Bathing culture

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The dream of bathing in the fountain of youth (painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 16th century)

The term bath culture or bathing (from bathing ) refers to bathing in warm or cold water, which primarily serves to cleanse, but also to promote health and well-being. The steam bath , which is now part of the sauna , also served this purpose.

Swimming pools are not part of the bathing culture, even if they originated from the bathing culture.

history

Summary

The origins of European bathing culture go back to antiquity , when public thermal baths also had an important social function. With the migration of peoples came the decline of the Roman bathing culture. In the Byzantine Empire, however, the tradition persisted and was later continued by the Islamic conquerors (for example in the form of the hammām ). In the Middle Ages, the tradition was also resumed in Europe with the bathhouses, which were, however, modestly sized compared to the thermal baths . In modern times, bathing culture is closely linked to the emergence of health resorts with thermal springs and seaside baths. The great majority of the European population did not have private bathrooms until the 20th century. The importance of the bathroom in different epochs was always closely linked to the prevailing ideas of hygiene .

Beginnings

The first larger bathing facilities were among others in the cities of the Indus culture (around 2500–1900 BC). In Mohenjo-Daro there was a bath on the "Citadel" in a building with a 7 × 12 m large and 2.4 m deep basin, into which two flights of stairs led down. The water supply came from wells. The size of the facility indicates that this bath should not only be used for body cleaning, but also for ritual purposes and the pleasure of bathing. But bathing facilities were not only found in this public building, but also in many houses in the city, which suggest a pronounced need for hygiene on the part of the residents, but perhaps also ritual ablutions. Other early bathing facilities are from the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt (approx. 2700–2200 BC), from Mari in Mesopotamia (around 2000 BC), and also from Knossos in the Minoan culture (around 2000 BC). ) as well as from the Mycenaean culture (from approx. 1600 BC).

Antiquity

Greece

Reconstructed tub in a house in Olynth

In ancient Greece and the Roman bath culture a very high priority had. There were private bathrooms and sewers on Crete as early as 2000 years before our era . The in the late 8th century BC The Odyssey , written down in the 4th century BC , which describes the adventures of King Odysseus of Ithaca and his companions on their return from the Trojan War , shows in numerous verses the great importance that the Greeks attached to cleaning with water. The eighth chant, for example, describes how the house slaves prepare a bath in the house of the Phaiac king Alcinous Odysseus before he sits down at his host's table. Comparable passages prove a careful cleaning before prayers and sacrifices and the custom of first offering the guest water so that he can wash his hands and then offer him a bath.

In the 5th century BC Public bathing establishments with a basin and tubs as well as an ointment room ( ancient Greek βαλανεῖον balaneion "bath room" or λουτρόν loutron "bath") emerged. From the 4th century onwards, public baths became a common facility in Greek cities. There does not seem to have been a specific construction scheme, rooms with mostly 10 to 22 tubs or seat tubs in both a rectangular (for example in Olympia ) and circular arrangement (for example in Gortyn , Gela and Megara Hyblaea ). Sometimes there were two bathrooms in a bath complex, in which men and women could bathe separately. In addition to these public baths, there were also bathrooms in private homes. Often they only contained a waist-level sink. Some also contained bathtubs made of clay, such as the ones excavated in Olynthus . For further cleaning, the Greeks knew sweat baths (steam baths) in which hot stones were poured with water. There were also dry hot air baths. These were small rooms in which a basin with charcoal provided heat. 300 years later, the so-called hypocaust was introduced to heat the bathing facilities.

The Hellenistic sports facilities ( singular : gymnasion , plural : gymnasia) often had water basins to cool off after sport. Since the athletes rubbed themselves in with sand and oil for the competitions, sweat and dirt were removed afterwards with a Strigilis (skin scraper). There is no evidence that gymnasia offered their users hot water before Roman times, although this would have been better suited for removing the oil and dirt. The Greek sports facilities with integrated baths were already meeting places at this point in time, where you could spend hours. Gymnasia, which also had hot water, were first mentioned in the 1st century BC. Occupied.

The preference for warm baths was not without criticism in Greek society. The Greek comedy poet Aristophanes (around 450 to 380 BC) doubts in The Clouds whether the Greeks, who effeminate in warm baths, still had the manhood that made their ancestors successful in the battle of Marathon . Plato (around 428 to 348 BC) pleaded in his Dialogue Nomoi to limit hot baths to the elderly and the sick. Even more rigorous in their rejection were the Spartans who, in their rejection of warm baths, appealed to their mythical founder of the state, Lycurgus , and saw in them a danger to the warfare of their state.

Greek doctors were already using hydrotherapy , which they had adopted from the Egyptians. Hippocrates was a noted proponent of cold water treatments. He recommended cold water sprays for rheumatism and gout as well as cold compresses for fever . In addition, numerous medicinal springs were already known, many of which were dedicated to gods. So-called Asklepios temples were built at particularly effective sources , which were visited by the sick and which were basically sanatoriums . The most famous of these temples was located in the city of Epidaurus . The hot springs of Adepsos on the island of Evia also had a very good reputation .

Roman Empire

Floor plan of the Stabian thermal baths
Roman bath in Bath (England). Only the plinth below the Tuscan columns dates from Roman times.
Reconstructed interior of the Caracalla Baths (Tepidarium)

Hygiene played a major role from the late Republic onwards. The first larger Roman baths ( Latin lavatrina washroom, actually drain, balneum , balineum bath room) probably developed in Campania , the capital of which was Capua as early as the 4th century BC. Was the largest city in Italy after Rome. In the heyday of this region, which was around 500 to 300 BC. The Greek influence was very great there, so that the public baths, which the Greeks took for granted, were built there. 305 BC Rome owned the first large aqueduct ( Aqua Appia ) and at that time a public bath was already being set up. In the 2nd century BC It was already a matter of course for Roman citizens to have access to public bathing facilities. The Stabianer Thermen in Pompeii, which were buried on August 24, 79 when Vesuvius erupted, are among the oldest preserved thermal baths . An early seat bath was probably built there as early as the 3rd century BC. However, the complex preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius essentially dates from 140 BC. The Stabianer Therme already shows the characteristics typical of a Roman bath and had underfloor heating (suspensura) . In Pompeii, younger thermal baths have also been preserved, including the so-called Vorstadttherme , which was built in the early imperial era , and the central thermal bath, which was not yet completed at the time of the Vesuvius eruption. Both thermal baths are technically more sophisticated than the Stabian thermal baths, they offered users more space and luxury and were flooded with light because of the large windows. The Vorstadttherme, which is best known today for the erotic frescoes in the changing room, even allowed visitors to see the sea.

