Finnish sauna

The Finnish sauna (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsɑu̯nɑ], Swedish: bastu) is a substantial part of Finnish and Northern European culture.

Finnish sauna culture was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists at the 17 December 2020 meeting of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. In the case of Estonia, the smoke sauna tradition in Võrumaa was added on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists in 2014. As authorized by the state, the Finnish Heritage Agency commits, together with Finnish sauna communities and promoters of the sauna culture, to safeguard the vitality of the sauna tradition and to highlight its importance as part of customs and wellbeing. The word sauna itself is of Finnish origin. The sauna in Finland is an old phenomenon and its roots are difficult to trace, but its earliest versions are believed to be from 7000 BC. This points to the history of saunas and their deep cultural significance in Nordic life. Bath houses were recorded in Europe during the same time period, but Finnish bathing habits were poorly documented for most of history.

During the Reformation in Scandinavia the popularity of saunas expanded to other countries because the European bath houses were being destroyed due to syphilis among other things being endemic.

One reason the sauna culture has always flourished in Finland has been because of the versatility of the sauna. When people were moving, the first thing they did was to build a sauna. Finns have used the sauna to live in, eat, address matters of hygiene, and, most importantly, give birth in an almost sterile environment. Unlike many other, more densely populated places in Europe, the availability of wood needed to build and warm the sauna has never been an issue. Another reason for its popularity is that in such a cold climate, the sauna allows people warmth for at least a short period of time. However, it is just as popular in the summer as in the winter.