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The status as the Sauna Capital is based on saunas being of high level and Tampere being home to most public saunas in Finland. The history of the sauna culture in the city goes back to the oldest public sauna still functioning: Rajaportti Sauna in the district of Pispala, Tampere.

Finnish Sauna Society has stated that Tampere, being the sauna capital, promotes the status of Finnish sauna both nationally and internationally. The international sauna boom continues to grow and especially the Japanese are interested in our sauna culture . For example popular virtual sauna experiences from Tampere to Japan have been arranged.

Visit Tampere has gathered the region’s public saunas together and they can be found on saunacapital.com. The web pages also provide tips and guidelines for sauna goers.

UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage

In 2020 the sauna culture from Finland has been inscribed on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Sauna culture is the first Finnish element on UNESCO’s list.

Heating a sauna, the customs and traditions related to sauna bathing, as well as sauna in songs, beliefs, and folklore for example are part of this living intangible cultural heritage.

The Finnish Heritage Agency is preparing protection for three public saunas by special legislation. These saunas are Kotiharju and Arla in Helsinki and the Rajaportti sauna in Tampere.