A typical Roman bathhouse had changing rooms ( apodyterium ) , a sweating room ( laconicum ) , a warm bath ( caldarium ) , a moderately warm room ( tepidarium ) and a cold bath ( frigidarium ) . Theoretically, the sequence of a bath was precisely defined, but each visitor was free to choose his or her own sequence, but gradual warming up was widespread. After taking off their clothes, which could be stowed in lockable boxes ( loculi ), the bathers usually warmed up on a kind of sports facility ( palaestra ). Afterwards, the visitors in wooden shoes, with bathing utensils and towels first went into the cold bathing room (frigidarium) to clean themselves. This was followed by a warm bathing room (tepidarium) with a room temperature of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, in which there were benches and water basins. Here you could be oiled and massaged by staff. This was followed by the use of the laconicum with dry heat or the humid sudatorium . Since this facility is typically Greek, which is evident from the name laconium , among other things , it was not an integral part of a Roman bathing facility and the visit was purely optional. The central room was the warm bath (caldarium) with a temperature of approx. 50 ° C. Because of the underfloor heating, visitors often wore wooden shoes so as not to burn their feet. The cold bath again formed the end of the bath.

Some of the public baths of the Roman Republic were privately owned, while others were owned by the state. The area accessible to women was usually much smaller than that available to men, but the entrance fee that women had to pay was often higher than that for men. Possible reasons can only be speculated, but historians suspect that women usually used more cosmetics than men and that their long hair often clogged the drains. The price structure was chosen so that the poorer classes also had access to the thermal baths. Children, soldiers and sometimes slaves did not have to pay admission. The wealthier had the opportunity to purchase additional services or access to special rooms. Many of the wealthier patricians came into the bathroom with their slaves, one of whom was guarding the cloakroom, which was located in an open niche in the changing room, another carried the various utensils, and a third scraped sweat and dirt from his skin with a scraper ( strigilis ) . Public baths were also located in the more distant Roman provinces, for example in Baden , Latin Aquae Helveticae in Switzerland. This served as a bath for the Roman legionaries and settlers of Vindonissas . On German soil, for example, the remains of Roman baths can be seen in Trier, Aachen , Weißenburg , Kempten or Künzing , and the health resorts of Baden-Baden and Wiesbaden are Roman foundations.

In the Roman Empire, the large, luxurious thermal baths were built, which regularly had additional rooms such as sports and gaming halls, shops and bars. The thermal baths of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa , which were built in 25 BC. Were opened, were around 14,500 m² in size; in his will he bequeathed it in 12 BC. BC the Roman people, who thus had free access. It was only for these luxurious bathrooms with their symmetrical layout and roofed sports fields that the term thermae became established . In German usage, they are also known as Kaiserthermen. The simpler public baths, on the other hand, were called balneum . Two of the largest of these imperial baths are the Caracalla baths (built between AD 216 and 217) and the Diocletian baths (built between 298 and 306). The last major of these imperial baths was built in 324 under Emperor Constantine . The operation of these thermal baths was cost-intensive and was financed by tax revenues and donations. In the 4th century Rome alone had eleven large thermal baths and around 900 public baths. However, wealthy Romans also had their own bathroom.

In the course of the siege of Rome by the Goths in 537, the entire water supply system was destroyed, so that the thermal baths in Rome could no longer be operated. There was no reconstruction and with the collapse of the Roman Empire , the decline of the baths began in western Europe, while they were preserved in the Byzantine Empire . Old thermal baths continued to be used and new baths were built. This is all the more remarkable given that at that time, other areas of public building construction began to decline. After the conquest of Alexandria in 642, ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs reported with amazement that the city had 4,000 villas with 4,000 baths. The bathing culture found by the Arabs was adopted by them, but modified (see chapter Islamic bathing culture ).

middle Ages

Early depiction of a medieval bathing room (Heidelberg manuscript, Sachsenspiegel , 13th century)

The crusaders rediscovered bathing culture in Islamic countries and reintroduced it to Europe. However, the ancient bathing culture could not be achieved for several centuries. If one believes the report of an envoy from Caliph Al-Hakam II from the year 973, the Central European bathing culture in the early Middle Ages was not far off:

“But you don't see anything dirtier than them! They only clean and wash themselves with cold water once or twice a year. But they do not wash their clothes after they have put them on until they fall into rags. "

- (Quote from Otto Borst, Everyday Life in the Middle Ages, Frankfurt / M. 1983)

If that wasn't a bit of an exaggeration anyway, it was more likely to apply to the common people. In any case, it is reported of Charlemagne that he not only bathed frequently (e.g. in the warm sulfur springs in Aachen), but was also a good swimmer. Swimming was one of the seven "knightly skills" in the Middle Ages. Most of the aristocratic residences are likely to have had bathing facilities, but not always the monasteries .

Sociable bath in a medieval bathhouse (depiction around 1570)

Since most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by the Moors in the 8th century , the Islamic bathing culture spread there. The baths of the Alhambra in Granada, built in the 14th century, were considered particularly magnificent . In the Christian countries, on the other hand, the teaching of asceticism , which rejected bathing as a softening and luxury, became increasingly important. Not bathing was raised to the rank of a virtue that was considered as meaningful as fasting. The influential Doctor of the Church Augustine declared that one bath per month was just about compatible with the Christian faith. It is best for monks to get into the tub only before Easter and Christmas.

In Central Europe, in the wake of the Crusades in the High Middle Ages, bathing rooms were created in which the sexes were officially segregated , but in practice mostly mixed bathing was done in the same pool.

Scene in a bathhouse: Bader treats bathers (engraving by Jost Amman, 1568)

The bath began with body cleansing, only then did sweating follow. Not every bather got into the bathtub, because a water bath was much more expensive than a sweat bath . The lye for cleaning was obtained by pouring water over ashes; Soap didn't come up until later. The steam in the sweat room was generated by pouring hot pebbles over it. The stoves were heated with wood; they not only heated the bathroom, but also served to warm the bath water in copper kettles. There were no water pipes. There were also pebbles on the stove. For the sweat bath, one sat on wooden benches, which, like in modern saunas, were placed at different heights; While sweating, bathers used fronds or rods to beat their bodies to encourage sweating. Wealthy guests let themselves be rubbed off sweat and dirt by "rubbing" or "rubbing women" on the benches, the others had to do it themselves. At the end of the sweat bath, water was poured over the body. Often the bather had their hair washed afterwards and a shave done, at the end they could be fleeced or bled if desired. The cupping to have been the main source of income Bader.

The tubs in the bathhouses were made of wood, copper or brass. Often the water in it was heated by placing hot pebbles in the tub and then pouring water over it. That is why the bathers usually did not sit directly in the tub, but on a stool that stood in it; often there was also a footstool. Various herbs were added to the water on request.

In larger bath houses there was also a vestibule, a relaxation room and a kitchen, because the bathers were also served food and drinks on request. The bathers and servants generally wore a kind of apron, called a shawl , while the bathing maids wore a gauzy shirt. The bathers were definitely completely naked in the sweat bath, in the water bath there was an item of clothing for women called Badehre . It was a light apron that was tied around the neck and left the back free. Men sometimes wore bath shirts.

