By the winter solstice of last year, with the help of sauna owners, it was possible to count 770 black saunas and document the traditions associated with 720 of them.
The census of black saunas began on the day of the spring equinox last year and will continue this year, as many saunas have yet to be accounted for.
"Based on the data collected during the census, it can be said that it is customary for most families to heat the sauna and steam on holidays. Almost half of the black saunas are heated on Christmas, but there are also families that go to the sauna on the last day of the old year to enter the new year with clean bodies and souls," reported the Council for Cooperation in Black Saunas of Old Võrumaa.
The bathing traditions of Old Võrumaa have been included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO since 2014. The current census is studying in more detail the number and location of black saunas, as well as the traditions associated with them.
The census is conducted by the Council for Cooperation in Black Saunas of Old Võrumaa. The project is supported by the Estonian Centre for Folk Culture and the Võrumaa expert group of the Capital of Culture of Estonia.
A black sauna is a traditional smoke sauna without a chimney, where the smoke from the stove blackens the walls, and the steam has a special, "bitter" aroma. This tradition is included in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage, and events are held in the region to introduce it, including workshops and meat smoking. It differs from the "white" sauna in that the smoke enters the room instead of going through a pipe, and it requires careful ventilation to remove carbon monoxide before steaming.
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