas. But a real Russian bathhouse is almost a rarity. To be like this, as it should be, in a house with a log house, a stove and a samovar. Of course, there are such Russian baths, but for some reason there are not so many of them.

Previously, the Russian bathhouse had two varieties: “black bathhouse” and “white bathhouse”. Nowadays, black baths are no longer found, but white baths still exist. The black bathhouse got its name because there is no chimney in such a bathhouse; the smoke is vented out the window. When the bathhouse was heated, everything was in smoke, soot settled on the walls and benches of the steam room. Before steaming, the room was well ventilated, and then the bath procedures began. The white bathhouse had a chimney, so the room was not smoke-filled. The modern Russian bathhouse in Moscow is an analogue of the white bathhouse, simply improved.

Russian baths in Moscow

Steaming in a Russian bathhouse has a beneficial effect on the entire body and overall well-being. It's no secret that Russian baths have healing properties. With the help of steam and crown massage, you can get rid of some diseases of the joints and muscles, and steaming also has a good effect on the respiratory system.

Moscow has a considerable number of excellent baths, including Russian baths. Where you will have a pleasant time, enjoy the traditions of bath art, and be able to feel healing power pair. Russian baths in Moscow will give you an unforgettable vacation.

Russian bathhouse in Moscow prices for services

In Moscow, prices for renting a bathhouse are very varied, starting from 500 rubles per hour and ad infinitum. It all depends on where the Russian bathhouse is located, what range of services is provided, whether there are bathhouse attendants, massage therapists, a cafe or restaurant, and parking. And there are many more nuances on which the price depends. Even the interior plays a big role; the more luxurious the bathhouse is decorated, the higher the rental price will be.

It is not known for certain where the Russian bathhouse came from. Being a constant component of human life, the bathing procedure in many countries has been transformed into a kind of ritual. Gradually it acquired local traditional rituals and intertwined with religion.

We know about baths Ancient India And Ancient Egypt, heard about the legendary baths Ancient Rome. Nowadays, the leadership in bathhouses belongs to Finland. Finnish saunas are the most common in the world. As for the country of Suomi itself, the largest number of steam rooms per capita is concentrated there, namely 3 million for 5.5 million people. Due to the scale of the territory and the total number settlements In Russia, it is not possible to calculate how many bath establishments there are in our country. We can definitely say that in terms of their significance for the people themselves, we can be no less proud of Russian baths than the Finns are of saunas.

History of the term

In numerous disputes among historians and linguists, the opinion was born that the word “bathhouse” comes from the ancient Greek βαλανεῖον (ballinium), which translated into Russian means “let’s go to the bathhouse and wash ourselves.”

After the capture of Hellas by the Roman Empire, the Greek verb entered the Latin language, transformed into bagno na cano (banio in Kano) - “I’ll go and wash myself.” In the Middle Greek language spoken in the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, the phrase was shortened to the general term banyo, which referred to both the places for washing and the action itself - washing.

From Byzantium, through baptismal rituals associated with water, the word “banio” came to other countries, including Kievan Rus. There it gradually replaced the existing Russian words meaning bath huts - “soaphouses”, “movnitsy”, “movi”, “movni” and bathing - “tvoriti mov”.

Despite the fact that today we call a bathhouse a room with a steam room and brooms, the common European interpretation of this word (English - bath, German - bad, French - bain, Italian - bagno, Spanish - bano, Bulgarian - banya, Serbian - banja, Turkish - banyo and so on) from ancient times to this day means ablution in general, no matter in what way.

Ancient world

Our ancestors, ancient tribes that roamed the cold territories of North-Eastern Europe, always set up a kind of camp bathhouse at their temporary camp sites. According to Herodotus, among the Scythians it was a hygienic, therapeutic and cosmetic procedure, as well as simply a form of relaxation and rest. For this purpose, a special hut was built: several poles were fastened together and covered with felt. A metal vessel with hot stones was brought inside the hut. The Scythians threw hemp seeds onto the stones, from which fragrant steam immediately began to rise. While inside, the person not only sweated profusely, but also inhaled air saturated with healing fumes.