A visit to the bathhouse was considered a pleasure for the wealthy, people ate and drank in the water, and not infrequently also barged. The profession of barber was not considered dishonorable for nothing, not only as a barber and surgeon , but also as a matchmaker and matchmaker for a fee. In the bathing rooms there were often beds to rest after the bath. They got a reputation for being secret brothels , and some were. For a long time the Church criticized these customs in vain. It was forbidden for priests to go to public baths.

The heyday of bathhouses was in the 12th and 13th centuries. Communal bathing was very popular in large parts of the population, not only because of its hygiene, but also above all because of its entertainment value. It was created u. a. the custom of the wedding bath; the groom was accompanied to the bathhouse by several men, the bride by other women. During the mourning period, bathing was prohibited for religious reasons.

Modern development

In the Rococo period, the foot bath replaced the full bath (engraving by Bonnart, around 1660).

With Columbus ' voyages of discovery in America, a new variant of syphilis was presumably introduced from 1493 . The European population lacked genetic adaptation against the foreign pathogen variant. This venereal disease, incurable at the time, brought the end of most public bathhouses in the 15th and 16th centuries; they were closed because of the high risk of infection. The Thirty Years War also contributed to the decline of the bathing rooms. At the same time, bathing fell into disrepute in general, as it was harmful and unnecessary, according to many doctors. This was due to the belief at the time that the water would penetrate the body through the pores of the skin during a bath and mix there with the “ body fluids ”, which in turn would lead to diseases. The penetration of pathogens (such as miasms ) into the body was also feared in this way.

This fear of water remained for a long time. In the Rococo era , perfume and powder played a greater role than water for body care among the nobility. Princes of this age sometimes equipped their castles with luxurious bathrooms: For example, Elector Max Emanuel of Bavaria had the Badenburg built in the Nymphenburg Palace Park especially for this purpose in 1718–21 . Another example is the oriental-style bathroom at Albrechtsberg Castle in Dresden , which was built in the mid-19th century . However, these baths were primarily used for representation.

Mineral baths, game baths, fountains of youth and health spas

At the latest in the High Middle Ages, the benefits of mineral springs were discovered and mineral baths and the first health resorts were established . The oldest German mineral and therapeutic baths include Haßfurt in Lower Franconia, Burgbernheim in Bavaria, the Wildbad zu Kreuth , Wolkenstein in Saxony and the Aachen thermal springs , due to which today's Aachen was visited by the Romans as a resort and a comprehensive thermal bath area was created there; later Charlemagne chose this place, which he also appreciated because of its sources, as the center of the Frankish Empire he ruled . Baden and Heilbrunn were known early on in Austria, Bad Pfäfers in Switzerland , Warmbrunn in the Giant Mountains , and Plombières-les-Bains in Lorraine . The most popular were the natural, mineralized hot and cold springs far from civilization, which were also called wild baths . Some gained the reputation of being true "wells of miracles" and attracted whole crowds of pilgrims in search of healing. For example, around 1550 Bad Pyrmont became known overnight. So many guests came that food in the village became scarce. This belief in the “miracle cure” lasted about ten years in Pyrmont, then the rush abruptly subsided again. In the 16th century, the so-called fountain of youth myth , which was also found in numerous contemporary representations and poems, led to a revival of bathing culture . a. by Lukas Cranach the Elder and Hans Sachs . The earliest written mention of the Fountain of Youth in 1177 goes back to a priest John, who told Emperor Emanuel of Constantinople about a spring not far from Mount Olympus , after which one should be transported back to an age of thirty-two years.

Spa treatment at the Plombières-les-Bains spa (16th century)

In the spas there was apparently just as sociable as in bathhouses. Poggio Bracciolini reported in 1417 about the town of Baden in the county of Baden (Switzerland): “The baths were most popular in the early morning. Those who did not bathe themselves paid visits to friends. They could be spoken to from the galleries and seen eating and dining at floating tables. Beautiful girls asked for 'alms', and if coins were thrown down on them, they would spread their robes to catch the coins and thereby reveal their charms. Flowers adorned the surface of the water, and the vaults often echoed with strings and singing. At lunchtime at the table, after the hunger was satisfied, the cup went around for as long as the stomach could take the wine, or until the drums and pipes called out to dance. "

In the 16th century, Bad Kissingen , Bad Ems , Bad Schwalbach and Wiesbaden gained importance in Germany, the Gasteiner Wildbad in Austria , Leuk in Switzerland and Spa in Belgium. During this time, several writings by medical professionals on the importance of healing sources appeared. Most health resorts did not yet deserve the name “bath” at that time, because they were not at all equipped to accommodate large numbers of guests; Spa houses were also the exception at this time. When Hans Carl von Thüngen came to Ems to relax in 1674, the place consisted of a few poor houses; the guests were housed in tents. The Kurhaus was not built until 1715.

Back then, the motto was “a lot helps a lot”. The patients sat in the bath for about ten to twelve hours a day, usually in a tub or so-called bath tub - until the skin was sore and began to fester. This effect, called skin eater or stain , was quite desirable because it was believed that the healing water could only properly penetrate the body through the "open skin".

The English Bath developed into the largest seaside resort in Europe in the 18th century. During the main season - autumn and winter - around 8,000 guests came to the place. This was not only due to the healing springs, but not least to the rich entertainment that had arisen here over the years. They even employed their own master of ceremonies, who bore the title "King of Bath" and was responsible for the regular course of social life.

The Enlightenment also reformed medicine and ideas about health and hygiene. Exercise in nature was recommended. So bathing in the open air became fashionable, not only in warm springs, but also in open water.

In the 19th century the boom came in the Bohemian "spa triangle" with Karlsbad , Franzensbad and Marienbad , which at that time belonged to Austria-Hungary . In 1860 10,000 spa guests came to Karlsbad alone. The Bohemian health resorts were among the first to introduce mud baths , comparable to mud baths . Around 1900 Wiesbaden was then considered a " world bath " with around 136,000 visitors annually, followed by Baden-Baden with around 72,000.

Around 1900 there were over 300 health resorts in Germany (excluding seaside resorts) with a total of around 600,000 guests per year.

Drinking cure

Pump room at the source of the Grande Grille in Vichy (France, around 1900)

At the end of the 16th century, in addition to bathing, drinking cures became popular, again following the same motto. The bathers drank incessantly from the mineral fountain from morning to night, often 15 to 20 liters per day. In order to mask the rather unpleasant taste of the water, it was sometimes mixed with milk or wine. Certain side effects of some sources were considered quite desirable; so there was known Furzbrunnen (z. B. in Bad Schwalbach ) or Kotzquellen (as in Leukerbad).

The drinking of healing water became so popular with the wealthy that in the 17th century people began to fill jugs and send them out. For a long time the most popular was the water from Niederselters in Hessen. The demand for this seltzer water was so enormous that on some days up to 18,000 jugs were filled and shipped, some of them abroad. The mineral water from Fachingen and Bad Ems also had a good reputation . In France, the seaside resort of Vichy was the leading supplier of mineral water; around 1.5 million bottles were filled here in 1860.

