The enduring culture of bathhouses: From ancient rituals to modern connection

By Trinity Scarf, Founder, Trinity Curated Wellness 

Across centuries and continents, humans have turned to water, steam and sweat as a way to restore balance. From the Roman Thermae to Japanese onsen, from Moroccan hammams to Finnish saunas, bathing has always been more than hygiene – it’s a ritual of renewal, connection, and community. 

Yet, in much of the Western world, this culture all but disappeared in the 20th century. Domestic plumbing, medical scepticism, and even the shadow of the AIDS epidemic pushed public bathhouses to the margins. What was once central to social life and civic identity became stigmatised or forgotten. 

And yet, as The New York Times recently noted, bathing culture is making a global return – not as a nostalgic novelty, but as a response to the very modern condition of digital fatigue and disconnection. 

Bathhouses as antidote to the age of acceleration 

Bathhouses have always been places of gathering. In Japan, onsen culture is as much about communing with others as it is about the minerals in the water. In Morocco and Turkey, hammams serve as neighbourhood meeting points. In Finland, saunas are woven into the very fabric of political and professional life. 

In fact, as Russh magazine highlights this month, the sauna is increasingly seen as the “hottest” place for business networking. The Finnish parliament itself has a sauna chamber. Suits, watches, and laptops are left outside; inside, there is a levelling vulnerability. No hierarchy, no performance – just heat, honesty, and human connection. 

This revival reflects a cultural shift away from alcohol-fuelled lunches or sterile boardrooms towards healthier, more authentic ways of meeting. It’s not about replacing martinis with magnesium baths, but about creating a new balance. Bathing culture provides precisely that: a space where personal and professional can coexist in ways that feel nourishing rather than depleting. 

The return of ritual 

What strikes me most in observing this renaissance is how it reclaims bathing not just as an “amenity” but as a ritual. In England, architects now design swimming ponds as centrepieces of country living. In New York and London, new bathhouses are opening as cultural hubs, positioned as alternatives to bars or boutique gyms. And in Australia, we are seeing a surge in purpose-built spaces designed to be both communal and restorative. 

At Trinity Curated Wellness, I see this every day. Guests come for the physiological benefits of hot-cold therapy, but they return for the intangible: the reset, the clarity, the sense of belonging. In the bathhouse, the armour we wear in daily life – roles, responsibilities, devices – is set aside. What remains is elemental. 

A future rooted in the past 

The resurgence of bathhouses is not about chasing trends. It’s about remembering something timeless: that wellness is not just individual, but collective. That health is not just functional, but experiential. That rituals, when thoughtfully revived, can anchor us in ways that feel both ancient and radically modern. 

In a culture that prizes productivity, spaces like the bathhouse remind us of the value of slowing down. In a world divided by status and noise, they invite equality, presence, and connection. 

Perhaps the true future of wellness lies not in inventing something new, but in rediscovering what has always been there: the simple, transformative act of bathing together. 

Discover our Roman-inspired bathhouse at Trinity Curated Wellness, South Melbourne.

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