What a German bath is really like: features, steam ceremonies and secret highlights. Why you shouldn’t be shy in German shared saunas and an expert review of some

Tourists and visitors to Germany have long admired its historic architecture, world-class museums and beautiful, clean small towns. But there is one aspect of German culture that few travelers dare to experience: the bathhouse tradition. Often housed in beautiful buildings, these public facilities are an ideal place to relax and experience the healthy traditions of the local people.

Public baths in Germany are a unique phenomenon. They are designed for spending time together with family, friends or colleagues. German baths have a number of features that distinguish them from similar establishments in other countries of the world. Therefore, before you decide to visit this establishment, you should familiarize yourself with the rules of conduct and the peculiarities of bathing procedures in Germany.

Features of visiting German saunas: rules, norms and traditions

The first thing worth noting is that the rules may vary somewhat in different bath complexes in the country. Therefore, here we note those that are common in all or most terms.

Where are the baths located?

There are baths in Germany that are located in areas where thermal springs come out of the ground. Very similar to the sulfur baths in Georgia.

But not all saunas are built near thermal waters; this is an optional condition.

What does the sauna process look like?

You come to the bathhouse, pay for the amount of time you need according to the tariff and go to the locker room. Further, the situation differs from the rules in a particular bathhouse - in some you can leave the locker room in a swimsuit, robe or at least a towel, but you will be required to take them off in the steam room or pool. In others, all your embarrassment along with your clothes must be left in the locker room - immediately behind it is the “Freikörperkultur” space. However, no one can forbid you to wear a towel or a robe made of natural materials, but you will look like a black sheep. In the steam room, you can also wrap yourself in a towel, but then you must have two of them, because one must be placed on the shelf in the steam room (so as not to drip your sweat onto it).

This is where all the dubious features end and the pleasant things begin. Each bathhouse has many steam rooms for every taste - Finnish saunas, Turkish hammams, infrared saunas, salt saunas, etc. and so on. Moreover, there can be several of each type, including those with different temperatures (for example, 80,90,110). At the exit from the sauna, two plunge pools will be waiting for you - with ice and hot water, as well as a tub of ice water that you can tip over yourself. There are also areas where you can sit and soak your feet in hot water. Every bathhouse must have a swimming pool, and even more than one, including an outdoor pool that you can swim into from the main one. Both inside and outside there is a relaxation area with sun loungers. Steamed after the steam rooms, refreshed in the pool, you lie down on one of them, grabbing water, tea or a glass of wine from the bar. To say it's a thrill is to say nothing! You can also get a massage, but such a pleasure in Europe is not for budget travelers.

There is also such a thing in German baths as aufguss. This is not another type of perversion, but just succumbing to steam rooms with various herbs and aromatic oils. They happen, like everything else in German life, according to a strict schedule. At a certain time, a specially trained person enters the steam room, pours water with all sorts of additives onto the stones, and then waves a towel towards those steaming. To be honest, we missed the aufguss on our entry, but according to reviews the feeling was very cool.

Aufguss

This term refers to pouring water over hot stones, which is a whole ceremony.

Aufguss is held according to a schedule, so visitors try to arrive on time, as this is not only indicated by tradition, but also allows not to disrupt the ceremony and not release valuable hot steam. Various aromatic oils are often added to the water with which the stones are poured, which the specially trained employee conducting the procedure warns visitors about in advance in the instructions he announces at the beginning of the procedure. He also talks about how to behave during and after the procedure.

After the stones are doused with water, an employee intensively disperses the steam on the vacationers with a towel or broom. In addition, he also manages to entertain visitors by telling them funny stories and anecdotes. At this time, any movement outside the sauna is prohibited in order not to release steam from the room. You can only go out if you feel sick. During the procedure, they can also turn on relaxing music and give out various salts, creams, ice, snow, honey for rubbing into the skin, etc. during or after it.

After the aufguss you may be offered tea, fruit or ice cream, which are already included in the price.

How does Aufgus pass?

The park is supplied by a special person “Saunameister” who is assigned to this. The door is opened in front of Aufgus and a large amount of fresh air is let in.
Air from the street is forced into the sauna with a towel. This saunameister then uses a towel to disperse the steam from Aufgus throughout the sauna.

The master’s movements are more reminiscent of a kind of mesmerizing dance with a towel in his hands. It's like a real show: moral, physical and aesthetic satisfaction is guaranteed!

