3nd International Assembly of Traditional Bathing

Date: 2024-10-18, 16:00
Organizer : Lithuanian Bath Academy

The participants of 2nd Assembly

This time, we will have 2 days at the Assembly: a sauna tradition day and a sauna art day.

We are all witnessing the explosion of bathing culture, which is rapidly embracing new countries that once had their own age-old, time-honoured way of bathing and the bathing culture that goes with it.

Thanks to networked communication, bathing cultures are spreading not only "vertically" - from the past to the future - but also horizontally - from one country to another. This poses a number of challenges when, in the absence of an authentic experience and without understanding the inner logic of the tradition, people only adopt its outer shell.

On the first day of the Assembly, we will reveal the logic of the bathing rituals and explain their meaningfulness in the modern context. The discussion will be based on the classical model of the balance between the elements of old medicine and the old worldview. This will give the discussion a great educational value and will lay the foundations for a conversation between different sauna cultures. In the second part of the day, we will present and discuss the emerging new traditions of the bath and look for their links with the past and with each other.

This discussion will be very useful for carriers of new sauna cultures, leaders of sauna communities and sauna documenters.

The second day of the Assembly will be devoted to the phenomenon of the new profession of the bathing profession and the phenomenon of human communication in the bath. We will discuss the roles of bathers, the expectations placed on them and the specificities of their work.

We will present a new approach to the sauna ritual as a contemporary art. We will present the work of the bathhouse keeper as a crucial form of wordless communication that is characteristic of postmodern art. This part of the discussion will be particularly useful for many sauna practitioners looking for their own path and inspiration. It will give a different perspective on their work.

Forms of work

Based on the experience of past Assemblies, this year we will have fewer programme presentations but more discussion, sharing and education. We will try to make sure that everyone who has something to say can do so in a relaxed way. We will look into the issues and address them from the perspective of traditional sauna culture.

On both days of the Assembly, we will have a big sauna where:

1. We will present the logic of the classical Lithuanian sauna procedure
2. We will present the modern work of the sauna master
3. We will reveal the mechanisms of sauna communication

In this Assembly, we will pay special attention to the understanding and education of tradition.

The host organisation of the Assembly is the Lithuanian Sauna Academy, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary and is included in the Lithuanian Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Accomodation & food

Participants were granted the accomodation in a shared sleeping room with shared showers and toilets. Accomodation also included breakfast.
Photos of the facilities are on the Broliu mene pirtis page.

We see this event as gathering of friends and "the sauna family", so, we promisse simple family-style local food. Vegetarian an vegan options will be available, but if you have some special needs or requirements, please, let us know!

Flights

You can take a flight to Kaunas (~20 km from the place of the conference) or Vilnius (~90 km).  We'll help you with transfer, if needed.

Have an idea to share? Email us!

The Assembly welcomes:

• Enthusiasts on their journey to discovering their perfect sauna.
• Trendsetters of thermal bathing, sharing their visions.
• Bath masters with hands-on expertise.
• Proud owners of charming small saunas.

Our primal goal remains the same - investigaton of  traditional thermal banthing primarily in individual or small group bathing form.

Early bird, until September 9th - 300€. To secure your place in the event we ask you to pay 100€ in advance.

Later the price will increase.

The price will include:

1. Full participation on 2 days of discussions and presentations.
2. Full participation on 2 educational sauna programs.
3. Accomodation  in a cosy shared room (3 nights)
4. Breakfast and lunch
5. Access to Conference materials after the event.

Important

1. The price will not include participation in the educational events related to the Assembly.
2. If you are unable to make payment for any reason that might occur - just fill inn the registration form and we will send you an alternative secure payment link.

New users are using the registration form on this page. Existing users have to login to the page and look for „registration“ page in their activity zone. Should the payment not go - we can send you the personal payment link, please contact us.

Contacts

• Rimas: rimas@pirtis.lt, phone/WhatsApp +370 687 11601
• Birutė: registracija@pirtis.lt, phone/WhatsApp +370 689 56969