In the article ”The Biggest Saunas in the World”, I present the 7 largest saunas in the world. These saunas can accommodate 100 or even more than 150 people at a time.
The world is full of different saunas. However, in this article, I will focus on introducing the world’s largest saunas. Every one of these is unique and different in their own way.
These all claim to be the world’s biggest sauna in their respective categories.
Surprise, surprise two of the five saunas are located in Finland and one of them actually is the largest sauna in the world. Two of the five are located in Germany. This is not surprising, as Germany has the second largest number of saunas after Finland (in proportion to the population).
This article focuses on how many people can fit in the sauna at one time and also on how big the sauna is.
I’ll introduce the biggest first and this sauna surely deserves first place. After all, it is from Finland, the birthplace of the sauna.
Read more: 5 unique saunas in Finland
1. Suomenlinna Naval Academy sauna
This is the oldest and also the largest of all saunas. It is the biggest wood-heated sauna in the world. The sauna can accommodate up to 180 people at a time. The sauna was built in 1904 on Pikku Mustasaari in Suomenlinna.
The sauna has an area of 65 square meters and a height of five meters. There are benches on many floors and even the stove is a couple of meters high.
The stove is huge with several tons of stones. It takes four hours to heat the stove and half a cube of birch logs. It’s quite a job to keep this sauna warm.
In the fall of 2019, the sauna set a Guinness World Record. 101 different nationalities took a sauna there at the same time.
Unfortunately, the sauna is not in public use and may only be used for certain events. The sauna is still owned and used by the Naval Academy. They choose who can rent and use the sauna.
2. Tupaswilla Mahtisauna
Tupaswilla’s Mahtisauna (Tupaswilla’s Great sauna) is the largest smoke sauna in the world. Tupaswilla is a traditional village and is located in Laukaa, Central Finland. The sauna can accommodate up to 150 people at a time. The sauna is intended for businesses, so unfortunately it is not in public use.
The logs of the sauna have been carved as early as the 17th century, and the shower water comes directly from their own pond.
Read more: Tupaswilla
3. Nettebad Osnabrück
In northern Germany, in Osnabrück, is the world’s largest kelo (snag) sauna called “Event Sauna”. The kelo wood sauna has been delivered there by the Finnish log sauna expert company Huliswood Oy.
Read more: Huliswood Oy
The sauna can accommodate 150 people at a time and hosts various events and German “Aufgusses”. The sauna is heated to about 85 degrees.
Of course, there are other saunas in the spa, if this 150-person sauna does not excite you.
Read more: Nettebad.de
4. Badewelt Sinsheim
Sinsheim is located between Heidelberg and Heilbronn in Germany. Badewelt Sinsheim has one of the largest saunas in the world, with a capacity of 150 people at a time. The sauna is 80 degrees warm and has a bit of a Japanese feel. The sauna is called Koi-Sauna.
They claim to have received the Guinness World Record for the largest sauna in the world. However, I did not find any information or link on the site. Clearly this is not the largest sauna in the world.
Read more: Badewelt-Sinsheim.de
5. Midnight Ice Spa Sauna
On the Swedish side in Haparanda is Hotel Cape East with a Midnight Ice Spa. The spa has many saunas and one of them has been named the largest sauna in the world. The sauna can accommodate 150 people and has ten benches.
The temperature variation between the top and bottom deck is 40-100 degrees. There is also the possibility to experience snowfall in the sauna.
Read more: Capeeast.se
6. Ardna-sauna
The village of Salt in Oslo, Norway offers sauna and culture in one package. They also have the world’s largest public sauna called Ardna. The sauna is heated to 60-70 degrees and accommodates about 100 people. The sauna is shaped like a cottage and the benches on the sauna offer a great view of the sea.
After taking a sauna, it is possible to take a dip in the fresh sea water.
The sauna hosts a steam bath and other events four times a day.
Please note that there is an age limit of 20 years for the sauna after six in the evenings.
Read more: Salted.no
7. Herrankukkaro underground smoke sauna
The world’s largest underground smoke sauna is located in Herrankukkaro (Mama’s pocket), Rymättylä. I got to explore the place in the summer of 2020 and fell in love. The gentle steam in the underground smoke sauna and the atmosphere there was something wonderful.
The sauna stove has stones weighing 7,000 kilos. They ensure that the sauna heats up properly. It takes a couple of days to heat the smoke sauna on a colder day and about 8 hours on a “warm” day.
The underground smoke sauna has seating for 124 saunas, making it the largest underground smoke sauna in the world.
Read more: Herrankukkaro (in English)
The world’s largest saunas are located in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Germany. If all these saunas are heated at the same time, a total of 880 people can take a sauna. Quite impressive.
Have you been to any of these saunas? Or did I maybe forget some sauna? Send me a message or leave me a comment!
Are you interested in sauna cultures? The blog also provides comprehensive information on other sauna cultures. You could start by reading about German sauna culture.
Read more: German sauna culture