The ceremony schedule is usually posted in each steam room. You can easily navigate by the start time of Aufgus.

It is quite difficult to say exactly how long Aufgus takes. The duration may only last 6-8 minutes, but there are also record steam outputs!

Aufgus can last more than 20 minutes. Regardless of the time, you cannot leave the sauna until the end of the ritual.

After the end of the fragrant steaming, another ceremony begins - visitors drink beer!

Women's days in the baths

Some bathhouses organize women's days. They are usually popular only with foreigners and prices for services on such days increase significantly.

Etiquette in German saunas

Men, women, children, the elderly - everyone washes naked in the same room. On rare occasions, some establishments offer separate swimming days, but this may only be once a week. On all other days, be kind enough to cast aside false shame!

If you enter the washroom wearing swimming trunks, you will be reprimanded and shown the door. So those who want to visit a German sauna should tune in to a nudist mood and, first of all, get used to their own nudity. Russian people, who are much more shy by nature, have difficulty accepting such orders. Some people, even after living in Germany for many years, simply avoid visiting the sauna.

But the fact is that German friends or even business partners can easily invite you to their home sauna. And in this case, you will have to strip naked and take a steam bath with everyone else. In this case, you should behave appropriately: do not blush, do not cover your most intimate parts and, of course, do not closely examine the figures of those around you.

Hygiene rules

You are only allowed to sit or lie on the shelves in the steam rooms using your own personal towel. Body contact with the tree is strictly prohibited. Your sweat should also fall exclusively on your personal towel.

Where can you hide

The sauna in Germany is divided into 2 zones. The first is the actual washing room and steam room. They are called Textilfrei, which roughly translates to “clothing-free zone.” In the remaining rooms - the lounge area, water slides and bar - you can walk around modestly wrapped in a towel or in swimming trunks. By the way, not all Germans do this. Many continue to shamelessly walk around in what their mother gave birth to. Not every Russian is able to accept, let alone understand, this.

Beneficial features

A visit to a German steam room helps:

stimulation of the endocrine, respiratory, circulatory, cardiovascular systems;
acceleration of blood flow and metabolism;
removing waste and toxins from the body;
eliminating pain;
general relaxation;
restoration of strength;
reducing emotional stress;
suppression of cold symptoms;
removal of mucus from the upper respiratory tract.

It is not recommended to visit bath complexes if you have severe weakness, fever, or high blood pressure.

Public Baths and Free Body Culture (FKK)

Yes, and here the most interesting thing begins, namely, what puts all Russian tourists into culture shock. Absolutely all health resorts in Germany and Austria are joint (that is, they are visited by representatives of all genders and ages at the same time - men and women, children and the elderly) and at the same time they adhere to the rule of visiting the complexes in a completely naked form.

Such traditions and rules are determined by the so-called free body culture (FKK - “Freikörperkultur”), which is sacred and inviolable for the Germans, and began in 1898, when the first group of naturists appeared in Essen. Simply put, the Germans simply do not understand and cannot imagine why they need to wash, swim, steam or sunbathe dressed, and even more so in harmful synthetic swimsuits and swimming trunks. This is especially true for saunas, because... synthetics, they say, when exposed to high temperatures and moisture, release harmful chemicals into the air, so in this way in a confined space you can harm not only yourself, but also those around you.

Rules regarding places where you must be completely naked vary from one community to another. In some of them, you need to be completely naked throughout the entire complex outside the locker room (including in catering areas, lounge areas and in the pools), while in others it is mandatory to swim in the pool in a bathing suit. In addition, rubber slippers are prohibited in the baths. Baths in which nudity is not allowed throughout the entire territory, areas for mandatory naked visits are indicated by the inscription “Freikörperkultur” or “FKK”. By the way, all these rules are not just a formality and if you decide to appear in an area that is mandatory for visiting naked, in a swimsuit or swimming trunks, you will simply be asked to leave.

If you want to wear a towel or robe made from natural materials, no one will kick you out, but people will look at you like a black sheep. The same reaction will follow if you try to somehow cover yourself with your hands or look at other visitors. Germans really don't see anything unusual about showing their nudity, and they find it strange if someone feels differently about it.