Herodotus notes: “Enjoying the soaring, the Scythians scream with pleasure.”

Before the procedures, Scythian women rubbed pieces of bark, cedar and cypress needles, as well as other aromatic plants. The dry mixture was diluted with water to form a thick paste with a very pleasant smell, which was rubbed over the entire body. When it was washed off, the body became clean and shiny.

Later, along the rivers, people began to form permanent settlements and build wooden houses with a fireplace in the middle, which was used for heating, cooking and bathing. Gradually, for the latter, they began to build separate rooms in the image and likeness of residential ones, but of a smaller size.

The ancient Finno-Ugric peoples used dugouts with stoves for washing, calling them sauna - from the word savunen, meaning “smoky” (before the invention of pipes for removing smoke from rooms, all combustion products remained inside the buildings and were expelled from them by ventilation).

The South-Eastern Slavs washed themselves in pits, holes, and dugouts dug on river cliffs and heated by fire, which were called “lazne” or “vlazni”. In ancient Kyiv, dugouts for bathing were called “iztopki”, “heaters”, “iztobki” (“iz” - around, “firebox” - place for fire, hearth).

The ancient Western Slavs washed themselves in specially built above-ground log houses, which were called “izba”, Polish. - izba, Czech. - jizba (“from” - around and “ba”, like the neighboring Germans, “fire” or “oven”). Later these huts moved to Novgorod lands to the Finns, Slovenes and Krivichi, where in 800-900 they replaced their adobe stoves with heater stoves.

The first documentary mention of this is contained in the “Tale of Bygone Years” (945), compiled by the chronicler Nestor, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. It describes the journey of the Apostle Andrew to the Russian land. According to legend, Saint Andrew preached the Word of God on a Kiev hill on the banks of the Dnieper, and then continued his journey upstream of the river. So he reached the northern Russian lands, where modern Novgorod is located. In those parts, Andrei witnessed a picture that amazed him: Russian people steamed in wooden huts, whipped themselves with brooms and ran out naked into the cold.

Andrei returned to Rome with a crowd of wanderers, where he spoke about the miracles he had seen: “I saw wooden huts. And when they are roasted rosy, they are freed from their clothes, and, taking a young twig, they so flog themselves that they come out almost lifeless, and cool their weary body with water. And they will come to life again. What the Russians are doing is a ritual for themselves, not torture.”

Modern history

After the Mongol invasion of 1240, Kyiv became part of Lithuania and then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. By that time, Europeans had again begun to wash directly in the house, preferring troughs, vats and barrels to separate bathhouses, which is what they taught to the residents of the Russian southern regions.

From them, fashion spread throughout the Russian land, first to the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, and then to Moscow. The Vyatichi began to wash themselves in their kurny (smoky) huts in which they lived, right in the adobe vaulted ovens, enlarging their crucibles for bathing purposes.

The tradition of washing in a separate smoking steam hut, in other words, a black bath, has been preserved in the Russian north, especially in Siberia. From there, during the reign of the Romanovs, known for the large number of immigrants and the birth of the city trading bath, it spread throughout Russia, forever occupying a special place in the heart of the Russian people.

Peter I especially contributed to the spread of the bath business. During the construction of St. Petersburg, he allowed everyone to build bath establishments in the new Russian city without any restrictions, in particular, without duties, as in other places in Russia. Later, the emperor established a special bathhouse office, which was in charge of the bathhouse establishments of St. Petersburg. The entrance fee was low so that everyone, even the poorest, could go and take a steam bath without damaging their wallet.

An interesting record has been preserved in the state archives that on May 11, 1733, permission was received from the medical office to open a medical bathing institution in Moscow, the owner of which was strictly obliged “... to use only external diseases and difficult operations without the knowledge and advice of a doctor not to repair. And take a real price for your work and without frills, so that there are no complaints about it.”

Russian-Finnish relations

With the spread of Christianity and the rapid decline of morals in bathing establishments, which resulted in an epidemic of syphilis, in the Middle Ages in the West, the bathing culture and the very tradition of regular washing were almost completely destroyed. In contrast, our church ministers never touched the Russian bathhouse, considering it the most important assistant in preserving the physical and mental purity of believers.