Since the bottled mineral water was not cheap, doctors came up with the idea of ​​producing artificial healing water. The decisive breakthrough came with the German doctor and pharmacist Friedrich Adolph August Struve . He managed to chemically analyze different types of water and also to imitate their smell and taste. In 1820 he opened his own mineral water company in Dresden . Similar institutions then emerged in Leipzig, Berlin and Brighton, for example. As in the health resorts, drinking and walking halls were added to them, and health chapels were hired.

Seaside resorts

Coachmen pull bathing carts into the water in Cuxhaven (copper engraving from 1818)
Beach life in Westerland on Sylt (around 1900)

The first seaside resorts for the nobles and rich were in England in the 18th century: Brighton , Hastings , Scarborough , Margate , Ramsgate , Bath . The physician Richard Russell (1687–1759), who studied the health benefits of sea water and was one of the pioneers of thalassotherapy , had a decisive influence on British bathing culture . He also prescribed bathing and drinking cures with seawater for scrofula . The later seaside resort of Brighton was founded by him in the small fishing village of Brightelmstone. The place became famous when the Prince of Wales , who later became King George IV of Britain , stayed there for a cure in 1782 . In 1801 Brighton already had 7,300 inhabitants, and in 1831 31,000.

In 1787 Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz wrote in a travelogue about England: “Seaside bathing has now become very fashionable in England, which is why many places by the sea have been set up for this purpose and provided with great convenience. Little houses have even been built in the sea, some distance from the shore, which are only used for bathing. For a few years these places have been amazingly sought after by the fine world. The most distinguished of these are: Brightelmstone, Margate, Weymouth and Scarborough. "

The oldest French seaside resort is Dieppe , which had a so-called health center as early as 1776. In the 19th century, however, it was overtaken by Biarritz as a swanky seaside resort of the better society.

In Germany, u. a. the writer Georg Christoph Lichtenberg and the doctor Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland for the establishment of health spas by the sea. On September 9, 1793, at the suggestion of the physician Samuel Gottlieb Vogel and at the instigation of Duke Friedrich Franz I of Mecklenburg , the first German seaside resort was opened in Heiligendamm near Bad Doberan on the Baltic Sea; Norderney followed in 1797 . In 1801 Travemünde received its first bathing establishment. For example, Cuxhaven followed him in 1816 at the instigation of Amandus Augustus Abendroth .

Swimwear 1893
Early North Sea baths
Early Baltic seaside resorts

Bathing in the sea was something completely new at the time, and the morals of the time naturally required strict gender segregation and body-covering bathing costumes, although the doctors recommended nude bathing to be more effective. As if that weren't enough, bathing boats with "eel boxes" were also introduced here, as well as bathing carts , which were mostly pulled into the water by horses and made for a decent bathing experience. In some North Sea baths, these carts were used as mobile changing rooms well into the 20th century.

In the 19th century the cure finally became the fashion of the fine society, including the upper middle class. The great majority of the population was initially excluded from this pleasure. At the beginning of the 20th century, the nudist culture that arose as part of the life reform movement found a (then) scandalous publicity in nude bathing in the sea. Only after the Second World War did the seaside holiday develop into a phenomenon of mass tourism .

Water treatment according to Hahn, Kneipp & Co.

Exaggerations in hydrotherapy (caricature by Honoré Daumier , around 1850)

Cold water was used as a remedy in ancient times, but this form of therapy has been forgotten in the meantime. They were rediscovered in modern times, and in the 17th century various medical writings on the beneficial effects of cold water appeared. Shower baths were prescribed in individual health resorts 100 years earlier, cold ones, mind you. The well-known Aachen spa doctor François Blondel described their use in 1688. The German pioneers of hydrotherapy were Siegmund Hahn and his son Johann Siegmund , both doctors in Schweidnitz , who were also called the "water taps". Hahn junior a first system of hydrotherapy developed, which he successfully at a 1737 typhus - epidemic in Wroclaw began.

In England and France, hydrotherapy became increasingly popular in the 18th century. Really popular the water cure was but by a medical layman, by Vincenz Priessnitz from the Silesian Gräfenberg , who had enjoyed not even an education. His parents owned a farm and he knew the use of cold compresses on horses and cattle. After falling from his horse, he successfully applied the method to himself and, at the age of 19, earned a reputation as a “water doctor”. In 1826 Prießnitz built a hydrotherapy institute in Graefenberg, which aroused the displeasure of several doctors who accused him of being a "quack" who was not authorized to provide treatment. In 1829, however, he received official permission from the Austrian government to admit sick people. From now on Prießnitz treated almost all illnesses except epilepsy and tuberculosis with water cures. He also banned all luxury foods and prescribed exercise. Within a few years his sanatorium attracted thousands of patients from home and abroad.

Treading water at Kneipp in Wörishofen (around 1900)

Other hydropathic institutions were soon established, for example in Elgersburg in Thuringia , in Ilmenau , Bad Liebenstein , Bad Laubach near Koblenz in 1841, in Sonneberg , Rostock , in Albisbrunn (Switzerland), Paris , Rotterdam and St. Petersburg . The "water pope" of the 19th century, however, was the priest Sebastian Kneipp , who also first tried out hydrotherapy on his own body. He transformed the laundry room of the monastery in Bad Wörishofen into a bathhouse and was soon also known as a “water doctor”. In 1886 he published the first edition of his book Meine Wasserkur , which had 50 editions within a few years. In his Kneipp cure, Kneipp mainly relied on the effect of pouring water and treading water . At the end of the 19th century, there were over 100 larger hydropathic institutions in Central Europe under medical supervision, some of which were already called Kneipp baths .

Bathing ships and eel boxes

Since the early 18th century, bathing in open water has become more and more popular among all layers, as only running water was considered harmless. Princes of the time even went on swimming trips with their court. The Enlightenment reformed medicine and ideas about health and hygiene. Exercise in nature was now expressly recommended. In 1761 there was a bathing ship on the Seine for the first time , an establishment of the royal personal bathers Jean-Jacques Poitevin. These were two houseboats connected to one another, in which there were a total of 33 bathing cabins, in which one could bathe hot and cold as well as shower. The river water was used. Between the two boats you could swim in running water. The Viennese doctor Pascal Joseph de Ferro invented a bathing raft in 1781 that swam on the Danube ; it was attached to the bank. There were openings in the bottom of the raft through which a ladder could be used to access a wooden lattice box. So, in a sense, one bathed in a cage. This construction was popularly called an eel box. The Badeschiff (Berlin) took up this principle again in 2004 .

