SAUNA

The sauna is one of the cornerstones of Finnish culture. The sauna has been used for bathing and relaxation for centuries. Even today the sauna is still a sacred place Finns use to help wind down and relax.

According to statistics there are 0.4 saunas for every Finn, so we have to believe just how important the sauna is for Finns. Indeed, the sauna was also life’s beginning, as with the lack of hospitals the sauna was the cleanest place in the house to give birth.

The very first saunas were smoke saunas, which were wooden buildings with no chimneys at all. Don’t expect the smoke sauna to be ready very quickly, as heating it properly takes half a day. Wood is burned under the stone stove until all the wood has burned, the fire goes out and the embers die down.

Before the first bathers enter the sauna, some water is thrown on the stones to remove the last of the carbon monoxide and assurances are made that no burning coals remain under the stove. While bathing in the smoke sauna and savouring the gentle steam, the bather needs to remember not to lean on the walls, as sooty marks will be left on the skin.

An inseparable part of bathing in the sauna during the summertime is a dip in the clean waterway, if the sauna is located right by the water. In the wintertime when the waterways are frozen, an ice pool is carved out for sauna bathers who take a quick plunge in the frigid water before going back into the warmth of the sauna.