The European history of bath has its roots in the Greek culture about 2500 years ago. In every Greek town was situated at least one center of culture, a gymnasium, that contained bath establishements, areas for physical training, restaurants, librarys and readingrooms.
Already 400 B.C. Hippokrates, founder of the art of healing, spoke for the waters important qualities in medical treatements.
After the Greeks the Romans overtook and maintained the polished manners of bathing, and thanks to them the culture spread to the north of Europe. During the middleages the art of swimming was well respected among soldiers and knights, and was frequently practised in tournament games and competitions. At the same time the bathhouses were developed in the towns of Europe. They seemed more like public social clubs with food, discussions and performances than the swimminghouses of todays society.
During the 1700th and 1800th century a new cult of water developed on the Continent in form of wellwater drinking. The culture had soon reached Sweden which around 1770 had about 350 different health resorts. In the 1900th century the wellwater culture gradually switched over to the seaside bathing resorts, foremost in the regions Bohuslän and Halland.
Around 1900 the bathing life changed its character and moved to Skåne. New ideals with light, air and free beaches was the foundation in this new kind of bathing. Shared bathing places for men and women started to be accepted among the people. With the workers vacations in the early 1930th the bating became democratic and the multiturism to the coasts of Skåne began. During the 1950th-60th the introduction of the cars presented new possibilities for transportation and brought even further changes to the new form of free touristlife.
Mölle was in the first years of the 2000th century known as a meetingplace for the jetset of northern Europe. At the shared bathingplace in Ransvik the royal photographer Peter P. Lundh perpetuated the happy swimmers in striped bathing suites made out of cotton, what made Mölle equalized with `the nest of sin`.
Falsterbo was for many years spoken of for its beautiful beaches and huge sandhills. With the opening of `the countries most fashionable seaside hotel`, Falsterbohus, an intensive life of pleasure appeared for the cream of society of Sweden and foreign celebrities during a period of 60 years between 1908 and 1968.
Ystad was since the middle of the 1800th century a wellknown health resort with Surbrunnen in the northeast corner of the town as its foremost attraction. At the opening of Saltsjöbaden in 1897 the social life was transferred to the beach as the same time as Sandskogen became the towns new recreation area.
Vitemölla is one of many pearls of Österlen that during the last decades of the 1900th century was discovered by artists and writers. The seaside hotel of Vitemölla from 1913 became a popular meetingplace for summertourists and locals with many cheerful dance evenings.
Åhus was the Hanseatic town that was deprived of its town charters when Kristianstad was built, but experienced a renaissance during the last decades of the 1900th century due to a new railway with summertraines to the beach in Täppet. Thousands of tourists occupied the bathing place wh...