Johann Gottfried Kohl's Badeschiff on the Main near Frankfurt

In 1793 Hamburg followed this example and installed a bathing raft on the Inner Alster near the Jungfernstieg . It was open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and operated until 1810. He was succeeded by a bathing ship in the same year. In Frankfurt / M. the most luxurious German bathing ship was put into operation in 1800. The owner was the doctor Johann Gottfried Kohl . There were eight bathrooms, including one for families, and a salon. The operator wrote at the time: “You step in from the bank on two small bridges. A covered gallery runs around the bathhouse. This leads into an anteroom and eight nicely furnished bathrooms (...) Nearby there is a beautiful esplanade for guests, where they can drink mineral water and stroll around before and after bathing. "

Public baths and bathing establishments

Bathing as a pleasure of youth (copper engraving by Daniel Chodowiecki , 1774)
The celebration for the 50th anniversary of the Pfuel'schen swimming facility , 1867 in Berlin

The first river bathing establishment was opened in Frankfurt am Main in 1773 and in Mannheim in 1777 . In 1847 the handbook of hydropathy for doctors and laypeople said that there were river baths with bathing houses near the shore in almost all German towns. From these bathhouses the bathers got into the already mentioned "swim cages " (eel boxes) , because most of them were non-swimmers. Between 1785 and 1815, over 3,000 people drowned in London, around half of them bathing. One of the first swimming instructors was the Halloren , originally salt boilers from Halle and the surrounding area, who learned to swim as children. As a result of the Enlightenment, swimming was given greater importance as a means of physical exercise from the 18th century. In 1798, the pedagogue GutsMuths published a small textbook on the art of swimming for self-teaching . The Prussian Ernst von Pfuel founded the first swimming pool in Prague in 1811 , and then the first Prussian military swimming pool in Berlin in 1817. Similar institutions emerged a little later in other cities, but initially only for men.

The Gymnase Nautique public bath in Paris opened in 1856. It had walkways and a glass roof.

In the middle of the 19th century the first public bathing establishments appeared in buildings. Before that, people in big cities helped themselves e.g. B. with mobile bathrooms. A Frenchman patented a bath cart with a tub in which a heating stove was built in in 1822. In 1836 there were over 1,000 owners of such carts in Paris selling hot tubs. But of course only the wealthy could afford this luxury. At least in winter, the common people were left with only wooden tubs and basins.

In the 18th century, a new form of sweat bath was introduced in England and Germany, the Russian steam bath . In Germany, the first was made in Berlin in 1781. The Mariannenbad , which was opened there in 1818, became much better known . As a result, such baths were built in many German cities and also in Vienna and Prague. Frederick the Great had such a steam bath set up in his palace in Potsdam . Another variant of the steam bath was called the Irish-Roman bath in Germany and was introduced, for example, in Baden-Baden ; in the UK, on ​​the other hand, these steam baths were called the Turkish Bath .

The first modern public baths arose in England. Pioneering was a public bathing and laundry facility for the working class , opened in Liverpool in 1842 , which had 28 bath chambers as well as two swimming pools and a laundry house. London followed suit.

The first German public bath was built in Hamburg in 1855 at the Schweinemarkt. It had 65 bathtubs and 56 washing stands for washing clothes. The construction was financed with the help of shares and donations from wealthy citizens. In 1860, the first public bathing establishment with a swimming pool opened in Magdeburg . The largest facility of its kind at the time was the Dianabad in Vienna with 104 cabins. There were also three other large baths in the city before 1875. The first Belgian bathing establishment was in Brussels (1854), the first in Switzerland was the Winterthur bathing and washing establishment (1864).

Bathers in Wannsee (1929)
The Volksbad St. Gallen when it opened in 1906. It has hardly been changed since then.

In 1905 the first bath in Germany was built at Lake Starnberg , which generated waves using a wave machine .

From Meyer's Konversationslexikon from 1889:

"For 25 years, have also been built in Germany bathhouses, first the English style, but without swimming founded washing and bathing establishment in Hamburg and on similar principles which are provided with swimming pools, bathtubs and washing stalls stock companies in Berlin." Only there had actually participating shareholders the opportunity to take a bath. "The Admiralsgartenbad, which is intended for healthy people and for therapeutic purposes, contains, in addition to a section for first and second class baths with over 100 cells, a section for Roman-Irish, Russian, shower and sick baths as well as a large (...) swimming pool covered with iron and glass."

Meyers Konversationslexikon describes the equipment of the different types of baths as follows:

" The bathtubs, which have either metal or masonry tubs and usually with showers, are usually separated in larger numbers within a larger room of approx. 3 m height by approx. 2 m high (...) partition walls (...) (...) ). A table, chairs, a small sofa, etc. complete the interior. If these bath tubs are made more spacious and equipped with more elegance and comfort, they are given the name of salon bathrooms. (...) The cleansing baths, which are intended to satisfy the need for refreshment and thorough cleansing of the body in the simplest way that saves time, space and costs, usually consist of well-tempered (...) footbaths (...) and showerheads. The shower baths (...) usually contain a selection of different cold and warm showers, which are rain and hose douche and here as so-called. Head, side and seat douche work from above, from all sides and from below. "

The public shower bath by Oskar Lassar at the Berlin hygiene exhibition in 1883

The public breakthrough in terms of acceptance of such facilities was achieved by the Berlin dermatologist Oskar Lassar , who founded the Berlin Association for People's Baths in 1874 , whose motto was: “Every German a week a bath!” This meant that there were no tubs, but primarily shower baths meant; today one speaks generally of showering . The critical success in enforcing the Volksbrausebads came with the Berlin Hygiene Exhibition in 1883. Lassar there had an 8 by 5 meters wide corrugated iron shack up with a total of ten shower stalls for women and men. During the exhibition everyone could take a shower bath for 10 pfennigs including soap and a towel. The water temperature was only about 28 degrees Celsius, so it was more tepid than warm. The demand was extremely convincing. Between May 10 and July 30, a total of 7,300 people took advantage of the offer.

In 1887 the first pure public shower bath without bathtubs was opened in Vienna .

Private baths

Private bathrooms existed in ancient Rome and Egypt, but they were reserved for the wealthy. In the Middle Ages, initially only the nobility had their own bathing facilities. The equipment essentially consisted of a large wooden tub, which was covered with a cloth to protect it from splinters. The water for the bath had to be brought from the well and heated over the fire. In some courtyards this tub had a fabric canopy so that you could also take a steam bath. There was also a wash basin to wash your face, hands or feet. How often people actually bathed is uncertain. Françoise de Bonneville (see literature) assumes that Duke John without fear bathed about every three weeks, his son Philip the Good only every four months.

In the late Middle Ages, the heyday of medieval bathing culture, bathing together was part of the court ceremony in aristocratic circles. Edward IV of England received the ambassador of the Duke of Burgundy in the bath in 1472. It was a sign of hospitality to invite guests to bathe before a feast. And it became quite fashionable among the nobility to receive visitors in the hot tub. The aristocratic residences also had separate sweat baths . Some of the stately bathing rooms were lavishly furnished, such as that of Philip II of Baden, who owned a large tinned bathing basin with benches.

