Steam and Spir­it: Sauna Tra­di­tions of Fin­land 

If you are new to Oulu or plan­ning a move, there’s one tra­di­tion you’ll quick­ly notice woven into dai­ly life: the sauna. It’s not just a place to warm up dur­ing the long win­ters — it’s a space for reflec­tion, con­nec­tion, and care.

With over 3 mil­lion saunas across the coun­try and a pop­u­la­tion of around 5.5 mil­lion, Fin­land is a place where, the­o­ret­i­cal­ly, every per­son could sit in the steam at the same time.

Sauna cul­ture is not a trend; it is a way of life. It’s also recog­nised by UNESCO as part of the Intan­gi­ble Cul­tur­al Her­itage of Human­i­ty specif­i­cal­ly for Fin­land, where the sauna is deeply woven into every­day life and nation­al iden­ti­ty. 

A Tra­di­tion That Lives Through Gen­er­a­tions 

The Finnish sauna has been part of life for thou­sands of years, deeply root­ed in the rhythms of nature and every­day sur­vival. Archae­o­log­i­cal finds sug­gest that peo­ple were using sauna-like spaces as ear­ly as 7000 BC, mak­ing it one of the old­est known well­ness tra­di­tions in the world.  

In the past, the sauna was often the clean­est and warmest place in the house­hold, espe­cial­ly dur­ing the long, harsh win­ters Fin­land experiences. It served many pur­pos­es: a place to bathe, to recov­er from ill­ness, to give birth, and even to pre­pare the deceased for bur­ial. The sauna was a space of tran­si­tion and care, mark­ing the most sig­nif­i­cant moments in life. These wood­en rooms were not just prac­ti­cal, they were sacred, treat­ed with qui­et respect and often built slight­ly apart from the main house to pre­serve their puri­ty. 

If you’re curi­ous to see what his­tor­i­cal saunas looked like, you can vis­it Turkansaari Open Air Muse­um (€) near Oulu. There, you’ll find pre­served exam­ples of tra­di­tion­al Finnish build­ings, includ­ing old-style saunas that offer a glimpse into how peo­ple lived and used these spaces in ear­li­er cen­turies.  

Sauna Vocab­u­lary 

Here are a few words you might hear when talk­ing about saunas in Fin­land: 

• Löy­ly – The steam cre­at­ed by throw­ing water on hot stones. 
• Vih­ta / Vas­ta – A bun­dle of birch twigs used to gen­tly whip the skin. 
• Savusauna – A tra­di­tion­al smoke sauna with no chim­ney, known for its soft, smoky heat. 
• Saunavuoro – A sched­uled sauna time, often used in shared hous­ing or pub­lic saunas. 
• Avan­to – A hole cut into a frozen lake or riv­er, used for cold plunges after the sauna. 

A Place for Heal­ing and Renew­al 

The sauna is a space for cleans­ing, both of the body and the mind. The heat, usu­al­ly between 80 and 100 degrees Cel­sius (but it can dif­fer), opens the pores and relax­es the mus­cles. When water is thrown on the hot stones, it cre­ates löy­ly, which is a wave of steam that wraps around you like a warm blan­ket. This steam is often called the “spir­it” of the sauna. 

Peo­ple use vih­ta or vas­ta to gen­tly tap the skin. This helps with cir­cu­la­tion and brings a fresh, for­est-like scent into the air. Some add herbs like juniper or mint to the water or the air, turn­ing the sauna into a nat­ur­al well­ness space.

A Space for Every­one 

In the sauna, every­one is equal. It doesn’t mat­ter who you are or what you do. Peo­ple sit side by side, often in silence, some­times in con­ver­sa­tion. Fam­i­lies gath­er there. Friends catch up. Even col­leagues might share a sauna after work. It is a place where titles are left at the door and where peo­ple can sim­ply be. 

