The Savusauna, or “smoke sauna” as it’s known in Finnish, is considered to be the authentic traditional Finnish sauna. Savusaunas were popular near the turn of the 20th century and much earlier. Savusaunas were popular before the “traditional sauna” we know today, which involves a heater and rocks placed on top of the heat source.
A Savusauna was a wood fired sauna, without a chimney. The sauna would be lit early in the day, giving the room ample time to heat itself. Later, during the evening, the fire would be extinguished and smoke would be allowed to escape the room prior to an evening of sauna bathing.
The Original Finnish Sauna: Savusauna or “Smoke Sauna”
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Finnish immigrants migrating to North America felt resistant to leave their sauna tradition behind in Finland. Often times, one of the first structures built on a family property was the Sauna. Sauna bathers would utilize the sauna on a weekly basis for the practice of cleaning themselves, afterwards stepping outside to cool off. Often times, during the winter months, folks would jump or roll in the snow.
Savusauna Construction
In these days, construction was a completely different process than it is today with buildings taking months or even years. Using a prized possession such as a stove inside the sauna room would’ve been impractical due to it’s necessity for survival. A Savusauna would contain a firebox or hearth built of local rocks, which were heated over an extended period of time throughout the day.
The sauna itself was constructed of whatever local building materials were available, often times trees that were harvested from the property itself. These trees would then be milled by hand to create a solid, self insulating structure for the sauna itself. Due to the extreme labor requirements to manually mill this lumber, and the weight of each individual log, the sauna rooms would be no larger than necessary for the family or families sharing the sauna.
Heating A Savusauna
An authentic Savusauna did not feature a chimney. The goal was to create as much heat inside the sauna itself, using a large hearth of stone surrounding some sort of a firebox. The reason for this was so that after hours of being lit, the rocks themselves would remain heated for much of the evening.
During the process of warming the smoke sauna, or Savusauna, the walls inside the room would develop a rich black color. Today, we are proud to honor this with our available Black Taika sauna wood. Black Taika sauna wood was developed exclusively for the Finnleo sauna and provides an unmistakable pop of color inside a modern sauna room.
The video below shows heating of the savu or smoke sauna.
A History of the Cokato Savusauna
Located just 3.4 miles north of the Sauna Supply showroom in Cokato, Minnesota is what is believed to be one of the oldest still standing Savusaunas in the United States.
The Barberg-Selvälä-Salmonson Savu “smoke” Sauna
Finnish immigrants first moved to the Cokato, Minnesota area in 1865. Three of the earliest families to the area, the Bargergs, Selvälä, and Salmonsons, shared resources to build what was a shared savusauna that split the property line between the Barberg and Selvälä farms.
The photo below shows the Savusauna here in Cokato, Minnesota.
Interesting Facts about the Cokato Savusauna
According to Harvey Barberg, controversy over the family Savusauna eventually ensued. It was standard operating procedure to utilize the sauna and cool off outdoors, naked. Like many early Savusaunas, this sauna itself did not feature a dressing room.
While this practice worked perfectly fine when the property was still relatively remote, it caused a stire as the town of Cokato would grow. One of the first major roads in the Cokato area was built right along the Barberg-Selvälä property line, right next to the sauna.
The controversy would go to court in 1885 and members accused the Selvälä family (who had since purchased the shares of the sauna from the Barberg – Salmonsonn families) of odd religious practices related to their sauna use.
Eventually, the Selväläs proved to the court that they were positive citizens and simply partaking in the traditional practice of cleaning themselves in the sauna. The court would order the Selvälä family to move the sauna to a more private location, not directly next to the areas first major road.
The family was awarded $40 to move the sauna to a more private location away from the road.
Nils Selvälä did end up moving the sauna, only to turn it into a shed. He ended up using the funds to build a larger, nicer sauna elsewhere on their property.
Where this Savusauna is located today
Today, the Barberg-Selvälä-Salmonson Savusauna is located at the intersection of County Road 3 and County Road 100 just 3 miles north of Cokato, Minnesota. This location is known as “Temperance Corner” and is part of a group of three buildings that celebrate the Finnish Heritage in the region.
The sauna was moved to it’s present location in 1979 and was repaired and completely restored to it’s original appearance in 2008. Today, this Savusauna is now cared for and maintained by the Cokato Finnish-American Historical Society.
Construction of the Cokato Savusauna
The Savusauna located at Temperance Corner was constructed originally in 1868. In those days, lumber was harvested using whatever tools were available. The sauna walls were constructed of large timber beams, joined together using traditional joinery so that no additional materials were needed.
The photo below shows a corner of this Savusauna.
Are Savusaunas Common Today?
The original Savusauna is a sauna tradition that has long since gone by the wayside. Savusaunas of early days would often burn to the ground, due to the open fire that existed inside the room. The heat from a traditional Savusauna is immense and special building materials are neccesary.
With that in mind, the use of Savusauna or smoke saunas is still common in some places in Europe.
Create the Modern Savusauna Look Inside A Sauna
We are proud to be a Finnleo dealer located just a half mile from Finnleo North America, or Sauna360 as it is known today. We are capable of building custom saunas using Black Taika sauna wood, which was developed exclusively by Finnleo. The Black Taika sauna wall paneling combined with Clear Canadian Hemlock creates a black sauna with an unmistakable color distinction that honors the past tradition of the Finnish smoke sauna.