At the end of the 16th century, the bathing culture in Central Europe changed. People rarely bathed for hygienic reasons, especially bathing in pools or tubs was avoided for medical reasons. Body care was mainly limited to the face, hands and feet. Frequently bathing was only taken as part of a medical treatment. Instead, the nobility and patricians introduced underwear , which absorbed sweat (and dirt) and was frequently changed. The French doctor Louis Savot wrote in 1624: "We can do without bathing sooner than our ancestors, because we use underwear that helps us to keep the body clean in a more comfortable way than the baths and steam baths of our ancestors were able to (...)."

In the 17th century, the “toilet”, ie. H. powder, perfume and make-up, for women and men. With personal hygiene bathroom played only a supporting role, while the vanity to the central accessory of daily hygiene was. Nevertheless, luxurious baths continued to be installed in the castles, some only served to represent the baroque wealth, others were fully functional and were only used on special occasions. Mainly, however, mobile bathtubs were also used in the palaces of the 17th century , so that permanently installed baths were often unnecessary, in the Palace of Versailles there are said to have been over 100 mobile baths under Louis XIV - but no running water. That changed under Louis XV. Mobile bathtubs were now felt to be uncomfortable and more and more intimate bathrooms began to be built into the locks. They even stopped there. The French writer Madame de Genlis (1746–1830) reports in her memoir: “In 1776 I often bathed every evening in Rome. As soon as I was in the bathroom, Cardinal de Bernis was called to come with his nephews. Then we talked for three quarters of an hour. "

The shower was already known in the 16th century. Michel de Montaigne reported on a stay in Italy in 1581: “You also have a drip device called la doccia . It consists of pipes through which hot water is directed to various parts of the body, especially the head; the water pours steadily on you (...) The water comes from a spring (...). ”In the 17th century, shower baths with warm thermal water were part of the spa treatments in Aachen . It was pumped up into a reservoir, from where it poured down on the bathers. From 1870 onwards, various modern shower devices were developed, for which the term shower was common at the time.

In the 18th century the modern bathtubs made of metal appeared, mostly made of tinned copper. Noble ladies like Madame de Genlis liked to bathe in company in the salon ; the tubs were not built in, but still mobile. In addition, the hip bath was introduced, which was also available in a largely closed form and which then looked like a boot. In one such model, Jean Paul Marat was murdered. In Germany there was also the expression bath chair for it . In the 19th century it was also available with a built-in stove for heating the water and an additional shower. Sit tubs had the advantage that less water was needed for the bathroom. In 1889 Carl Dittmann patented a rocking bathtub that was very popular for around 20 years. In it the water could be transformed into a "wave pool" by rocking back and forth.

The bidet was also introduced in France in the 18th century and was then used by women and men for intimate cleaning. Probably the most prominent bidet user was Napoleon , who owned several models. In Germany, England and the USA, on the other hand, the bidet was not able to establish itself, because in these countries its use was considered “indecent”. Nothing has changed in the USA to this day.

In the 19th century, body cleansing was given great importance in England. The philosopher Hippolyte Taine wrote around 1860: “In my room (...) (there are) two washstands (...), plus two porcelain bowls (...) In addition, a third, very low washbasin, a bucket, another bowl, a large, flat zinc tub for the laundry in the morning. (...) The servant comes into the room four times a day: in the morning he brings a large bucket of hot water (...) at noon and at seven in the evening he brings water and everything so that the guest can wash himself before lunch and dinner; in the evening (...) prepares (he) the tub and renews the laundry (...). "

The entire equipment is still housed in a normal living room. It was only around 1900 that separate bathrooms were set up in town houses that contained a bathtub and a washbasin . The first gas boilers came onto the market around 1850 ; Since about 1870 there was also running water in the cities. While the English bathrooms were often clad in wood and still contained a sofa and a table, the American bathrooms were tiled in white and very functional. This style gradually gained acceptance in Europe as well. However, the majority of the population had to get by without a bathtub or shower until the 20th century.

  • Nobleman taking a bath in a wooden tub (around 1300)

  • French lady-in-waiting in front of the spa (around 1700)

  • Postcard depicting a rocking bathtub and various "bathing devices"

  • A bathroom in London (1895)

  • Body cleaning at a washstand (painting by Carl Larsson , 1908)

Japanese bathing culture

Japanese women taking a private bath in a heated wooden tub (around 1890) - recreated scene by Kusakabe Kimbei

In Japan, cleaning not only has something to do with hygiene, it is an aspect that shapes the entire culture. Impurity of all kinds - physically and mentally - is considered a source of many ills and diseases, both in the person concerned, but also in his social environment. It is therefore essential to avoid or eliminate it. Therefore, Japanese apartments are never entered in street shoes, there are special shoes for the toilet and no one shakes hands. Death, childbirth, crime, illness and menstruation are considered to be the main forms of impurity in Japan . There are specific rituals for each case . For example, after a birth, a birth bath is mandatory for mother, child and father.

Private baths

Today most homes in Japan have a bathroom (ofuro) , which was often not the case until about 30 years ago. As bathing is part of social life, members of a family generally bathe together in a tub (hot tub). Sometimes guests are invited to the bathroom as part of the hospitality . If the tub is not big enough for everyone, bathing is done according to old tradition in hierarchical order: first the head of the family, then the men in descending order of age, and finally the women as well.

The bathing water in Japan is much hotter than usual in Central Europe, the temperature is usually well over 40 degrees Celsius. In the medical literature, 47 degrees are proven to be tolerable for humans. The heat is a prerequisite for complete relaxation. It is very important to cleanse yourself thoroughly with soap and rinse before bathing in order not to contaminate the bath water. The actual bathroom is not used for cleaning, but for social contact and wellbeing. By the way, up to the 19th century in Japan no soap was used, but the skin was rubbed with certain herbs or rice bran; that was also a natural peeling .

Public baths

Female bathers clean themselves in a sentō (woodcut, 1867)

When it comes to public baths, a distinction is made between those with natural hot springs, called onsen , and the others, called sentō . Since Japan is located in a volcanically active region, there are many hot springs, of which over 2000 are in bathing facilities. Most onsen are in the open countryside, but they can also be found in cities. In Tokyo, for example, there are around 25 onsen bathhouses. Places with well-known healing springs are health resorts based on the western model.

In an onsen, most of the pools are outdoors (Rotenburo) , which sometimes have different temperatures. Extremely hot springs, in which even the heat-tested Japanese can only spend a few minutes, are called jigoku (hell). Many onsen also have saunas, wellness offers and therapy centers. The same rules apply to the public bathroom as to the private one; cleaning always precedes them. Japanese bathhouses generally bathe in the nude, so swimwear is not allowed.

