The sauna is outdated as a bath institution, or so many could claim. While, nowadays, modern alternatives are available that are less-time consuming, smaller, much cheaper and also more environment-friendly. The sauna is an example of an archaic institution and technology that is no longer necessary for the utmost rational or practical reasons. Nevertheless, it has preserved its popularity for millennia, despite profound societal and cultural changes. The Finnish sauna is just one type of the still existing hot steam baths in the world. Steam baths’ success has not been universal, but they have gained a firm status in some cultures and a few countries. This paper examines why the sauna and other steam baths have managed to preserve their attraction and popularity from primitive to modern societies, and why they have succeeded in becoming stable and persistent cultural institutions. Fashions have changed the sauna, but they have not displaced it.

The paper examines the causes of the sauna’s resilient attraction on the basis of arguments presented in public discussions. Firstly, it is a commonplace to suppose that the sauna’s status is based on its versatile qualities as a bathing institution. It is true that frequent users primarily go to the sauna only to wash themselves. However, the sauna has other attractions, as well. Secondly, bathing in a sauna is a social event; Finns feel like orphans sitting alone in a sauna. Thirdly, sauna bathing is claimed to be a relaxing experience. Fourthly, discussions about the healthiness of sauna baths have persisted, with arguments both in favour and against it. However, in this respect most people rely on their personal experience. Fifthly, while perhaps subconsciously, many frequent sauna bathers consider a sauna bath as a purification ritual: cleaning both the body and the soul. This belief is embodied in the sauna culture: one is thought to be a better person mentally and physically after a bath than before it.

While Finns do not believe the healing effects are long lasting, even short-term benefits are satisfying, and repeating the therapy session would be considered just another moment of pleasure. While the sauna as a physical space is not a holy place for Finns, it has been possible to modify it according to various requirements. My hypothesis is that with different technological and architectural solutions, the same therapeutic or spiritual experience of the sauna can be achieved. Furthermore I argue that the sauna is not only a bathing institution, but also something more: sauna experiences appeal to primitive instincts of the human mind.