The most pleasant

The procedure of swimming in such places is very pleasant and relaxing. In public saunas you cannot speak loudly or make any noise at all. This may prevent other guests from enjoying their stay. You can sit or lie on the shelves only on special bath towels, which are 2 meters long. You cannot touch wood with bare skin. It's not hygienic.

You should arrive at the beginning of the “aufguss” - pouring out the stones - on time. It is important. During aufguss, a sauna employee pours water with honey, eucalyptus or orange aromatic oils on the stones and diligently disperses the steam. At the same time, he entertains visitors: he tells them jokes and jokes. You cannot leave the hall at this moment, so as not to let off precious steam. You can only leave if you feel sick.

Then you can start swimming. Some saunas play pleasant music during Aufguss and hand out free salts, creams or ice cubes for the skin. After the procedure, you may be offered a cup of tea, fruit or ice cream. All this is already included in the entrance ticket price. Aufguss in saunas are held according to a schedule, so it is customary to arrive on time so as not to disturb the special beauty of the ceremony.

What does the sauna process look like?

Rules for using the sauna

One of the arguments that Germans like to give to foreigners is that most swimwear is made from synthetics. When heated strongly, these materials can cause significant harm to the human body. You should know that you cannot sit on the wooden shelves in the sauna without first laying down a large terry towel.

In addition, it is worth laying another similar towel under your feet, because the Germans are convinced that a person’s sweat, flowing from his body under the influence of high temperatures, can ruin the wooden coverings of shelves and floors. To create a comfortable, friendly atmosphere in the baths, dim lighting is used.

Joint baths and saunas

Almost all saunas and baths in Germany are shared. This means that men and women, children and old people - everyone steams and washes together. The main problem for Russians is that they have to do it completely naked. You will not be allowed into the steam room, wash room, or swimming pool in a swimsuit or swimming trunks. Rubber slippers are also prohibited.

The Germans believe that any synthetic material in a humid and hot environment evaporates dangerous chemical compounds. This not only harms the person wearing synthetic swimwear, but also those around them. You simply will not be allowed into a German sauna in a swimsuit (or swimming trunks, if you are a man).

Even if you shyly cover up your sensitive areas, they will look at you in surprise as if you were a strange person. The Germans are not at all shy about their nudity. Teenage boys can safely swim next to the naked mothers of their classmates, and no one sees anything indecent about it.

Special German sauna

The Germans do not have such a reverent attitude towards the bathhouse as the Finns or Russians. I asked my friend: “When you go into the sauna, it smells like a bathhouse. Do you feel like you’re definitely in a bathhouse?”

The sauna smells pleasant and, of course, there is a feeling that you are in a sauna. But compared to a Russian bathhouse, these are not the same feelings.
- Andrey

The bath complex itself is divided into two sectors. In one sector there is a shower, a swimming pool, and in the other the steam room itself.

The arrangement of the sauna is quite ordinary: shelves and the stove itself. The German sauna does not hold tanks, basins, ladles and brooms.

You are not allowed to wear swimming trunks or swimsuits in the German steam room. You can steam completely naked.

This is due to the Germans’ belief that synthetic fabric is not environmentally friendly; for the same reason, it is forbidden to wear flip-flops or rubber slippers in a German bathhouse. These are the rules of the pedantic Germans...

Another important rule for visiting a bathhouse is maintaining silence. You should not distract visitors from the process. Only silence, enjoyment of warm air and pleasant aromas! If one of the ignorant visitors violates this prohibition, he may even be reprimanded.

Yes, you won’t hear here: “Give it to the park,” no one grunts or groans at the shelf. Our peoples have completely different mentalities.

But they still know how to give a parka in a German bathhouse. They just do it their own way...

Division by gender

The main difference between bathhouse rules in the country is that they accommodate representatives of both sexes and all ages at the same time. Thus, the baths are not divided into zones depending on gender.

It is very rare to find women's days in individual establishments. This custom of performing bath rituals together arose in ancient times. In this way, the indigenous people saved supplies of firewood needed to fire the bathhouse.

Come to Baden-Baden

A German bath - "therma" or "baden" - is very often set up in places where thermal waters come to the surface. Remember the famous resort town of Baden-Baden, so popular, along with Karlovy Vary, among the advanced Russian intelligentsia of the century before last. What a place it is. In Germany there is even the entire federal state of Baden-Württemberg, the same one in whose capital, the city of Stuttgart, the headquarters of the Daimler company is located, which produces the legendary Mercedes, so beloved by our officials of different flight altitudes.

