Historic saunas in Finland

Turku, Finland

A Turku sauna house running since 1926, in the Kurjenmäki bath building since 1981 and in one family throughout. The public sauna opens on Friday afternoons, with separate men's and women's sides and oil-fired stoves. Cupping, peat and other traditional treatments are booked separately.

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki's last remaining public wood-fired sauna, operating continuously since 1928 in the Kallio neighbourhood. The löyly is fierce, the benches are worn smooth, and the regulars don't say much. This is sauna at its most essential: no design concept, no brand, just heat.

Helsinki, Finland

An 1880s sauna in the Lapinlahti hospital park by the sea, reckoned to be the oldest public sauna still working in Helsinki. Mixed, women's and men's shifts run through the month with no booking; you turn up and pay at the door. The whole sauna can also be hired privately, and the beach is under 100 metres away.

Rauma, Finland

Merska is Rauma's old sea-bathing house on the Fåfänga headland at Otanlahti. Two local workers' organisations keep up three saunas there: a large one, a small one and a log sauna. Public shifts alternate with private hire.

Lahti, Finland

Two lakeside saunas, Anna and William, stand in the grounds of a manor hotel on Vesijärvi at Lahti. Public shifts alternate with private hire of either sauna. The lake is there to cool off in year round, with an ice hole cut in winter and a hot tub facing the water.

Tampere, Finland

Finland's oldest public sauna, in operation since 1906 in Tampere. The wood-heated stove and the dark, low-ceilinged sauna room have not fundamentally changed in over a century. A pilgrimage for anyone who cares about sauna tradition.

Helsinki, Finland

A public sauna off a courtyard on Hämeentie in Hermanni, running since the 1950s, with separate men's and women's sides heated by IKI stoves. Walk in during opening hours and pay at the kiosk, which also rents towels and sells coffee and grilled sausage. Friday and Saturday evenings can be booked for private groups.

Kuopio, Finland

A 1950s logging-camp cabin on the shore of Kallavesi, six hundred metres from the Rauhalahti hotel along a sand track through a nature reserve. Its smoke sauna has held more than a hundred bathers at once. Traditional evenings run every Tuesday year round with a buffet dinner and live music.

Turku, Finland

A rental sauna a few streets from the middle of Turku, in use since the 1960s and renovated since. The room takes 16, with a heater carrying 300 kg of stones and steam and scent at the push of a button, plus a kitchen and a lounge with a large screen. Bookings cover the whole space, towels and cleaning included.

Helsinki, Finland

The sauna of Tali's 1936 allotment garden in Pitäjänmäki heats on Tuesdays and Saturdays through the summer, in separate two-hour shifts for women and men. Anyone may come, not only plot holders; visitors from outside pay a little more at the door. Refreshments are sold at the sauna, and payment is by card or MobilePay.

Jyväskylä, Finland

A 1951 quarry workers' sauna in the Halssila district of Jyväskylä, bought and restored by the local sauna society and back in use since 2019. The sauna room is wood-heated, with underfloor heating, an outdoor hot tub and a view towards Jyväsjärvi. The society sells public shifts alongside private hire for groups.