History: Estonian Saun

Sauna traditions in Estonia are almost identical to Finland as saunas have traditionally held a central role in the life of an individual. Ancient Estonian believed that saunas were inhabited by spirits. In folk tradition sauna was not only the place where one washed, but also used as the place where brides were ceremoniously washed, where women gave birth and the place the dying made their final bed. The folk tradition related to the Estonian sauna is mostly identical to that surrounding the Finnish sauna. On New Year's Eve a sauna would be held before midnight to cleanse the body and spirit for the upcoming year.
The sauna is an ancient source of health for Estonians.

Estonians are true sauna-lovers – their sauna traditions date back 800 years!
The earliest records of saunas in Estonia date back to the early 13th century. Today saunas form an inseparable part of every private home, summer cottage and farm. While the saunas in people’s homes tend to be of the steam variety and are often heated by electricity rather than wood (especially in the city), spas, tourist farms and other businesses offer a diverse range of sauna experiences.
Estonians have such respect for saunas that they’ve built them in some very unusual locations, including on buses, old fire trucks and barges – where in between enjoying the sauna itself and one another’s company the sauna-goers can jump into the lake or river straight from the sauna door. Indian sauna tents are an experience all of their own, too, while many tourist farms have their own barrel saunas, in which one can immerse oneself in steaming water out in the open air surrounded by nature.

Though Estonia’s northern neighbor, Finland, is the undisputed sauna capital of the world (the very word ‘sauna’ in English is actually borrowed straight from the Finnish), the practice of confining steam or heat to a confined area for bathing purposes is found in a number of world cultures. Japanese, Native Americans and Russians all have their versions of steam and sweat baths. The Estonian saun is thought to come from a rural sauna tradition that extends from the Baltic region to the Urals, so it’s no surprise that the development of sauna culture and practices here has a lot in common with that of Estonia’s neighbors. The aforementioned Finns will find few differences between their sauna designs and the ones in Estonia. Since the tradition dates back before written records were kept, there’s no way of telling how long it has been going on in the country. The fact that there’s even a ‘Sauna’ street and a medieval ‘Sauna Tower’ in Tallinn’s Old Town is, however, a good indicator of the importance of saunas in centuries past. These days, while saunas are often still used for bathing by country folk, it’s much more common to find them used for de-stressing, for warming up, and for parties. Because advances in technology mean that saunas are no longer confined to separate buildings or little huts in the woods, a lot of hotels and sports clubs have one or more saunas built in. Some inventive people even manage to squeeze two-person saunas into their tiny, Soviet-era apartments.