This sense of equal­i­ty is so deeply root­ed in Finnish cul­ture that even polit­i­cal lead­ers have embraced it. For­mer Prime Min­is­ter Jyr­ki Katainen was known to hold infor­mal meet­ings in the sauna, believ­ing that the relaxed atmos­phere helped peo­ple speak more open­ly and respect­ful­ly. In his view, the sauna encour­aged calm, hon­est dia­logue and dis­cour­aged con­flict. 

Nudi­ty and Nat­u­ral­ness 

One aspect of Finnish sauna cul­ture that may sur­prise new­com­ers is the nor­mal­i­sa­tion of nudi­ty. In Fin­land, being nude in the sauna is com­plete­ly nat­ur­al and cul­tur­al­ly accept­ed. It is not about expo­sure, but about com­fort, hon­esty, and being present with­out bar­ri­ers. Nudi­ty is seen as a way to return to a more nat­ur­al state, free from social expec­ta­tions or appear­ances. 

In many pub­lic saunas, there are sep­a­rate times or spaces for men and women, but the atti­tude toward nudi­ty remains relaxed and respect­ful. That said, many mod­ern pub­lic saunas now allow or even require swim­suits, espe­cial­ly in mixed-gen­der set­tings or tourist-friend­ly loca­tions. This helps make the expe­ri­ence more acces­si­ble for those who are new to the cul­ture, while still pre­serv­ing the core val­ues of open­ness and relax­ation. Check the infor­ma­tion for your local sauna or ask the staff if you’re unsure about the expec­ta­tions there. 

From For­est Cab­ins to City Life 

You’ll find saunas every­where in Fin­land. In homes, apart­ment build­ings, lake­side cot­tages, and even offices. Some are elec­tric, oth­ers are wood-fired. The savusauna, or smoke sauna, is one of the old­est types. It takes hours to heat and fills with smoke before being aired out. The result is a soft, gen­tle heat that many con­sid­er the most authen­tic. 

In cities like Oulu, pub­lic saunas are pop­u­lar. These spaces often blend mod­ern design with old tra­di­tions, offer­ing a wel­com­ing place for both locals and new­com­ers to expe­ri­ence the heart of Finnish cul­ture. 

Here are some of the pub­lic saunas avail­able in Oulu: (Details cor­rect at time of writ­ing)

Free Pub­lic Saunas 

Mal­las­sauna
Loca­tion: Pik­isaar­en­tie 15 (Pik­isaari) 
A live­ly sauna-bar with a scenic island set­ting. Free pub­lic access dur­ing sum­mer months, with paid-for pri­vate book­ings avail­able year-round. 

Paid for Pub­lic Saunas (€) 

Kesän Sauna
Loca­tion: Koski­tie 58 (Tuira) 
A com­mu­ni­ty-run, wood-fired sauna offer­ing a relaxed and authen­tic expe­ri­ence. Open dur­ing sum­mer. 

Koivu­ran­nan Saunalaut­ta
Loca­tion: Kasarmintie 51 
A float­ing sauna with riv­er views, swim­ming access, and a win­ter ice hole. Hot tub avail­able. 

Olosauna
Loca­tion: Vaaku­nakylän­tie 9 (Top­pi­lansaari)
A mod­ern vil­lage sauna with a pier to use for an after sauna dip. Cafe also on site.

Oulun Torisauna
Loca­tion: Oulu Mar­ket Square (Tor­in­ran­ta) 
A sea­son­al urban sauna open dur­ing fes­ti­vals and events, right in the heart of the city. 

Busi­ness Sauna Rentals  (€€) 

Loosi­ta­lo Sauna
Loca­tion: Kaar­natie 36 
A tra­di­tion­al sauna with meet­ing room rental, suit­able for gath­er­ings and events. 

Nal­likari Sauna (Mer­i­hol­sti)
Loca­tion: Nal­likari Beach 
A sea-view sauna with meet­ing room rental, com­bin­ing com­fort with coastal charm. 

Know of a free pub­lic sauna that isn’t on our list? Email us at ihoulu@ouka.fi to let us know about it. 

Yksi, kak­si, kolme, saunaan!

Text by: Sophie Platt