Finland
Tampere has a stronger claim to 'sauna capital of the world' than any other city. Rajaportin Sauna in the Pispala district has been running wood-fired public sessions since 1906, making it the oldest public sauna still operating in Finland — and arguably in the world. It sits above Lake Pyhäjärvi, where bathers plunge year-round through ice in winter. Kaupinoja and Rauhaniemi add lakeside sauna options in other neighbourhoods. The Tampere Sauna Week, held annually each August, is the world's largest sauna-focused public event. The city's working-class heritage means public saunas here charge democratic pricing (€5–10 per session) and attract all ages and backgrounds. Finnish tradition applies: wood heat, löyly essential, cold lake immediate — etiquette is relaxed, swimwear-optional in single-gender sessions.
Tampere has more public saunas per capita than any other city in the world — a self-declared title rooted in its dense network of community, workplace, and historic saunas including Rajaportti, the oldest continuously operating public sauna in Finland (opened 1906).
Rajaportti is a wood-fired traditional public sauna in the Pispala neighborhood of Tampere, operating continuously since 1906. It remains single-gender and nude, as Finnish public saunas traditionally are.
Yes. Rauhaniemi and Kaupinoja both operate public smoke saunas on the lakes around the city. Both have cold-water ice holes in winter.
