Finnish sauna culture spreads in Sweden as locals embrace the tradition

Finnish-style sauna culture is taking root in Sweden, with a growing number of enthusiasts adopting the practice, particularly in the Tornio Valley region along the Finnish border.

Over 100 members of Sweden’s Sauna Academy gathered in Haparanda in early June to celebrate National Sauna Day, reflecting the country’s rising interest. Svante Spolander, a co-founder of the academy, acknowledges that Sweden still lags behind Finland in sauna tradition.

“There’s been a sauna boom in Sweden after TV shows like KAJ and Bara bada bastun,” Spolander said.

In Kukkolaforsen, just across the river from Finland, 16 different saunas have been built, attracting visitors like Stockholm residents Martina Wagner and Nils-Olof Zethrin, who built their own sauna five years ago and now enjoy daily sessions. Wagner believes the pandemic strengthened Swedes’ connection to nature, health, and sauna culture.

Young Swedes are particularly drawn to sauna, with new public saunas opening in Stockholm and across the Nordics. Social and communal aspects also drive its popularity, according to local enthusiasts.

However, differences remain between Swedish and Finnish sauna traditions. In Sweden, throwing water on the stove (löyly) is often prohibited outside the Tornio Valley, and benches are frequently built too low. Spolander argues that even electric saunas can safely accommodate water-throwing.

American visitor Jarrod Deines, on a sauna tour of northern Sweden and Finnish Lapland, called bans on water-throwing “criminal.” He and his wife, Eldy, note that the sauna trend has also grown in the U.S. in recent years.

Swedish sauna architect Hillevi Olsson criticizes the local tendency to install large windows in saunas, arguing that the experience should focus inward. She, like Spolander, prefers the Finnish approach.

Spolander, who helped establish the Sauna Academy in 1988, continues to promote authentic Finnish sauna culture in Sweden and beyond.