Finland's social hotspots

Visiting a public sauna is the perfect window into the Finnish way of life. It’s the best way to get to know the locals, from children to the elderly. For many, it’s also a daily ritual, labelled ‘the best way to commence or wrap the day’. The Finns take the culture of sauna so seriously that they not only have saunas in their homes but also in offices, the parliament and even in several Finnish embassies.

Saunas may be ubiquitous now across the globe but they originated in Finland about 10,000 years ago. “Even the word ‘sauna’ is Finnish. The earliest saunas were simple pits dug into the ground and covered with animal hides, used as dwellings in cold weather. Stones were heated in a fire, and water was thrown over them to create the steam. From that, the saunas developed into smoke saunas, with no chimney. Smoke from a fire would fill the room, and once the fire burned out, the room would be ventilated before being used. Over time, these developed into wooden structures more recognisable as the saunas we know today,” according to a spokesperson at Tampere’s tourist information centre.

Saunas everywhere

Tampere city, which sits in southern Finland between two charming lakes, has been the ‘sauna capital of the world’ since 2018. There are almost 70 public saunas in Tampere and its surroundings, the biggest in Finland. Both the International Sauna Association and Finnish Sauna Society advocated the title for Tampere. In 2020, UNESCO gave Finnish sauna culture the status of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. During my three-week Finnish trip, I headed to a folk spa, a large old-fashioned wooden complex, nestled along the lake called Nasijarvi which has been the ‘second home’ of many since 1929.

At the sauna, I was told that there would be two rooms, one with 120 degrees of temperature, the other with 100 degrees. 

When I stepped into one of the sauna rooms, it was flooded with people of almost every age group. The seating was stadium styled with large wooden platforms where we sat facing each other. None cared who came in or left, who could tolerate heat or who couldn’t.

As I took the plunge into the lake, it was more than I had imagined. But I managed to immerse myself fully. Before returning to the hot room again, I took a pause for a few minutes. I repeated the cycle six times, punctuating the first three times with lake dips and the other three with a cold shower inside. Every cycle made me feel lighter and calmer. The room always became instantly hotter when someone threw water on the burning stones. It also produced instant steam. 

Beneficial for health

Feeling lighter and calmer was natural. According to a study led by Jari Laukkanen, a leading cardiologist and researcher, which was published in the American Journal of Physiology, frequent visits to the sauna (four to seven times a week) cut the risk of having a stroke by more than 50 per cent compared to weekly visits.

“Sauna visits also promote mental rejuvenation. The heat is believed to promote relaxation, improve circulation and aid in muscle recovery. Which is why, even our embassy in New Delhi has a sauna, used for recreation and conducting meetings. The ideas beautifully flow in sauna meetings,” shares Kimmo Lahdevirta, the Finnish ambassador. Interestingly, the wood (pine) of this embassy’s sauna was imported from Finland when it was constructed in 1986.

Rita Ohmeroluoma, a member of the Finnish Sauna Society explains, “Till the 1950s, sauna births were prevalent because of their hygiene. Saunas were also places where bodies of the deceased were washed before the final journey.”