"So you have a smoke sauna? Well, that really is something else entirely."
That is what a Latvian sauna practitioner (saunottaja) said in summer 2024 after a morning sauna. The thermometer in their wood-heated sauna trailer showed close to a hundred degrees. That is probably often the temperature of a freshly heated smoke sauna too. We can't know for sure, because around here we don't go in for thermometers.
We are used to asking how hot the sauna was. In a smoke sauna, we would rather ask what the löyly (sauna steam) was like. A thermometer doesn't tell you whether the löyly is moist or dry, nor how long it carries. If you are curious about the temperature, you are welcome to bring your own thermometer. We'll keep guessing.
The smoke sauna has a long history
So what is so special about a smoke sauna? Surprisingly few people know how recent the continuously heated sauna actually is. It was originally developed as a delousing sauna during the war years. The model for the gabled lakeside sauna that we think of as traditional also comes from Switzerland and Swedish bathing huts.
The lakeside sauna with a chimney appears in cottage photos and travel adverts, and many of us grew up on its benches. That is why it is fun to remember how short its history is compared with the smoke sauna.
For all the thousands of years before the 1940s, people in Finland and the Baltics bathed in log saunas blackened by smoke. In the north, where trees grow stunted, people bathed in simple turf saunas.
The smoke sauna is, in other words, genuine ancient technology. What could be simpler than heating stones until they glow red and pouring water over them? The smoke sauna still works on the same principle as before. In the old days, the smoke sauna was also used for many everyday chores besides washing.
What smoke sauna löyly is like
Smoke sauna löyly is moist. When the heating has gone well, the löyly is fresh and long-lasting. By the time you sit on the benches, the fire is no longer burning in the firebox. I find that my breathing feels lighter then, and even longer sauna sessions feel natural.
Heating a smoke sauna is an art form of its own. The season and the air pressure affect the kind of löyly the stove produces. The wood used for heating matters too. You can switch on an electric sauna and pop out to the shop. In a smoke sauna, the heater is there the whole time, tending the fire. There is no way they can step away from the work of heating. The sauna heater's employer lives in the stove, and this boss doesn't listen to excuses if the work isn't done carefully.
Smoke sauna in Sipoo
It would make us very happy to see smoke sauna culture flourish again. So we encourage everyone planning a cottage sauna to consider whether they should build a smoke sauna after all. Building one takes time and heating it takes patience, but the effort is rewarded in the löyly. Someone building a cottage sauna may wonder about the soot or the time heating takes. Those are good questions, and it is worth finding the answers before deciding. You can certainly learn to heat a smoke sauna, as long as you are ready to give it time. Before ordering the drawings, it is worth going to bathe in a smoke sauna and trying out how the löyly feels.
If you don't have a sauna project of your own on the go, luckily you can enjoy smoke sauna löyly here in the Sipoonjoki river valley almost every day of the week. Sipoonjoen perinnesauna is a smoke sauna built into the ground, opened in January 2022. The heat settles into the sauna's walls and vaulted ceiling, and as the structures warm up over the evening, the löyly changes with them.
It really is something else entirely.
Read also: What makes a smoke sauna a genuine smoke sauna? and What does a man look like? Sauna bathing and self-esteem
Frequently asked questions
What is smoke sauna löyly like?
Smoke sauna löyly is moist. Because the fire has gone out before bathing begins, many people find that breathing feels lighter and even long sauna sessions feel natural.
How hot is a smoke sauna?
We don't measure the temperature of our smoke sauna with a thermometer. A freshly heated smoke sauna can, however, be close to a hundred degrees.
Where can you experience a smoke sauna in Sipoo?
Sipoonjoen perinnesauna is a smoke sauna built into the ground at Hindsbyntie 124, Sipoo. You can find the sauna sessions at saunotus.fi.
