Sea baths throughout the centuries
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Thalasso in antiquity
Egypt and Greece The Egyptians were the first to understand the therapeutic properties of seawater. Hippocrates, Galen, Plato and Aristotle recommended the use of hot baths to care for and clean wounds but also for preventative purposes. “Sun cure and sea cure are sovereign remedies for most diseases and particularly for women’s ailments” Herodotus (484 BC.) “The sea washes away the ills of all (...) -
Thalassotherapy in the Middle-Ages: the decline
After the fall of the Empire and the emergence of Christianity man entered into a stage of false modesty, so abandoned body hygiene and water cures. In the Middle-Ages, the sea was seen as “the Kingdom of the Prince of Winds”, the devil… In Paris we used 15l of water a day compared to 1000l in Roman times. People of “the middle ages were disgusted and horrified by the sea” (Leroy) and not only in (...) -
16th century
In the 16th century Ambroise Paré prescribed sea baths for their astringent, warming, desiccating and many other properties. “On Tuesday 3rd of June 1578, King Henry III and the Queens, after dining at Adjacet, went to sleep in Ecouen and in Dieppe where the king, following advice from his doctors, bathed in the sea to heal the scabies that tormenting (...) -
17th century
Because of Dr Floyer the English were beginning to try seawater therapy whereas France was still only using is at a remedy to treat rabies. 60 baths were created in England in just one Century In 1753, Dr Richard Russell wrote « The use of sea water », the first modern dissertation maintaining the therapeutic benefits of seawater: “you need to drink seawater, bathe in it, and eat all forms of (...)
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The beginnings of Thalassotherapy in France
The first rheumatism and depression treatment centre opened in Boulogne-sur-mer in 1800 but French enthusiasm for thalassotherapy only really took hold in 1822 with the opening of the first warm water spa in Dieppe. Thanks to the Duchesse of Berry, who was a fearless swimmer, Dieppe became known as the leading fashionable beach and launched its resort in 1824. 10 years later, the mayor of (...) -
When thalassotherapy and pleasure go hand in hand
With the invention of the railways Parisians built seaside resorts close to the capital and confirmed the domination of the beaches and baths of Normandy. Little by little sea bathing centres were no longer simply a “machine” to heal, categorize, help or prevent dangers but also a place of pleasure, relaxation and distraction in a controlled way… In 1913 the first international thalassotherapy (...) -
20th century
In the 1920s in Dinard, the swimming pool held a central position in a casino, equipped with portholes positioned under the water level so that, even from the reception room, no one loses out on the sight of the bathers… and the machinery! As for hygiene, functionality dictated décor: white smooth walls with rounded angles and without embellishments; the use of washable materials such as (...)