IN THE 19TH CENTURY, cold-water bathhouses began popping up along Sweden's western coast. The kallbadhus was promoted as therapeutic-the jolt of submerging one's body in icy water is said to release endorphins and calm the nervous system-and the facilities offered direct access to the frigid waters of Kattegat, a strait between Sweden and Denmark. Some of these historic bathhouses, like Kallbadhuset Varberg, a Moorish building constructed in the town of Varberg in the 1820s, are still in use. But the tradition is modernizing: in the past three years, small hotels with a focus on cold-water immersion have cropped up around the country.
This story is from the February 2024 edition of Travel+Leisure US.
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This story is from the February 2024 edition of Travel+Leisure US.
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