Before the 7th century, the Japanese most likely bathed mainly in the numerous outdoor springs, as there is no evidence of closed baths. In the 6th to 8th century ( Asuka - and Nara period ) the religion of was Buddhism adopted by China, which had a strong impact on the entire culture of the country. Every Buddhist temple traditionally also had a bathhouse (yuya) for the monks. In the course of time, these bathhouses were also opened to the rest of the population, because the principle of purity plays a major role in Buddhism. Private baths were only owned by the wealthy.

Japanese woman bathes in a wooden tub (woodcut by Torii Kiyomitsu, late 18th century)

The first public bath house is mentioned in 1266. The first Sentō was made in Tokyo in 1591. The early baths were steam or sweat baths, called iwaburo (stone baths) or kamaburo (oven baths). They were natural or artificial rock caves or stone vaults. In the iwaburo along the coast, the rock was heated by burning wood; then sea water was poured over the rocks, creating steam. The entrance to these “bath houses” was very small so that the steam would not escape. There were no windows, so it was very dark inside and users kept clearing their throats or coughing to signal new entrants which seats were already occupied. The darkness could also be used for sexual contact , because there was no separation of the sexes, and so these baths fell into disrepute. They were finally abolished in 1870 for hygienic and moral reasons.

At the beginning of the so-called Edo period (1603–1867) there were two different types of baths. In Tokyo (then called Edo ), hot water baths (yuya) were common, while in Osaka there were steam baths (mushiburo) . At that time, men and women shared a bath. Bathhouses that employed “bath girls” (yuna) who scrubbed the guests' backs, washed their hair, etc. were very popular with male visitors, especially with samurai , but some apparently also offered love services for a fee. In 1841 the employment of yunas was generally prohibited, as was bathing of both sexes together. However, the separation of the sexes was often disregarded by the operators of the bathhouses, or the areas for men and women were only symbolically separated by a line. This resulted in renewed official bans. Today men and women bathe in separate rooms in almost all Sentō . There are now also single tubs.

Islamic bathing culture

The Bey-Hammām in Thessaloniki (preserved in a museum)

The bathing culture in Islamic countries is closely linked to faith. "Allah loves those who are converted and those who purify themselves," says the Koran . Similar to Buddhism, there is a connection between physical and mental purity or impurity. The Islam therefore has numerous ritual baths for special occasions. Basically, every bath is also a ritual . Devout Muslims pray five times a day, and before each prayer a washing with running water ( wudoo ' ) is prescribed. That is why there is a washroom in many mosques . Under the Umayyads (660 to 750), more bathhouses were built in the Byzantine style and some were decorated with magnificent figurative paintings. Since the Koran does not allow “standing water” for cleaning purposes, the bathing houses and thermal baths based on the Roman model were soon closed in the countries that adopted the Islamic religion. For this purpose, they developed their own bathing culture, which is primarily based on the sweat bath. These public bathhouses are called hammam . Ibn Chaldūn reports that there were 65,000 public baths in Baghdad under al-Ma'mūn (813–833).

A tellak with stilted sandals to protect against the heat of the floor in the hammam (work by Enderûnlu Fâzıl , 18th century)

Architecturally, hammams are similar to Roman thermal baths, but they are greatly reduced in size. There are essentially three areas inside: the changing room, a moderately warm room and a hot room. There are basically no side windows, the light falls through a skylight in the ceiling dome. The bathers in a hammam are not naked, but rather clothed in a towel that is handed out there. Male servants, who are called tellak in Turkish, are responsible for the cleansing ritual . Men and women always bathe separately, i.e. in separate hammams or at different times.

In a moderately warm room with around 35 degrees Celsius, the body can slowly get used to the warmth. Then it goes into the hot room. Instead of the Roman water basin, there is the so-called soap stone or belly stone in the middle , a kind of lounger made of stone or marble that is hypocaustically heated. Along the tiled walls there are small “sweating niches” and taps to wash away sweat; the air in this room is hot and humid. The bathers sit naked in these niches. Before sweating, however, there is traditionally a soap massage on the soap stone, which is a matter for the Tellak. The skin is not only soaped thoroughly, but also rubbed off with a goat hair glove before the foam is rinsed off.

A visit to a hammam in Islamic countries used to be a way of maintaining social contacts and exchanging news; the ladies' pool was also known as a “marriage exchange” - the mothers kept an eye out for a suitable bride for their sons. However, the proliferation of private bathrooms has led to the closure of many public bathhouses in recent decades; in Turkey they are now mainly visited by tourists.

Jewish ritual bath

In the Jewish religion , too , purity, literally and figuratively, plays a major role. The Torah prescribes in which cases a ritual immersion bath is to be taken, for example after certain illnesses, for women after the birth of a child and after menstruation . Every Jewish community has such an immersion bath. As in Islam, the water in the plunge pool must be flowing, so that groundwater is often used. It must contain at least 800 liters of water. The purpose of the immersion bath is not physical cleansing, but ritual purity .

Icelandic bathing culture

Iceland has developed a special bathing culture since the Middle Ages due to the natural occurrence of hot springs. Almost every larger town has its own thermal bath. In addition to their increasing tourist importance, Icelandic bathing establishments are above all a place of social interaction.

Bath culture in painting

Bathing scenes were a popular motif for painters as early as the Middle Ages. Since mostly unclothed women are depicted - only rarely men - it was often less about bathing than about an outer frame for a nude motif . The scenes depicted therefore often sprang from the artistic imagination. Illustrated books of hours containing bathing scenes have survived from the Middle Ages . Very popular motifs were the biblical scenes of Bathsheba in the bath , which is observed by King David, or Susanna in the bath in the sights of lustful old people. In the Wenceslas Bible , a naked bath maid is a recurring motif. The illustrators obviously knew how to combine religious devotion with erotic motifs - certainly in the interests of their clients.

In the High Middle Ages, bathing rooms became a popular motif in painting, with the sometimes quite clear depictions of sexual advances probably being based on real observations. In the Renaissance and Baroque periods , bathing was particularly popular as an allegory in which ancient gods and nymphs were observed bathing, such as those of Titian and Boucher . But there were also depictions of women bathing in the river.

In the 19th century, bathing as a subject reached an enormous height, both among the representatives of classicism and those of realism and impressionism . Edgar Degas painted well over 100 pictures with bathing scenes. Occasionally the painters worked with models, but the oriental harem motifs and scenes from the hammam, which were very popular in the 19th century, were clearly based purely on artistic imagination, because access to an Islamic women's bath was strictly forbidden to men. Bathers are also a popular motif in the art of the 20th century, especially among the German Expressionists.

