There is now a public sauna next to the Helsinki train station.
Right in the heart of Helsinki, in the courtyard of the shopping center Citycenter, you can now see people wearing bathrobes.
It’s not a publicity stunt or a strange performance. They were just doing business in the newest public sauna in town.
Kyrö Sauna Bar’s restaurant manager and Kyrö’s marketing director Mikko Koskinen. Maarit Pohjanpalo
This is Kyrö Sauna Bar, a pop-up restaurant founded by Kyrö Distillery. The customers of the 100-seat restaurant are also served by a sauna, the rafts of which can accommodate 14 people relaxing at the same time.
– This kind of sauna implementation has not been seen in Finland, and it is a pleasure to implement it, says Kyrö’s marketing director Mikko Koskinen .
He reminds us that the whole story of the award-winning distillery started with a sauna evening. That’s why the ten-year company was celebrated by setting up a bar dedicated to saunas.
Instead of showers, in the experiential sauna, you wash yourself with a kiulu. Maarit Pohjanpalo
Of course, you can do business there, even if you don’t dare to go to the baths. Sauna sessions must be booked in advance, and interest has been strong. There are only scattered shifts left for the first weeks of the mixed sauna, which opened to the public on November 15.
The atmosphere of the sauna bar is shy and rustic. According to Koskinen, they want to offer its visitors an authentic Ostrobothnian atmosphere. Maarit Pohjanpalo
Would the world be interested?
Studio Puisto architects are responsible for the appearance of the sauna bar. The company has previously planned sauna restaurants in Ähtäri and Kuopio, but a bar located in the city center like this is a new task for them.
Koskinen himself considers the sauna bar an idea that may also appeal to international tourists. Few would have guessed that they would find one right next to the capital’s train station .
A portable sauna is now parked in the courtyard of Citycenter. Maarit Pohjanpalo
In his opinion, the idea of a sauna bar even has export potential.
– British pubs are a concept that has spread around the world. Maybe after some time Finnish-inspired sauna bars will start to be found in the world’s big cities?
Kyrö Distillery has already succeeded in distributing its products to the world. Both its whiskeys and vodka have received international awards. The export potential of the bar concept has yet to be tested.
The bar has two cabinets with a rustic atmosphere. Maarit Pohjanpalo
Other possibilities
The operation of the pop-up bar ends at the turn of the year. The plan is to find a new place for its portable sauna, either at a ski center or possibly at the Kyrö Distillery visitor center.
Combining a bar evening and a sauna is possible in the capital region, of course, even after the turn of the year.
The tablecloths in the sauna are made by Lapua’s Kankurei, fitting the Oglas atmosphere. Maarit Pohjanpalo
For example, the rock bar Loosister in Kallio and Wäinö in Vill on Kalevankadu have a subscription sauna.
Jätkäsaari’s Uusi Sauna restaurant, on the other hand, has wood-heated public saunas for both men and women.
In Espoo’s Niittykummu, on the other hand, you can find Bodom Bar & Sauna, where, in addition to taking a sauna, you can also marvel at the memorabilia related to the metal band Children of Bodom.
Mikko Koskinen says that they will look for a worthy further investment place for the sauna when the pop-up restaurant ends. Maarit Pohjanpalo
