The Rich History of Finnish Sauna Culture

A Tradition Older Than Most Nations

The Finnish sauna is not just a heated room. It is a living cultural tradition that stretches back over 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest continuous bathing practices in the world. In 2020, UNESCO recognized Finnish sauna culture as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, a testament to its enduring significance.

The Earliest Saunas

The first Finnish saunas were simple pits dug into the earth and covered with animal skins. These early saunas served a practical purpose: they were the warmest structure available in the harsh Nordic climate. Over centuries, the design evolved from earthen pits to log structures, but the core principle remained the same: a fire heats stones, and water creates steam.

The Smoke Sauna Era

The savusauna, or smoke sauna, is considered the purest form of Finnish sauna. In these saunas, there is no chimney. A large wood fire heats a massive pile of stones for several hours. Once the fire dies down and the smoke clears, the room retains heat for hours. The walls and ceiling become blackened with soot, and the air carries a distinctive smoky sweetness.

Smoke saunas take six to eight hours to heat, which is why they became associated with Saturday, the traditional sauna day in Finland. The entire family would bathe in the smoke sauna to prepare for Sunday church services.

More Than Bathing

Throughout Finnish history, the sauna served purposes far beyond cleanliness:

• Birthplace. For centuries, Finnish women gave birth in the sauna because it was the cleanest, warmest room available. The sterile environment created by heat and smoke made it safer than the main house.
• Healing place. Folk healers performed treatments in the sauna, using birch branches, herbal remedies, and the therapeutic properties of heat and steam.
• Spiritual space. The sauna was considered a sacred place where the boundary between the physical and spiritual worlds was thin. Sauna elves and spirits were respected, and certain behaviors were forbidden inside the sauna.
• Social equalizer. In the sauna, everyone is equal. Rank, status, and wealth mean nothing. This democratic aspect of sauna culture has shaped Finnish society's emphasis on equality.

The Modern Finnish Sauna

Today, Finland has approximately 3.3 million saunas for a population of 5.5 million people. That is roughly one sauna for every two people. Nearly every Finnish home, apartment building, office, and factory has a sauna. Parliament has a sauna. Burger King in Helsinki has a sauna.

The modern Finnish sauna typically uses an electric or wood-burning stove with a chimney, heating to between 80 and 100 degrees Celsius (176 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit). The ritual remains the same: heat up, pour water on the stones, sweat, cool down, repeat.

Sauna Comes to Minnesota

Finnish immigrants began arriving in Minnesota in the 1860s, drawn by the landscape that reminded them of home: lakes, forests, and long winters. They settled primarily on the Iron Range in northern Minnesota, and one of the first things they built alongside their homes was a sauna.

For these immigrant families, the sauna was a connection to the homeland they had left behind. Saturday night sauna became the rhythm of the week, a tradition passed down through generations. Many families on the Iron Range still maintain saunas that have been in use for over a century.

The Sauna Renaissance

Today, a new generation of Minnesotans is rediscovering sauna culture. The wellness movement, combined with a growing appreciation for heritage traditions, has sparked a sauna renaissance across the state. From new public saunas in Minneapolis to mobile sauna businesses like ours, the tradition that Finnish immigrants brought to Minnesota over 150 years ago is thriving like never before.

As second-generation Finnish Americans, we started MN Mobile Sauna to share this heritage with our community. Every time we deliver our sauna and see the joy on someone's face as they experience authentic loyly for the first time, we feel connected to that 2,000-year history.