Rajaportin sauna to allow swimsuits at biweekly mixed sessions

Rajaportin sauna in Tampere will allow people to wear swimsuits during mixed communal sessions held every other Thursday, according to YLE.

The decision follows a national debate this summer after several municipalities permitted swimwear in public pool saunas.

Rajaportin, founded in 1906 and protected under building heritage law in 2023 as Finland’s oldest continuously operating public sauna, introduced mixed events a few years ago and first tried swimsuits during a leap-year mixed session in 2020.

Organisers and volunteers from the Pispala Sauna Association say attendees have adapted: some wear swimsuits; others remain nude. Staff stress clear behaviour rules and say they respond quickly if anyone feels harassed.

Microbiology professor Per Saris said thorough showering before entering and wearing a clean swimsuit keeps hygiene risks low, though he cautioned that not everyone follows those steps.

What began as a monthly trial has expanded to sessions every other Thursday. Sauna Society director Janne Koskenniemi says relaxing nudity rules may draw more people into sauna culture. Tampere health protection inspector Hanna Juhe was also cited.

The change comes as Tampere is widely recognised as Finland’s sauna capital a longstanding volunteer-run sauna network and after renewed public interest in historic saunas this summer the Amuri museum reopening.