An overview of the development of sauna cultures in different regions

The sauna is one of the oldest ways humans have used controlled heat to cleanse the body, recover, and restore balance. Although saunas have taken different forms across time and regions, their technical solutions, building materials, and ritual meanings have evolved according to climate, religion, and social structures. What connects them all is an enclosed space where controlled heat acts intentionally on the body and mind, serving hygienic, social, or religious purposes.

The history of saunas around the world shows how heat evolved into a multifaceted cultural practice. While its forms have changed over time, its core purpose has remained the same: supporting human well-being.

Early Sauna Forms and Prehistoric Practices

The emergence of sauna-like spaces is closely linked to the discovery of fire and the ability to control heat. Once people learned to heat stones and concentrate warmth inside enclosed spaces, it became possible to create a stable and repeatable hot environment.

Archaeological evidence suggests that steam chambers were already used in prehistoric times. Underground or semi-subterranean structures have been found in Scandinavia and Siberia where stones were heated and water was poured over them to create steam. This construction method was not accidental — the surrounding earth acted as natural insulation, helping retain heat for longer periods.

Similar stone-heating sites have also been discovered in Ireland, known as fulacht fiadh. Their function may have been related to both cooking and heating water. Although their exact purpose remains debated among scholars, they indicate an early understanding of the role of hot water and heated stones in creating controlled heat.

Historians generally distinguish four broad types of saunas:

Bath saunas – where hot water is central (for example hot water pools)
Fire saunas – heating directly near an open fire
Steam or löyly saunas – steam created by pouring water on heated stones
Hybrid saunas – combining steam rooms and hot water pools

These differences developed according to climate, available materials, and cultural traditions. In every case, however, the key element was the ability to control and direct heat.

Saunas in the Ancient World: Greece and Rome

In ancient Greece, hot rooms were used both for athletic recovery and everyday washing. The hypocaust system — an underfloor heating mechanism — was developed to warm rooms and water. Public bathing facilities became part of urban life, and bathing gradually took on an important social dimension.

The Roman Empire expanded bathing culture into a vast urban infrastructure. Roman baths, or thermae, were multi-room complexes that combined spaces of different temperatures, pools, and relaxation areas. Bathing was not merely a hygienic practice but an essential part of daily social life. After the collapse of the empire, however, the destruction of water and heating systems led to the decline of large public bathhouses.

Changes During the Middle Ages in Europe

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the number of large public bath complexes decreased as maintaining water and heating systems became more difficult. However, bathing culture did not disappear from Europe entirely.

Between the 12th and 15th centuries, public bathhouses were common in several Central European cities, especially in the German-speaking regions where they were known as Badstuben. These establishments offered not only bathing but also haircuts, shaving, and various medical treatments. Saunas continued to serve as social gathering places.

Attitudes began to change in the late Middle Ages and early modern period when epidemics — including the plague — influenced perceptions of hygiene and bodily exposure. In some regions public bathhouses were closed, yet local traditions, particularly in Northern and Eastern Europe, continued to survive.

The Islamic World and the Hammam Tradition

In Islamic culture, ritual purity is an important religious principle. This gave rise to the hammam — a steam bath whose structure was partly inspired by Roman bathing traditions.

A hammam typically consists of:

a cooler entrance room
a warm intermediate room
a hot steam room

In addition to steaming, hammams include washing and exfoliation rituals. They have historically functioned as both hygienic and social spaces. Hammam architecture often uses stone and marble, and the environment emphasizes moist heat, unlike the drier heat typical of Nordic saunas.

Sauna Traditions in Asia

China

In China, physical cleanliness was associated with moral and social order in early texts. During the Song dynasty (960–1279), larger public bathing facilities developed in cities, offering not only baths but also massage and other services. This indicates that hot-water bathing culture was already an organized part of urban life.

In several periods coal was used as a heating source, allowing for larger and more permanent bathing establishments and demonstrating technological adaptation.

