Editing Sauna (section)

==History==
[[File:Smoke Sauna (395139052).jpg|thumb|A Finnish smoke sauna]]

Areas such as the rocky [[Orkney]] islands of Scotland have many ancient stone structures for normal habitation, some of which incorporate areas for fire and bathing. It is possible some of these structures also incorporated the use of steam in a way similar to the sauna, but this is a matter of speculation. The sites are from the [[Neolithic]] age, dating to approximately 4000 B.C.E.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gillett |first1=Karrie |title=Bronze age 'sauna' unearthed on Orkney |url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/bronze-age-sauna-unearthed-on-orkney-1-3902053 |publisher=[[The Scotsman]] |date=29 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106175507/https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/bronze-age-sauna-unearthed-orkney-1494130 |archive-date=6 November 2020}}</ref> Archaeological sites in Greenland and Newfoundland have uncovered structures very similar to traditional Scandinavian farm saunas, some with bathing platforms and "enormous quantities of badly scorched stones".<ref name="Nordskog, M. 2010">Nordskog, M., Hautala, A (2010)The Opposite of Cold-The Northwoods Finnish Sauna Tradition; University of Minnesota Press</ref>

The traditional Korean sauna, called the ''[[hanjeungmak]]'', is a domed structure constructed of stone that was first mentioned in the ''Sejong Sillok'' of the [[Annals of the Joseon Dynasty]] in the 15th century.<ref name="Han">{{cite web |url=http://www.safetimes.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=8044 |script-title=ko:조선보다 못한 '한증막 안전' |website=세이프타임즈 |language=ko |last1=한영준 |access-date=25 March 2017 |date=2016-05-10 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Jjimjilbang: a microcosm of Korean leisure culture |url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100331000120 |website=The Korea Herald |access-date=25 March 2017 |language=en |date=1 April 2010 }}</ref> Supported by [[Sejong the Great]], the ''hanjeungmak'' was touted for its health benefits and used to treat illnesses.<ref name="Han"/> In the early 15th century, Buddhist monks maintained ''hanjeungmak'' clinics, called ''hanjeungso'', to treat sick poor people; these clinics maintained separate facilities for men and women due to high demand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://navercast.naver.com/contents.nhn?rid=141&contents_id=6937 |script-title=ko:온천 |website=네이버캐스트 |language=ko |last1=김용만 |access-date=25 March 2017 }}</ref> Korean sauna culture and kiln saunas are still popular today, and [[jjimjilbang|Korean saunas]] are ubiquitous.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Sang-hun |first1=Choe |title=Kiln Saunas Make a Comeback in South Korea |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/world/asia/27iht-kiln.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=22 September 2016 |date=26 August 2010 }}</ref>

[[File:In de sauna. Slaan met berkentakken, Bestanddeelnr 920-4683.jpg|thumb|Women in Sauna with [[Bath broom|''Vihtas'']] in the middle of the 20th century in Finland<ref>{{Cite web |title=Helsinkiläinen sauna |url=https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/fotocollectie/ab1e6406-d0b4-102d-bcf8-003048976d84 |website=Nationaal Archief |access-date=2022-03-12 }}</ref>|alt=]]

