Many Germans expressed their dissatisfaction with the wellness center Vabali Spa's request to not walk without clothes outside of its sauna and pool.
Now the wave of discontent has reached the Bundestag. For instance, MP from the Left Party Gregor Gysi disapproved, saying that the Berlin's traditions can't be abandoned for the sake of foreigners.
"Tourists have no right to restrict urban culture," the politician stated.
However, the sight of naked crowds in saunas of fitness clubs and spa centers, as well as at any lake and even in the middle of the city in the Tiergarten park; a stone's throw from the Reichstag in summer, often confuses visitors.
READ MORE: Steam and Sweat: Sauna Traditions From Across the World
In a message posted on its Facebook page in early February, Vabali Spa's management explained that the request that its guests wear clothes outside the sauna and the pool was related to numerous complaints from guests, mostly from the UK, US and Italy.
"By popular request and suggestion of our guests, we ask you to wear a bathrobe outside of our saunas and pools from 01. March 2018. Whether you bring this from home or in our house, you are free of course! We wish you a relaxed week!" the statement said.
The decision has been vividly discussed by social media users.
"I don't understand this. Actually I always had a bathrobe on. But now I'm afraid of the sauna police in case I stay naked for a minute longer. Where is then the relaxation?" an Internet user Julia Thom wrote on Facebook.
Germany has long been promoting a nude body culture, with the right of people to walk without clothes in some public places being a longstanding tradition. The revival of nudism began in the 1950s, a movement that has always been associated with freedom and the enjoyment of nature.