What primarily distinguishes a German bath is its comprehensive approach to business. Very rarely, mainly in the south and extreme east, the bathhouse functions as a conservative purebred sauna, providing a very narrow list of services. The classic German bath complex is a whole industry. There are many different steam rooms for every taste: low-temperature Turkish, medium-temperature with abundant thick and viscous steam, high-temperature dry saunas with a wide gradation of temperature conditions, even extreme ones, salt grottoes, relaxation areas with access to a garden or an area with a magnificent landscape, swimming pools - thermal, open, closed, fonts with ice water. Moreover, the quality of finishing, designs, and the services provided in general is the highest. Impressive, isn't it?

The cost is very strictly tied and regulated by time and, in most cases, ranges from 6 - 19 euros per hour and 22 - 45 euros per day.

A little dry theory

In Germany (and also in Austria, keep in mind if you are going to ski resorts) there are very unique bath traditions. Locals consider it unhygienic, wrong and even possibly disgusting to bathe in synthetic swimsuits. It seems like these newfangled materials are harmful and unsafe. But at the same time, all German baths are shared - and traditionally men, women, children and old people go to the “therms” completely naked. This doesn’t bother anyone except the numerous Russian tourists who end up there either by accident or out of curiosity. In the first case, the reaction of our people is mainly negative, and in the second, it is not entirely adequate.

Rules

There are also certain unspoken rules in place on the territory of the bathhouse complexes. For example, photography and video recording are not carried out in these premises. It is also not customary to look at visitors and comment on their appearance.

In general, German bathing traditions differ quite significantly from similar traditions in other countries. Therefore, many foreigners are shocked when encountering them for the first time. However, for brave people, visiting such an establishment can be an interesting experience of getting to know another culture.

What does the sauna process look like?

Additional procedures

An important procedure in German public baths is aufguss, i.e. pouring thermal water with essential oils onto hot stones, causing fragrant steam to spread through the steam room using special fans or towels. The most commonly used oils are orange, honey or eucalyptus oils. This procedure is carried out by special masters who even compete with each other annually in Austria.

The duration of aufguss is on average 20 minutes. Most steam rooms have a schedule for this procedure so that each visitor can navigate the time and not miss this ceremony. Its cost is already included in the entrance ticket.

During the procedure, it is forbidden to leave the steam room, only in case of dizziness or a sharp deterioration in health. The bath attendant performing the procedure can also entertain the gathered people with anecdotes and jokes. In some complexes, pleasant relaxing music is turned on, and creams, ice cubes or salt are distributed free of charge. After the procedure, visitors are offered a choice of soft drink, hot tea, ice cream or fruit.

About the culture of behavior

The women's bathhouse in Germany, a religious institution, is more likely for newcomers who are unaccustomed to the generally accepted practice than for the natives, and even a delight for the female part of the country's Muslim diaspora. The traditional public bathhouse in Germany, on the contrary, has its own rules of cultural behavior, because the Germans are a cultural nation, no matter what evil tongues may say. So, the main theses of the unwritten code of the real German bath wolf:

No clothing except a natural towel and no rubber slippers.
A real German bath towel should have the following dimensions. The length is the height of its owner, plus two more palms. Width - the distance from the fingertips of an outstretched arm to the middle of the chest. These parameters are not taken out of thin air. In the steam room you can sit only on your own towel, with your hands resting on it. If you occupy the second and third shelves, then your feet rest on the lowered edge of the towel. The dripping sweat ends up on the towel and stays there. No greasy shelves and no burns. Although the Germans were the first who began to massively use the African maple - abash for arranging paired rooms.
There is no talking or loud expression of emotions in the steam room or thermal pool. If you can’t relax yourself, don’t bother others.
There is no need to eat through the eyes of visitors, and especially female visitors. A wild look and lack of reaction to the environment is the first sign of an unusual and complex guest of the federal republic. If the reaction, on the contrary, is gushing and excessive, such a client will also be carefully taken out by the staff of the establishment and also, according to the good German tradition, shot. When visiting public baths in Germany, one can have a different attitude towards the manifestation of shame, considering it the boundary separating man and animal, or vice versa - an extreme degree of hypocrisy. In any case, the culture and customs of the host country must be respected.

Prices in Berlin baths

Now specifically about those Berlin baths in which we were.

