Hugon Savusaunat in Rautjärvi, Finland

On the shore of Lake Rautjärvi in South Karelia, within the Saimaa lake district, two octagonal smoke saunas stand among the pines — hand-built by a local farmer and entrepreneur using traditional techniques, and now among the most authentic smoke sauna experiences available to visitors anywhere in Finland. From the door of the Hiisi sauna, the Hiidenniemi peninsula stretches across the lake.

The saunas are called Horna and Hiisi — both names drawn from Finnish mythology, referring to the underworld and the spirits of wild places. The property operates under the name Hugo’s — a tribute to the current owner’s grandfather, Hugo, whose memory is kept alive in the name of the place. A smoke sauna is not a modern wellness facility. It is one of the oldest known forms of bathing in human history, and the tradition was inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020.

Unlike a conventional sauna, a smoke sauna has no chimney running from the stove. Instead, a fire is lit inside the sauna room itself, and the smoke fills the space entirely during the heating process — which takes four to six hours. The smoke blackens the walls and ceiling over years of use, creating a surface that retains heat with remarkable efficiency. Once the fire dies down and the smoke clears, the sauna reaches a gentle, enveloping heat quite unlike anything a modern electric sauna can produce. In South Karelia, the ventilation opening above the stove — which helps draw smoke during heating — is called a lakeinen, a regional term that speaks to how locally rooted this tradition remains.

The saunas at Hugo’s are heated every Friday by a group of local men for whom this is a weekly ritual — not a performance for tourists, but a living continuation of a practice that has defined Finnish life for centuries. Visitors are welcome to join.

The property itself carries additional layers of history. Hugo’s was formerly the Upper Vicarage of Rautjärvi parish. During the Continuation War in 1941, the building served first as the base of Intelligence Unit Vehniäinen and later as the headquarters of Infantry Regiment 27, whose troops came from the Tampere region. The root cellar on the property was built in 1942. Trenches dug for soldiers’ accommodation tents in the summer of 1941 are still visible in the grounds.

The saunas sit within the Saimaa UNESCO Global Geopark — a landscape shaped by the last ice age, encompassing one of the largest lake systems in Europe.

Rautjärvi lost more soldiers per capita than any other Finnish municipality in the Winter War of 1939–40. The men of Rautjärvi fought at Kollaa — a battleground that now lies on the Russian side of the border.