We were all naked in the steamy warmth of the sauna. The dimly lit wood building was heated to a sweltering temperature by a wood-burning stove. A woman dipped water out of a pail and splashed it on ...

Contemporary sweat baths reflect the country’s architectural past — and propose a future in which simple, sustainable buildings can still be sublime. The lowest and coolest area in traditional Finnish ...

I’m in the eastern reaches of Finland, in the Lakeland region that includes scenic Lake Saimaa, which has 14,000 islands and more shoreline than all of France. As the sun sinks slowly into the ...

THE SAUNA AT THE FINNISH PERM REP, BRUSSELS — It’s very hot in here. But not hot enough, according to my Finnish hosts. The time has come for a ladle’s worth of water to be poured onto the pile of ...

It’d be sacrilegious to visit Finland without experiencing two of the country’s most beloved pastimes: karaoke and sauna. While belting Frank Sinatra songs in a crowded bar may come naturally to you, ...

There’s a word in Finnish which evades translation: löyly. It’s commonly used to describe the steam that rises when water is poured onto hot stones in a sauna. But it also signifies spirit or life ...

In Finland they say that women are at their most glowing and beautiful 30 minutes after taking a sauna. That’s all the reason I need for taking one every chance I get – never mind the fact that it ...

Finland, known as the happiest country in the world, has a secret that the rest of the globe has neglected to discover and eagerly pursue. It's a staple of Finnish culture — a way of being — and it's ...

BATTLE GROUND — When Markku Kesala sees a sauna, all he can think is that it’s time to play the music and light the lights. “Growing up in Finland, my family would sauna together every Friday,” Kesala ...

Saunas, for the most part and for legions of adults, enjoy a warm reputation as being good for you. And a recent study of Finnish men and women seems to add more credence to sauna's health benefits, ...