Rauhaniemi Bathhouse to Reopen in May or June After €2.8m Rebuild

Most of the yellow exterior looks familiar, but crews removed much of the old structure because it was in poor condition and rebuilt the interior, YLE reports. The smaller sauna will hold about 30 percent more people than before. The kiosk is being converted into a year‑round, two‑storey café, project manager Panu Hirvonen says.

At an estimated €2.8 million, the renovation has stayed within budget, even after extra work to adapt decayed wooden and concrete elements to the new design, says Jami Teräsahde, site foreman for J. Malmi.

Bath operations are run by swimming club TaTU Tampere, which created a separate limited company, TaTU Yhtiöt, at the end of last year. Mika Tynkkynen manages the bathhouse affairs and expects public access next summer. He says the saunas will switch from oil to electric stoves and that the building will use district heating for environmental reasons. Rent for TaTU’s premises will rise noticeably after the upgrade, he adds, though the club hopes to keep prices reasonable. Temporary replacement saunas planned for the work did not materialize because a viable solution could not be found, TaTU director Niina Kuhlman says.

The project had previously drawn scrutiny from councillors who warned the renovation’s cost could nearly triple from earlier estimates the councillors' warning that costs could nearly triple to €3m.