12/15/2023 0 Comments Zen smoke waterfall![]() ![]() ![]() “The first time, after jumping in a freezing lake and then going back into the sauna,” she says, “I realised that this lovely tingly-ness comes over your whole body and the heat feels so different.” While he grew up with sauna, she was converted after moving to Sweden to study. This fascinating backstory added another layer of interest to what became a passion project for Northern Irish architect Anna and former Swedish ski instructor Carl. You’d crawl in, the door would be closed, and you’d sweat out your toxins before taking a cold plunge.” Carl adds: “Some people think the practice might be older, originally brought here by the Vikings.” Inside they’d build a fire, and when the stones got really hot, they’d put it out, scatter rushes on the floor, and throw water in to create steam. They were for people who had rheumatism or fevers, with thick walls and a tiny entrance. “Sweathouses were built as stone mounds, always near a body of water, so you could cool down. “One of the best preserved is actually here in Northern Ireland – at Tirkane, near Maghera,” says Anna. We’d come out of the sea and want to sauna the way we would in Sweden Anna Isaksson As we sit with Hotbox owners Anna and Carl Isaksson, they enthuse about the 18th- and 19th-century Irish stone buildings that were an early sauna for rural workers, with hundreds to be found from Leitrim to Cork. But until now I hadn’t heard about Irish sweathouses. While we think of sauna as Scandinavian, there is archaeological evidence of the practice at Stonehenge and Orkney. Hotbox’s thermal treated six-person interior ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |