Russian Bath

An essential part of living in Russia is the Russian bath. The Russian bath is more than a place to wash it is also used for religious ceremonies for the couples that found seclusion in there, for the women that gave birth or to heal the ones that are sick.

Banya is a bathhouse . Humidity comes from the water that is thrown on the stones and the heat comes from the stones that are heated and this creates the steam room. Venik is a vital part of banya and it represents an oak twigs used body massage or a leafy bundle of birch.



You will freeze in icy pool and sweat in bath if you spend a day in a Russian bath. Struggle with the heat and enjoy birch leaves massage. When you finish with the bath you’ll feel ten years younger with a soft skin just like babies. You will surely want to come back. Baths differ greatly in humidity and temperature. Only about 5-10% humidity have the hottest contemporary Finnish saunas. To be tolerated the boiling temperature is 100C/212F and can be enjoyed for short periods of time. Russians believe that dry and hot sauna will only dry your skin and throat and are not healthy the heavy drops of water in the steam.

As the air we breathe every day, Russian bath has the same levels of humidity: about 60%. The quality of steam is very important to Russians : steam droplets of exceptionally small size are created by throwing water on stones heated. This makes breathing enjoyable and easy. Almost every village still has and had its own banya. Where traditional folk medicine prevails banya is perceived as a healing panacea.

Hippocrates said "Give me the power to create a fever, and I shall cure any disease". This principle is implemented by many cultures that used steam and heat. Steam is the essence of Russian banya. Is crucial to produce the right steam. This is the difference between  banya and  sauna. Finnish sauna is hotter than banya but has excessive moisture. Women and men attend the bath at separate times, unless it's a mixed family banya. This makes it an ideal place to socialise and meet.

On at least three levels the "parilka" is lined with benches. Has a large stove and is surrounded by large buckets of water. The door might be blown by the pressure of the seam so a bather guards the door. As they begin to sweat profusely the bathers pores open instantly. The accumulated toxins are eliminated in the process. Russians believe this process also relives the stress and cleanses the minds not only removes toxins.


A crucial element of a real banya is the hot and cold contrast. So after you sweat enough you dip in the cool pool then you go back into the steam room. And the process can be repeated several times. Amongst health seekers steam baths are increasingly gaining popularity. Are tremendous the health benefits of steam bathing.

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