What is a yurt sauna? article explains what a yurt is and how it can be turned into a sauna. What makes a yurt sauna so special? Is it the shape, the materials or something else? This article tells you everything you need to know about yurt saunas!
Yurt
Yurt is a circumferential, windowless, mobile nomadic hut. The body of the yurt is assembled from crisscrossed pieces of wood and is covered with felt. There is a fireplace in the middle of the yurt for cooking and heating. Yurts are traditionally used by the Mongol and Turkish peoples in North and Central Asia.
The yurt was originally the home of nomads, the place where they spent the night and prepared food. The yurt is convenient for traveling because it is easy to assemble, disassemble and take with you.
The yurt is versatile. It works as a guest cabin, gazebo, summer house or even as a sauna. You can take it with you when you go hunting or hiking. Thanks to the fireplace, the yurt can be used all year round.
The yurt is built using old woodworking methods. The trees are selected from nearby forests. Finger Jurtta, which operates in Finland, uses only Finnish trees such as birch, rowan and willow.
The trees for the walls are peeled and bent with steam and holes are drilled for the cells. The wood is then treated with linseed oil and tar before the frame is tied.
Roof trees are treated in the same way, but they are only straightened with steam. Large pieces of wood are planed to fit the crown or door.
The protective fabric is tailored to fit each yurt individually. In the protective fabric, Finger Jurtta uses a cotton/polyester mix weighing 400g/m2. The fabric is made to withstand water, fire and mold. The fabric is breathable yet durable.
Through Finger Jurtta, it is possible to order three different sized yurts. All models can be insulated with 6mm thick 100% wool felt.
The Finger Jurtta yurts are handcrafted in Finland from start to finish.
A dear child has many names: Yurt, Yurta, Yurt, Ger, Kibitka, Gher, Kherga and Ooee.
Source: Finger Jurtta
Sauna yurt
The frame is made of birch and rowan. The walls are made of two different fabrics. The inner fabrics are 100% felted sheep wool. The outer fabric is a polyester-cotton blend, and is treated to repel moisture, fire and mold.
The frame is a lattice that stretches and is easy to assemble. The roof poles are attached to a ring in the center.
The sauna stove weighs more than 40 kilos, so unpacking the sauna yurt is not easy.
Assembling the sauna yurt takes approximately 1.5 hours. After a longer break, it can be more difficult to remember all the details. However, the process gets easier and faster the more you do it.
If you want to experience the gentle steams of a yurt sauna in Finland, here are some useful links:
Wildtaiga.fi Kuhmo, Lentiira.
Don McCracken, Helsinki area.
Strömfors Ruukki yurt sauna, Southern Finland
Helvetinportin Sauna yurt, Ruovesi
Luonnokas, Oulu
There are also yurt saunas in Germany and Switzerland:
Zündorfbad – Cologne, Germany
Rebstockbad – Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Sauna am Rhy – Basel, Switzerland
RhySauna – Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Yurt sauna
- The steam in the yurt sauna is light and gentle.
- People who have tried a yurt sauna love the experience.
- Sauna yurt steam might help people who suffer from atopic skin .
- The architecture is unique, and the shape of the yurt interesting.
- Yurt saunas have the wow-factor. When people enter the sauna, they say “Wow, what is this?”
Read more: 5 unique saunas in Finland
My own experiences
I got to try a yurt sauna in Strömfors Ruukki wellness center. The yurt sauna warmed up quickly even though the yurt is relatively large. The heating process took about 20 minutes. I thought the yurt sauna looked very nice and welcoming and the atmosphere was relaxing. The benches were placed next to the walls and there was a wood stove on the right side.
The steam was amazingly soft and Pia Mustonen’s great sauna treatment guaranteed a wonderful sauna experience.
I took a friend of mine with me to the sauna yurt. She usually doesn’t like being in a hot sauna for too long but even she stayed in the sauna longer than usual. As for myself, I didn’t want to leave the sauna at all!
Visiting the sauna yurt was a great experience. I definitely recommend giving it a try if you ever get the chance!