It is thanks to the Russian steam bath, which was recently known throughout Europe, that the ancient tradition of steaming at high temperatures, so popular today, has been preserved.

Here the question about saunas naturally arises. How did it happen that they gave a head start to the art of the Russian bath? Until 1714, that is, before it first came under the influence of Russia, Finland was under the yoke of Sweden for 600 years. Having adopted Catholicism, the Finns, along with other Europeans, began to zealously struggle with caring for the mortal body of the human body, almost completely losing their bath traditions.

For centuries, diligently eradicating saunas from their lands, the Finns eventually preserved them only in the most dense rural settlements, where they served exclusively for drying or smoking fish and meat, as well as storing hemp, flax and vegetables.

In 1809, the country of Suomi, as an autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, became part of Russian Empire. During Russian rule, the proximity to St. Petersburg with its many bathing establishments, which were the centers of capital life - they opened libraries, discussed political issues, and invented literary and musical works - returned the Finns' interest in steaming. Gradually, new bathhouse establishments appeared in cities. In order not to conflict with religious norms, they decided to behave like in a church.

Since then, sauna etiquette involves floating in deathly silence, in contrast to Russian bathhouses, where loud conversations and cheerful laughter reign.
After the restoration of Finnish independence in 1917, the Finns again began to disown their own bathhouse traditions, allegedly imposed by the “dense” Russia and the Russians.
The world first learned about the sauna during olympic games 1936 in Berlin. The habitat of Finnish athletes in Olympic Village was equipped with a transportable wooden insulated cabin with a powerful electric furnace, the miraculous influence of which explained the team’s sporting achievements. Gradually, rumors about a Finnish remedy for warming up an athlete’s body in order to relieve muscle fatigue, combat pain and fatigue after competitions became overgrown with confirmed medical facts.
Saunas have gained even greater fame due to the Finns’ desire to keep up with the times. They replaced the bulky heater with an electric stove, which made it possible to create a steam room even in a small bathroom of an apartment building.
Russian people do not have to be ashamed of their history. We have carefully preserved traditional steam rooms to this day and, not shying away from modern world trends, we are opening Finnish saunas with Russian baths, so that everyone who wants to join the bath culture can find a suitable option for themselves.

Since ancient times, the bathhouse was valued in Rus' much more than just a place for bodily cleansing. It was a real ritual, associated with the complete liberation of a person from everything unnecessary physically and spiritually. Largely thanks to the wood-fired bathhouse with fragrant birch broom, Ancient Rus' was famous for its heroes and red maidens. The bathhouse helped the Slavs to be strong and healthy, protected them from many diseases, and invigorated their spirit and body.

Moscow invites connoisseurs of light steam, excellent brooms and the wonderful relaxation that a hot Russian bath gives to the Bannaya Estate complexes. The atmosphere of a village untouched by civilization reigns here, where ancient customs, which contain the wisdom of our ancestors, are carefully preserved. In each complex you will be greeted by a real Russian wood-fired bathhouse. The chic two-story towers, stylized in antique style, have everything for have a nice rest and great vaping. At the Estate, each log house is unique and has a clearly defined individuality and character. Having crossed the threshold of the Estate, you can find yourself at a boyar feast or at a royal hunt: “Hussar” or “Merchant”, “ Duck Hunt"or "Okhotnichiy", "Khokhloma" or "Gzhel" - any of them is happy to open their doors to delight guests with a real steam room on birch firewood with excellent birch, juniper and oak brooms, an amazing interior and home comfort.

From time immemorial, the bathhouse has been the greatest healing power, capable of curing the ailments of the sick and restoring vigor to the healthy. Our Russian wood-fired sauna in Moscow from Usadba is what you need to throw off the burden of everyday worries. A hot steam room filled with the magical aroma of fragrant herbs, rye bread and meadow honey and a good broom in the skillful hands of a bathhouse attendant - all this can create a miracle on earth. Our bath attendants, like their great-grandfathers, master ancient bath massage techniques, which you can also appreciate in the Estate. And after the bathhouse, your fatigue will disappear as if by hand, the blues and sadness will go away, the body will acquire lightness, and your thoughts will acquire purity.