India and Buddhist Monasteries

In the Indus Valley Civilization (around 2600–1900 BCE), monumental bathing structures were built that indicate organized washing practices. In Ayurvedic tradition, sweating and steam were considered methods for restoring the body’s balance.

In Buddhist monasteries, saunas were used as a disciplined practice. They were not meant for leisure but formed part of daily hygiene and health maintenance, often governed by strict rules.

Japan

Japan’s hot-water bathing culture developed extensively during the Edo period (1603–1868), when public bathhouses known as sentō spread widely in cities. Natural hot springs, or onsen, had been used long before that.

In Japanese bathing traditions, thorough washing before entering the shared bath is essential, and a calm, quiet atmosphere is emphasized. The central element is hot water rather than steam, which distinguishes it from the Nordic sauna tradition.

Steam Rituals of Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

Sweat Lodges in North America

A sweat lodge is a small enclosed structure into which heated stones are brought and water is poured to produce steam. Its purpose is not only physical cleansing but also spiritual and ceremonial experience. The practice often involves prayers, songs, and collective participation.

The Mesoamerican Temazcal

The temazcal is a stone steam chamber used for healing and ritual practices. Its significance was closely connected with spiritual beliefs and cosmology.

Interactions Between Sauna Cultures

Although sauna traditions developed independently in many parts of the world, they did not evolve in complete isolation. Trade routes, migration, military expansion, and religious exchange allowed technologies and practices to spread between cultures.

The Roman hypocaust heating system directly influenced the development of the Islamic hammam. After the fall of the Roman Empire, this technological knowledge survived in the Middle East and was adapted to Islamic requirements of ritual purity, combining Roman engineering with religious practices.

Asian bathing cultures also evolved through cultural exchange. The spread of Buddhism from India to China and Japan introduced monastic traditions in which washing and steam bathing formed part of a disciplined lifestyle. Although Japan’s onsen tradition is based on natural hot springs, urban bathing culture developed within a strong social and religious framework.

The Nordic sauna developed primarily in response to local climatic and building conditions, yet it too was shaped by cultural contact. Trade routes and political connections with Eastern Europe and Russia influenced sauna practices, and traditions such as whisking and steam bathing spread between regions.

The history of sauna culture is therefore not a series of isolated traditions but a network of practices, technologies, and ideas that have moved across cultural boundaries. Heat as a technical solution is universal, yet its meaning and use have always been culturally defined.

The Nordic Sauna and the Modern Era

In Northern Europe, the sauna developed under harsh climatic conditions and with limited building materials. Wood and stone were widely available, leading to the emergence of wooden sauna buildings centered around heated stones.

The early smoke sauna had no chimney. During heating the room filled with smoke, which was later ventilated before bathing began. This design allowed the stones to reach very high temperatures and created the distinctive steam known as löyly.

A defining feature of the Nordic sauna is the ability to regulate heat by pouring water onto the stones. This produces alternating waves of hot and humid air, differing from the constant humidity of Roman baths or the hot-water immersion typical in Japan.

In addition to hygiene, the sauna had practical and ritual roles in Nordic cultures. It was used for childbirth, healing, and important life events. These functions helped sauna traditions survive even during periods when public bathing declined elsewhere in Europe.

Today, the Nordic sauna has spread internationally. Its popularity can be explained by its technical simplicity, the distinctive combination of heat and steam, its strong cultural identity, and its compatibility with modern wellness trends.

The history of saunas around the world shows that heat and steam have played an important role in human culture in many different forms. Saunas have served as spaces for hygiene, social interaction, spiritual practice, and health.

While their meanings and forms have changed across cultures and centuries, the fundamental principle remains the same: controlled heat creates an environment where people can cleanse themselves, recover, and connect with others. This universal experience explains why sauna culture has not disappeared but continues to adapt to new technologies, materials, and ways of life.

The sauna is not merely a historical phenomenon — it is a living tradition that continues to evolve alongside modern wellness culture.

Based on:

Hõbepappel, U., Hõbepappel, L., Nellis, S., & Nellis, S. (2023). SAUNA. History, Culture, Health, Construction.