Breaking news – Finnish sauna culture is alive and well! Whodathunkit when there are three million saunas in Finland, for a population of 5.5 million. You know the saying, when in Rome… I guess you roam around the city visiting antiquities. But when in Finland, you sauna. But why sauna ordinary when you can sauna extraordinary? That’s why we’re bringing you the eight most unusual places to sauna in Finland.
Oldest Public Sauna in Finland
According to UNESCO, the Finish sauna culture is an intangible cultural heritage. The first saunas were pits dug into the ground during the Stone Age. The Iron Age saw the rise of above-ground smoke saunas, which, as you would guess, are wood-burning saunas without a chimney. If you’re looking for the oldest public sauna, you must come to Tampere – The Sauna Capital of the World – with over 55 public saunas.
Rajaportti Sauna is the oldest public sauna in Finland, dating back to 1906. Today, the Pispala Sauna Association operates the building and cafe and invites everyone to come and experience traditional Finnish sauna culture for themselves. Likewise, we invite you to keep reading this article, where you just might learn a thing or two 😉. For example, wood-burning saunas, like Rajaportti, are held in high esteem, and everybody in Finland knows how to build a fire to heat saunas.