Western saunas originated in [[Finland]] where the oldest known saunas 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. This would raise the [[apparent temperature]] so high that people could take off their clothes. The first Finnish saunas were always of a type now called ''savusauna''; "smoke sauna".<ref name="Maki"/><ref name="Sweat1978"/> These differed from present-day saunas in that they were operated by heating a pile of rocks called a ''kiuas'' by burning large amounts of wood for about 6 to 8 hours and then letting out the smoke before enjoying the ''löyly'', a Finnish term meaning, collectively, both the steam and the heat of a sauna (same term in Estonian is ''leili'' - you can see similarities with Finnish word). A properly heated "savusauna" yields heat for up to 12 hours.<ref name="Birt 1988">{{cite web |last=Birt |first=Hazel Lauttamus |title=New Finland Homecoming 1888–1988 |year=1988 |url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cansk/Finnish/NewFinland/ |format=republished online by Saskatchewan Gen Web Julia Adamson |access-date=7 December 2010 }}</ref>
[[File:Acerbi Giuseppe suomalainen sauna 1804. Joseph Acerbi Voyage an Cap-Nord por la Svéde, La Finlande et la Laponie Collection de planches. no VII Parrs 1804.jpg|thumb|''Bain Finlandais''. Illustration of a Finnish sauna in 1804 by [[Giuseppe Acerbi]].]]
As a result of the [[Industrial Revolution]], the sauna evolved to use a wood-burning metal stove with rocks on top, ''kiuas'', with a chimney. Air temperatures averaged around {{convert|75–100|C}} but sometimes exceeded {{convert|110|C}} in a traditional [[Finnish sauna]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-06-17 |title=Sauna: Health benefits, risks, and precautions |url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313109 |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=www.medicalnewstoday.com [[Medical News Today]] |language=en}}</ref> As the Finns migrated to other areas of the globe, they brought their sauna designs and traditions with them. This led to a further evolution of the sauna, including the electric sauna stove, which was introduced in 1938 by Metos Ltd in [[Vaasa]].<ref>''[http://www.metos.com/page.asp?pageid=2,1,6&languageid=FI Metos Ltd (in Finnish)]''</ref> Although sauna culture is more or less related to Finnish and Estonian culture, the evolution of the sauna took place around the same time in Finland and [[Baltic states|Baltic]] countries; they all have valued the sauna, its customs and traditions until the present day.

The sauna became very popular especially in Scandinavia and the German-speaking regions of Europe after the Second World War. German soldiers had experienced Finnish saunas during their fight against the [[Soviet Union]] during the [[Continuation War]], where they fought on the same side. Saunas were so important to Finnish soldiers that they built them not only in mobile tents but even in bunkers.<ref name=scheuch>Manfred Scheuch: ''Nackt; Kulturgeschichte eines Tabus im 20. Jahrhundert''; Christian Brandstätter Verlag; Wien 2004; {{ISBN|3-85498-289-5}} pages 156ff</ref> After the war, the German soldiers brought the custom back to Germany and Austria, where it became popular in the second half of the 20th century.<ref name=scheuch/> The German sauna culture also became popular in neighbouring countries such as Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.<ref name=zeit1>{{Cite news |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/reise/die-sauna-kultur-und-die-bekleidungsfrage-13268204.html |title=Saunakultur und Bekleidungsfrage |publisher=die Zeit |date=2014-11-18 |access-date=2017-05-21 |newspaper=Faz.net |last1=Kast |first1=Günter }}</ref>

Sauna culture has been registered in the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]] under two entries: "Smoke sauna tradition in [[Võromaa]]" in 2014 and "Sauna culture in Finland" in 2020.<ref name="news.err.ee"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Sauna culture in Finland |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/sauna-culture-in-finland-01596 |website=UNESCO Intangible Heritage |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=19 December 2020 }}</ref>

===Etymology===
The word ''[[wikt:sauna|sauna]]'' is an ancient [[Finnish language|Finnish]] word referring to both the traditional Finnish bath and to the bathhouse itself. In [[Finnic languages]] other than Finnish and Estonian, ''sauna'' and cognates do not necessarily mean a building or space built for bathing. It can also mean a small cabin or cottage, such as a cabin for a fisherman.<ref>Häkkinen, Kaisa (2004): ''Nykysuomen etymologinen sanakirja''. WSOY: Helsinki. pp. 1131–1132</ref> The word is the best known [[Finnicism]] in many languages.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kallio |first=Petri |title=The Etymology of Finnish sauna 'Sauna' |title-link= |date=2008 |publisher=Peeters |editor1-last=Dekker |editor1-first=Kees |series=Mediaevalia Groningana New Series |volume=11 |location=Leuven – Paris – Dudley, MA |pages=313–319 |contribution=The Etymology of Finnish sauna 'Sauna' |editor2-last=MacDonald |editor2-first=Alasdair |editor3-last=Niebaum |editor3-first=Hermann}}</ref>