Sauna is the main national tradition of Finland and the only word in the Finnish language that is understood throughout the world. Wherever the country's complex history took the Finns - to the USA, Germany, Russia or Brazil - the first thing they did was set up saunas in the new place.
There are more than two million bathhouses in Finland - private and public. The country's population is about 5.5 million people, and even if they all gather to take a steam bath at the same time, there will be enough space - there will still be room for tourists. The sauna and the Russian bath are similar: Finns also like to give steam and whip each other with brooms. If a Finn invites you to his sauna, consider it a sign of friendship and trust. And you can go to public saunas yourself - steam with Finns or rent a private steam room for a few hours.
The author of the Roadasta rospuuttoon channel, Anna Podshibyakina, has collected for Samokatus readers the most unusual places where you can join the Finnish tradition.
Construction of a Finnish bathhouse in St. Petersburg
The traditional Finnish bathhouse , or sauna in the apartment, has long been famous for its comfort and convenience. Coming from an ordinary log hut, which was heated in a black fire, today the Finnish sauna is an almost ideal place for rest, relaxation, restoration of strength and health in the modern, stressful life of every person.
The beneficial properties of this type of bath include general prevention of many types of diseases and counteracting harmful deposits in the body. Doctors recommend regular visits to the sauna for rheumatic diseases, infections of the mucous membrane, circulatory disorders and many other ailments.
St. Petersburg will provide you with a full range of services for setting up a turnkey Finnish sauna . Highly qualified specialists will help you:
- select a site for construction ;
- choose the right materials at reasonable prices ;
- offer accessories and equipment for the steam room ;
- draw up accurate and clear estimates at all stages of construction ;
- begin and complete all work on the construction of the facility within the agreed time frame;
- avoid unnecessary, additional expenses;
- receive the necessary recommendations for maintaining and using the steam room .
Calculate the cost of building a Finnish sauna
We will help you build a Finnish sauna St. Petersburg itself and throughout the Leningrad region . All necessary information is indicated on our official website.
Photos of built Finnish saunas
Professionals advise you to take a careful and balanced approach to all aspects of the project to build a Finnish bathhouse . All your recommendations and wishes will be taken into account by our designers and work producers. This guarantees that you will receive the best option for a real Finnish steam room , built by our specialists. At the base of the walls we use high-quality and environmentally friendly timber. For the interior decoration of a real Finnish sauna steam room, as a rule, wood species such as linden, alder or abash are used. It is recommended to lay the floors with ceramic tiles, with a flooring made of specially made wooden gratings.
Our designers will offer you a large selection of interior design and models of the main part of the Finnish sauna - heater stoves. On the website you can find detailed information about the types of stones for stoves and much more. We will also take care of the correct ventilation and lighting of your sauna. It is important to understand how many people your bathhouse will be designed for; based on this, the dimensions of the dressing room, shower room and the steam room itself will be taken into account.
Call, ask, find out and remember that this is a high-quality construction of a Finnish sauna from Canadian red cedar at the most reasonable prices.
What stoves for a Finnish sauna can we offer you?
Traditions of Finnish baths
Childbirth used to take place in a Finnish bathhouse. Photo: saunaljux.ru
Finland has a harsh climate, so saunas serve as a place to warm up. In the baths they not only washed, but also did laundry, delivered women and treated the sick. Fishermen and brewers also carried out their activities in the baths.
There are about 2 million saunas in Finland with a population of 5.5 million people. Saunas in Finland are considered a symbol of the state. Every resident of the country visits a bathhouse at least once a week.
It is customary to drink cold beer in a Finnish sauna. Photo: sauna-ss.ru
The first Finnish baths became known in the Middle Ages, and in the 10th century there was already a set of rules for visiting a steam room. Even then, it was forbidden to make noise, play games or drink alcohol in the bathhouse. In modern times, few people observe the last point, so they drink cool beer in the bathhouse, unlike the Russian bathhouse, in which they drink hot tea.
According to the beliefs of the Finnish people, spirits live in fire and stones. Photo: expertology.ru
You can’t make noise in the bathhouse, because according to legend, spirits lived in Finnish bathhouses who could punish people for bad behavior. The spirits lived in the fire, so the residents were confident that they could be cured of any ailment with the help of a steam room and medicinal herbs. Good spirits protected newly born children in the steam room from evil ones by the power of nature.