Mine was called Liquidrom and here is its official website.

Cost of visiting the Liquidrom sauna:

2 hours 19.50 €
4 hours 24.50 €
whole day 29.50 €
50 minutes of massage costs from 60 € (25 minutes 35 €)

Vanya went to Europa-center and here is their website.

Cost of visiting the Europa-center bathhouse:

1 hour 6.5 €
3 hours 19.90 €
day ticket 21.90 €
evening from 8 pm to 12 on weekdays and from 6 to 9 on weekends – 17 €
spa treatments from 50-60 € per hour (many options, including for two)

German public baths

Residents of Germany love to go to public baths. Here, going to the bathhouse and sauna together is a common thing both for a group of friends and for work colleagues. People go to the bathhouses together and separately, with family and friends.

A bathhouse or sauna in Germany is similar to a water park.

An impressive area is occupied by swimming pools: with pipes and slides, hot and cold, deep and shallow, with hydromassage and fast current.

The range of thermal treatments is impressive: Finnish, Russian, Japanese, Mongolian, bio-sauna, hammam and even an ice cave with temperatures below zero. Between the steam rooms are winter gardens, jacuzzi, massage parlors and laconiums - relaxation rooms with heated couches on which guests lie or sleep.

Famous bath complexes

Complexes built around natural thermal springs in Bavaria and Lower Saxony are popular. Among the best is Baden's Caracalla Baths. The healing water comes directly from the depths below the complex.

A landmark of Berlin is the Liquidrom, a bath complex that attracts visitors with cosmic interiors, a seawater pool and free treatments.

In Germany there is also a sauna-planetarium, a sauna-cinema and even a sauna-aquarium, where you can observe the life of marine life behind glass.

My experience in the thermal baths of Berlin

In general, I have never suffered from a craving for nudism (although who will believe me now), and it’s somehow not very interesting to look at others, but I really wanted to relax in a bathhouse after three days of running around Berlin. Well, since this is a local specialty, you can combine business with pleasure - take a steam bath and try something that is much talked about.

In our bathhouse you only had to undress in the steam rooms; throughout the rest of the area they wore bathrobes, and in the pool you had to wear a swimsuit. Like any normal person, undressing for the first time was awkward. It seemed to me that we would enter the steam room and everyone there was dressed, and only my friend and I were like two fools)) But no, in fact everyone was sitting or lying on the towel they had taken off.

There is semi-darkness in the steam room and without special efforts you won’t be able to see your neighbor. The Germans themselves go to the baths often and have already seen so many naked bodies that two more can hardly surprise them. If someone looks at another person, they do it as discreetly as possible - indecent) But only those who specifically came for this will be considered - for example, Russians)) Such people are usually given away by a wild look, and you can simply stay away from them. We went to a new and quite expensive establishment, the cost of which eliminates the undesirable contingent. In general, there were few people, and often we sat in the steam room or hammam together.

Overall, we had a great time - everything in the bathhouse was very high quality and beautifully done, we steamed, swam, and at the end drank a glass of wine on the sun loungers overlooking the garden. Have a rest! As for bare features - in Germany this should be taken for granted. You can not? Then just don't go. I can't say that I like it, but it has to be done. I saw these people for the first and last time in my life. I couldn’t go with friends and colleagues like the Germans))

No one is ashamed of nudity

Germany has a relaxed attitude towards nudity, especially when it is related to health. This attitude towards nudity began in the nineteenth century, when Scandinavian steam baths became popular. In the late twentieth century, nudity became widespread on beaches, city parks, and walking trails. Recent years have seen a decline in nudity in outdoor and open space settings, but bare skin is still the standard in bathhouses.

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In Goethe's country, it is not customary to be embarrassed by the nudity of the human body, so it is considered absolutely normal to wash in the presence of other naked people, regardless of gender.

In addition, children, teenagers, and adults bathe without hesitation in each other’s presence. If someone in the bathhouse begins to cover his own body, then local residents will look at him with distrust and wariness. To be fair, it is worth saying that walking around the entire complex in what your mother gave birth to is strictly prohibited.

This rule only applies to steam rooms and saunas.

Most visited complexes

The Berlin Liquidrome complex is the leader in attendance among all establishments in the country. Its popularity is partly due to the presence of healing springs directly below it. Here you can also swim in a pool filled with sea water and undergo a full course of procedures completely free of charge.

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Sources

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