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What country invented the sauna?
Finland
The oldest known saunas in Finland were made from pits dug in a slope in the ground and primarily used as dwellings in winter. The sauna featured a fireplace where stones were heated to a high temperature. Water was thrown on the hot stones to produce steam and to give a sensation of increased heat.
What is the origin of sauna?
The word “sauna” is of Finnish origin, and means “earth pit” or “snow pit”. A century ago, Finland was full not only of traditional log sauna cabins (see smoke sauna), but also of such earth pits (see earth sauna). Finnish saunas as we know them today developed from these earth pits.
What country is known for saunas?
Today, Finland is a nation of 5.3 million people and 3.3 million saunas, found in homes, offices, factories, sports centres, hotels, ships and deep below the ground in mines.
Are saunas Finnish?
Saunas have existed in other cultures, but it is in Finland that they have become entwined in the national culture. Traditional saunas are heated by wood, burned either in a stove with a chimney, or by a stove with no chimney. The latter – a smoke-sauna – is the original sauna and believed by most Finns to be the best.
Are saunas bad for you?
Saunas appear safe for most people. However, people with uncontrolled high blood pressure and heart disease should check with their doctors before taking a sauna. Here are some general precautions: Avoid alcohol and medications that may impair sweating and produce overheating before and after your sauna.
What country has more saunas than cars?
There are more saunas than cars in Finland and, unlike the rest of us who view a hop in the sauna as a luxury, the Finns consider their weekly sauna as a necessity, right up there with food, rye bread and vodka.
Do Swedes have saunas?
In Scandinavia and certainly in Sweden, the sauna represents a similar culture whereby heated rooms or buildings provide guests with a way to relax and sweat, in addition to promoting various health benefits. Saunas are in abundance all over Sweden where they are commonly known as ‘bastu’.