Finnish sauna

For other sauna variants from around the world, see Sauna.

Sauna culture in Finland[1]
Finnish: saunakulttuuri Suomessa[1]
Swedish: bastukultur i Finland[1]
Northern Sami: sávdnjekultuvra Suomas[1]
A smoke sauna (savusauna) in Enonkoski, South Savonia
CountryFinland
CriteriaSocial practices
Reference01596
RegionEurope and North America
Inscription history
Inscription2020 (15th session)
ListRepresentative

A typical modern Finnish sauna

The Finnish sauna (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsɑu̯nɑ], Swedish: bastu) is a substantial part of Finnish[2][3][4] and Estonian culture.[5]

It was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists at the 17 December 2020 meeting of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.[4][6] As authorized by the state, the Finnish Heritage Agency commits, together with Finnish sauna communities and promoters of the sauna culture, to safeguard the vitality of the sauna tradition and to highlight its importance as part of customs and wellbeing.[7][8] In the case of Estonia UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists smoke sauna tradition since 2014.[9]

The word sauna itself is of Finnish origin.[10] In the Estonian language it is saun.

  1. ^ a b c d Terho, Sampo (25 March 2019). "Nomination file No. 01596 for inscription in 2020 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" (docx). UNESCO. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference WAPO1992SaunaBarrier was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTimesStyle2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Guardian2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Lisa & Kristen Dobbin. "Lessons in Estonian culture for beginners 3: hot steam, cold water and the naked truth" estonianworld.com, 20.09.2013
  6. ^ "Saunaperinne Suomesta valittiin Unescon aineettoman kulttuuriperinnön luetteloon" (in Finnish). Museovirasto. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Sauna culture in Finland". UNESCO. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Finnish sauna culture steams up UNESCO Heritage List". YLE. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Smoke sauna tradition in Võrumaa added to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List" ERR, 27.11.2014
  10. ^ "Sauna". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 18 December 2020.