A bathhouse is a sterile room for treating illnesses and giving birth due to thick smoke. This is the similarity between the Finnish and Russian black baths, which did not have a chimney.
Sauna at Burger King
A well-known fast food chain has opened a sauna in the center of Helsinki, right in one of its restaurants. Everything here is unconventional: a steam room, Whoppers and French fries instead of grilled sausages, video games in the recreation room instead of a view of a quiet lake.
The philosophy of fast food is completely opposite to the philosophy of the sauna, which implies slowness, silence and contemplation. So the Finns perceive the Burger King experiment as a marketing campaign and a funny curiosity. Renting this sauna costs 280 euros for three hours. They say that the main visitors are foreign journalists and bloggers.
Differences between a Russian bath and a Finnish sauna
Main differences
The main essence of both the Russian bath and the sauna is the same - the high temperature causes a person to sweat, as a result of which toxins are removed from the body.
However, this is done with varying efficiency and in different ways:
- First of all, Finnish saunas differ from Russian baths in their drier air. The humidity level there is 3-8 percent, versus 70 percent in the bathhouse.
- The air temperature is much higher - 100-110 degrees, while in a Russian bath it does not exceed 50-70 degrees.
- The Russian bathhouse is not ventilated, but is completely ventilated. It is very difficult to be in a sauna at a high temperature without an influx of fresh air, which is why they have ventilation and exhaust systems.
In addition, there are some other differences, but they are less significant. As a result, the Russian bath has more natural conditions and has a less shocking effect on the human body. Otherwise, it is very difficult to find the difference between a Russian bath and a Finnish sauna.
Finnish sauna (inside view)
Features of the Finnish sauna
So, we have examined in general terms what a sauna is, but the question remains open - what is it? In the traditional version, it is a wooden structure in which shelves are located from floor to ceiling. The higher the shelf is located, the naturally higher the temperature there.
When exposed to high temperatures, the skin pores expand and profuse sweating occurs, as a result of which the body is cleansed of toxins and dirt. After taking a sauna, the body needs to be cooled to normal temperature; it is recommended to even lie down for a while.
Sauna Loyly
This is the most fashionable sauna in Finland – and therefore in the world. Löyly (pronounced roughly "leyulyu", which means "steam" in Finnish) opened in Helsinki in 2020 and quickly became popular among locals, tourists and architects. An ordinary sauna is a modest and simple building like a wooden box. And Löyly is a bold futuristic design that combines several steam rooms, a restaurant and terraces for relaxation on the bay.
A visit to a shared sauna costs 19 euros for two hours, renting a separate steam room for a group costs 300–400 euros. By the way, the heating here is traditional - with wood, and there is also a black sauna. After a good sweat, you can take a dip in the sea (in winter they make an ice hole), just don’t forget to wear a swimsuit.
Image sources
: skysauna.fi, www.yllas.fi, flickr.com, www.saunaonline.fi, www.kuvio.com
Author: Anna Podshibyakina, host of the channel about Finnish culture, Roadasta rospuuttoon.
Turnkey Finnish sauna: from design to service
- Everything you wanted to know about Finnish sauna projects:
We have ready-made projects for Finnish log baths. You can choose one of them to build a sauna from scratch on your country plot or order the development of a new one in accordance with your wishes.
Individual projects are created for each apartment or house. And when building a Finnish sauna for commercial use, additional requirements for the corporate design of the premises are taken into account.
Contact us to view all projects and find out the exact price of your future Finnish sauna.
- Finnish bath: construction, materials and equipment
Since 2009, we have made dozens of Finnish saunas in different rooms.
We know for sure:
- what to do if you need to arrange a steam room in an apartment
- what features to consider when creating a public bath
- how wall material affects the structure
- how to save money and make a sauna inexpensively without losing quality
When building a turnkey Finnish sauna, we strictly comply with SNiP standards and design solutions.
To assemble the frame, cover the walls and arrange the sun loungers, we use only natural wood: linden, cedar, alder, abash. The wood is treated with fire-resistant and bioprotective impregnations. It retains its integrity and color for a long time.
We recommend laying the floor with ceramic tiles: durable, resistant to high temperatures, and with a non-slip surface. We install a heating system under the tiles.
We select equipment individually depending on the area of the room, the required functionality and price. Proven stoves: Swedish Tylo, German Eos, Russian Hephaestus. We calculate an effective ventilation system, ensure the safety of electrical wiring and lighting fixtures.