See also

literature

  • Katherine Ashenburg: Clean - An unsanitized History of Washing , Profile Books, London 2008, ISBN 978-1-84668-101-1 .
  • Hartmut Böhme (ed.): Cultural history of water . Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1988, ISBN 3-518-37986-0 .
  • Françoise de Bonneville: The book of the bath ("Le livre du bain"). Heyne, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-89910-160-X .
  • Rolf Bothe (Hrsg.): Spa towns in Germany . On the history of a building type, Frölich and Kaufmann, Berlin 1984, ISBN 3-88725-002-8 .
  • Frank Fürbeth : Bibliography of the German or in the German area published baths of the 15th and 16th centuries. In: Würzburger medical history reports 13, 1995, pp. 217-252.
  • Peter Grilli (text), Dana Levy (photos): Pleasures of the Japanese Bath . Weatherhill Books, New York 1992. ISBN 0-8348-0253-8 .
  • Hans Grohe (Ed.): Bathing suns. Yesterday, today, tomorrow . Dumont, Cologne 1993. ISBN 3-7701-3244-0
  • Marie-Paule Jungblut (Ed.): Be clean ...! A history of hygiene and public health in Europe . Wienand, Cologne 2004. ISBN 3-87909-837-9
  • Ulrika Kiby: Baths and Bathing Culture in Orient and Occident. Antiquity to late baroque . DuMont, Cologne 1995. ISBN 3-7701-2205-4
  • Vladimir Křížek, Gerhard Raschpichler: Cultural history of the spa . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1990. ISBN 3-17-010589-2
  • Burkhard Leismann, Martina Padberg (Ed.): Intimacy! Bathing in art . Wienand, Cologne 2010. ISBN 978-3-86832-020-6
  • Alfred Martin: German bathing in the past few days. Diederichs, Jena 1906 / Reprint: Diederichs, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-424-00959-8 .
  • Michael Matheus (Ed.): Bathing resorts and bathing trips in antiquity, the Middle Ages and modern times (Mainz lectures 5). Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-515-07727-8 .
  • Wolfgang Niess, Sönke Lorenz (ed.): Cult baths and bath culture in Baden-Württemberg . Markstein, Filderstadt 2004. ISBN 3-935129-16-5
  • Horst Prignitz: water treatment and bathing pleasure. A bathing trip into the past . Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1986, ISBN 3-7338-0022-2 .
  • Georges Vigarello: soap and water, powder and perfume. History of personal hygiene since the Middle Ages . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 1988, ISBN 3-593-34632-X
  • Marga Weber: Ancient bathing culture . Beck, Munich 1996. ISBN 3-406-40099-X
  • Marilyn T. Williams: Washing "the Great Unwashed": Public Baths in Urban America, 1840-1920 . Ohio State University Press, Columbus OH 1991. ISBN 0-8142-0537-2 ( digitized version on the publisher's pages in full access)
  • Iris Meder, Monika Schuller: Baths in Central Europe , Metro Verlag, 2011, presentation and review "Bad reading with depth" ( Memento from March 6, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) (architecture)
  • Peter Stachel, Cornelia Szabó-Knotik: Cure and summer retreat . In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 3, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-7001-3045-7 .

Web links

Commons : Baden  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Bath culture  - sources and full texts
Wiktionary: bathing culture  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eighth Song of the Odyssey ( Memento from October 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on June 11, 2009
  2. ↑ Katherine Ashenburg, Clean , p.21
  3. ↑ Katherine Ashenburg, Clean , p.24
  4. ^ Francoise de Bonneville: The book of the bath. P. 20f.
  5. ↑ a b Katherine Ashenburg, Clean , p 28
  6. ↑ Katherine Ashenburg, Clean , p.26
  7. ^ Francoise de Bonneville: The book of the bath. P. 24.
  8. ↑ Marga Weber: Ancient Bathing Culture , pp. 54–59
  9. ^ Marga Weber: Ancient Bathing Culture, p. 151f
  10. ↑ Katherine Ashenburg, Clean , p.31
  11. ^ Horst Prignitz: Water cure and bathing pleasure. P. 22f.
  12. ^ A b Alfred Martin: German bathing in the past few days. In addition to a contribution to the history of German hydrology. Jena 1906; Reprint Munich 1989 with a foreword by Hans-Dieter Hentschel.
  13. ^ Eberhard Fritz: Badstuben in the constitution process of the rural community in southwest Germany at the turn of the early modern period. In: Journal for Württemberg State History 65/2006. Pp. 11-35. Here the question of the dishonesty of the bathing profession is answered in the negative.
  14. ↑ KN Harper, PS Ocampo et al.: On the origin of the treponematoses: a phylogenetic approach . In: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Jan. 15, 2008, Volume 2, No. 1, Art. E148, PMID 18235852 .
  15. ↑ Kristin Harper et al: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Volume 2, No. 1, Art. E148, see also commentary on the study: Connie Mulligan et al: Molecular Studies in Treponema pallidum Evolution: Toward Clarity.
  16. ↑ von Hahn, Gernot & von Schönfels, Hans-Kaspar: Wonderful water. On the healing power of fountains and baths, Aarau and Stuttgart, 1980, ISBN 3-85502-095-7 , p. 76f.
  17. ↑ von Hahn, Gernot & von Schönfels, Hans-Kaspar: Wonderful water. On the healing power of fountains and baths, Aarau and Stuttgart, 1980, ISBN 3-85502-095-7 , p. 75
  18. ↑ Vladimir Krizek: Cultural history of the spa. Stuttgart 1990.
  19. ↑ Vladimir Krizek: Cultural history of the spa. Horst Prignitz: water treatment and bathing pleasure.
  20. ^ Horst Prignitz: Water cure and bathing pleasure. P. 78
  21. ^ Horst Prignitz: Water cure and bathing pleasure. P. 107
  22. ↑ Sebastian Kneipp: My [sic!] Water cure, tested and written for more than 35 years to cure diseases and maintain health , 56th edition. Kempten / Bavaria 1895
  23. ^ Horst Prignitz: Water cure and bathing pleasure. P. 175ff.
  24. ^ Horst Prignitz: Water cure and bathing pleasure. P. 89ff.
  25. ^ Horst Prignitz: Water cure and bathing pleasure. P. 90f.
  26. ^ Francoise de Bonneville: The book of the bath. P. 82.
  27. ^ Francoise de Bonneville: The book of the bath. P. 88.
  28. ↑ Alev Lytle Croutier: Water. Elixir of life. 1992, p. 95.
  29. ^ Francoise de Bonneville: The book of the bath. P. 99.
  30. ↑ K. Kubota, K. Tamura, H. Take, H. Kurabayashi, M. Mori, T. Shirakura: Dependence on very hot hot-spring bathing in a refractory case of atopic dermatitis. in: Journal of medicine. 25.1994, 5,333-336. ISSN  0025-7850 , PMID 7730738 .
  31. ^ Bathhouses, sweat baths, hot springs . Catalog of the National Museums in Berlin, Berlin 1997.
  32. ↑ Wolf Schneider: Cultural history of water. ( Memento from June 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  33. ↑ Alev Lytle Croutier: Water. Elixir of life. Heyne, Munich 1992, pp. 187 ff. ISBN 3-453-05924-7
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on July 1, 2006 .