In the Estate, everything was thought out to the smallest detail: a real old Russian wood-burning bathhouse always stood on a river or lake. So with us, after a hot steam room, each log house has its own pool under open air, so that the body, heated by the broom, is dipped into cool water. The courtyard with a swimming pool is hidden from prying eyes by a high fence so that no one interferes with the sacrament of cleansing and cannot interrupt your relaxation. And in some bathhouses, the pools are designed in such a way that you can plunge into refreshing water right in the steam room, and after swimming a few meters, you can find yourself in the courtyard. For lovers of modern technology, the Estate has a spacious jacuzzi, and for those who want to join ancient rituals, a real fairy-tale barrel will be specially prepared, filled with a decoction of medicinal herbs, milk, wine or even champagne!

After water treatments, the Bannaya Estate invites guests to cozy relaxation rooms to sit by a real samovar, recline in an armchair by the fireplace, where the firewood peacefully crackles, and play billiards or table football. The estate is perfect place to arrange any holiday, conduct business negotiations in an informal setting and just have a good day off taking care of yourself. Here you can organize the celebration of any celebration in the national style. Come and have a great time in a real hot wood-fired sauna!

Almost all nations have baths. This is a Turkish hammam, and a Roman bath, and a Finnish sauna, and a Japanese ofuro, but none of them are associated with as many good feelings as with our Russian bath. A real Russian bathhouse is not only relaxation for body and soul, but also an opportunity to improve your health.

However, in order to get maximum pleasure and benefit from bath procedures, you should know about all their nuances, and we will talk about this in this article.

General information about the Russian steam room

To date, there is no reliable information about when baths appeared in Rus'. The first mention of a steam room dates back to the 11th century, and since then the traditions of bath procedures have become firmly established in Russian culture.

Russian baths help improve immunity and cure a whole list of ailments, strengthening the body. In addition, the steam room has a calming effect on the nervous system, relieving tension, stress, and fatigue..

Traditionally, such buildings were built from logs. And now owners of dachas and private houses often give preference to wooden buildings, since wood not only retains heat well, but also creates a unique bathhouse flavor. The main competitor of logs today is timber, since its shape greatly simplifies the construction process.

Often you can also find brick buildings, as well as bathhouses made of cinder blocks and foam blocks, which are built in order to reduce the cost of work.

Today, the Russian bathhouse has two firebox options:

In a black way, which is outdated and quite inconvenient.

This is how our ancestors drowned their steam rooms. In this case, all the fumes and smoke remained in the room, so the steam room was ventilated immediately before visitors entered.

Over time, the bathhouse in Rus' began to be equipped with a chimney, and this type of firebox was called “in white”, since all the smoke and fumes were removed from the room through the pipe. This type of arrangement has survived to this day practically unchanged.

In order to understand what a Russian steam room is, you should learn about its main rooms, each of which performs specific functions.

Dressing room for comfort and coziness

The dressing room is the first room in which a bathhouse visitor finds himself. It is here that the first impression of the steam room is formed by the person entering. In modern ones, it is most often combined with a relaxation room, because the comfort in the bath directly depends on its arrangement.

In old village buildings, dressing rooms were very cramped. They could fit a maximum of three people, and even then with great difficulty. Their decoration also left much to be desired: a bench, hangers, a poker, a place to store firewood. The ceilings were low, and such a room did not inspire any comfort.

The fact is that previously the bathhouse had a slightly different meaning, because its main purpose was washing clothes and washing the body. However, since amenities in the form of bathtubs appeared in city apartments, the purpose of the bathhouse has changed somewhat. Now washing has faded into the background, but the main properties of the steam room are healing the body and relaxation.

In this regard, more stringent requirements began to be put forward to the waiting rooms:

If the dressing room is , then its dimensions should be calculated as follows: 2-3 m2 for each visitor.
Ideally, in addition to a wardrobe and a place to store firewood, there should be a fairly large table with benches or chairs. Usually tea parties are held here in between visits to the steam room. And this is very important, because with sweat a large amount of fluid is removed from the body, the supply of which must be replenished.

