From a Failed Gold Rush to Hot Tubs: How Icelandic Bathing Culture Evolved

In partnership with the Icelandic Bathing Culture Exhibit hosted at Hönnurnarsafn, the Icelandic Museum for Design and Applied Arts, I’m sharing how Iceland’s beloved bathing culture evolved. Sund, which is the name of the Icelandic Bathing Exhibit, shares fascinating facts. One of my favorites is that a failed gold rush in Iceland is what led to geothermal energy being pumped to communal swimming pools and people’s homes in the early 1900s. What to Expect at The Icelandic Bathing Culture Exhibit The combination of history and interactive stations provides a fun and insightful experience into how Icelanders built pools for survival and hygiene but later evolved the use of them into foster community and well-being. The bathing culture exhibition is available to check out until October 23rd, 2022, so I highly recommend putting it on your list of places to visit. https://youtu.be/O_Dp_jgIWHI Interviewing the Director of Hönnunarsafn During my interview for this podcast episode with Sigríður Sigurjónsdóttir, Director of Hönnunarsafn, we talk about why it was important to have this exhibition and other topics relating to Icelandic bathing culture. Here are some of the questions I asked Sigríður about the Iceland Bathing Culture Exhibition: Why was it important to create an exhibition about Icelandic bathing culture? Did anything surprise you while helping to curate the exhibition? What impact has Icelandic swimming pools had on you personally? What is your favorite Icelandic word or phrase? Share this episode If you enjoyed this episode, share it with someone you think would be interested in hearing it too. Share on facebook Facebook Share on email Email Share on twitter Twitter