Advice!
Choose wooden furniture for bath rooms, since any upholstery will not withstand the constant humidity that is present in the dressing room.

It will also be more convenient to load firewood into the heater from the dressing room, since this is where the fuel storage is located.

Modern lounges have a more aesthetic appearance. In brick baths they are lined with clapboard.

The main premises of the Russian steam room

In addition to the dressing room, the bathhouse includes the following rooms:

Steam room. As a rule, it has a simple arrangement. A stove-heater, a thermometer, and well-arranged shelves are installed here.

Advice!
It is advisable to install a clock in the steam room so that you know how long you are taking the procedures.
This is especially important for beginners, because you should get used to the heat of the bath gradually, starting from a few minutes.

Sink or washing room. Here a person takes a contrast shower after a steam room. In ancient times, the function of this room was performed by a natural reservoir, near which a bathhouse was built. But over time, people began to build such structures in their yards, and not everyone had access to a lake or river.
Traditionally, a wooden barrel with water was installed in such a room. Also, a bucket with a rope was hung from one of the walls at a height higher than human height. By pulling the rope, the man dumped a bucket of cold water over himself. Today, this shower option is equipped with an automatic bucket filling system.

Often in modern washing rooms a small pool is installed instead of a barrel. The wooden barrel can also be replaced with a plastic or metal container.

Advice!
If you plan to use the bathhouse year-round, then it is advisable to provide a bathroom here.

Bath and progress

Let's look at which traditions of the Russian bathhouse have been rethought in connection with the development of progress:

Instead of stone stoves, purchased iron ones are increasingly being installed, which is much more practical. At the same time, the price of modern metal stoves is much lower than traditional heaters. They heat up faster and release heat faster.
The appearance of shower cabins in sinks is gradually replacing water barrels. It is much more convenient to take a contrast shower here. However, the presence of a shower implies the presence of a running water supply and a septic tank.
In the washroom, ceramic tiles are often laid on the floor. Equipped with a heated floor system, it does not create any discomfort for the feet.
Automatic filling of water tanks, as mentioned above.

How to steam properly

Everyone knows the healing effect of the Russian bath on the body. But it is noted only if you approach it correctly. Failure to follow some rules can cause serious damage to your body.

The following instructions will save you from mistakes and, accordingly, from unpleasant moments of vaping:

Before visiting the steam room, steam your broom.
While the broom is lying in hot water, you can make your first entry into the steam room.

Advice!
Before visiting the steam room, it is advisable to take warm shower within 2-3 minutes.
You can’t get your head wet!

Before entering the steam room, put a special felt hat on your head.
Start procedures from the lower shelves, which are characterized by lower temperatures. Optimal temperature regime to start with it is 60 degrees.
Climb higher by lying on the top shelf for a while. In this case, it is desirable that the legs are slightly higher than the head. This body position facilitates the work of the heart.
After sweating, you should go to the rest room.
The second approach is carried out with a broom.

The main feature of the Russian bath is the high temperature of the steam room. To raise the temperature, you need to splash a small amount of water on the heated stones. A powerful stream of hot air will come from the stones, which will fill the bathhouse with dry steam.

It is better to steam with a broom in pairs. The one who is steaming lies down on his stomach on the shelf and relaxes. The steamer first whips the steamer with weak blows of a broom, gradually intensifying the blows.
After warming up, you can rub the body with a broom. On average, this procedure lasts no more than 10 minutes.
After the steam room we go to the washing room, where we take a contrast shower.
Then we head to the rest room and, after drinking tea or mineral water, we head to the steam room again. Typically this cycle is repeated 3-4 times.

Advice!
If there is no samovar or kettle in the bathhouse, then you should take tea with you in a thermos so that it is hot.

Conclusion

All the secrets of the Russian bath cannot be told in one article, but you should have a general idea of what a Russian bath is. As you can see, not only the construction of a building with your own hands, but also the correct adoption of bath procedures is a whole science. And we have prepared even more useful videos for you in this article!