Kauttuan Jokisauna

This sauna has public shifts

Alvar Aalto's office originally designed the Kauttua River Sauna for the use of the workers of the A. Ahlström factory. The building housed three saunas with washing facilities and changing rooms. In addition, the building had a canteen and a laundry room in the basement. The building also had a small caretaker's apartment with a kitchen. The building was completed in 1946. The upper floor of the building has a log frame and the roof was originally covered with turf. The basement roof serves as the sauna's terrace. Today, restored and furnished with Alvar Aalto furniture, the River Sauna serves as a venue for wellness and architecture tourists, meeting attendees, party-goers, and design shoppers. The River Sauna is the only Alvar Aalto-designed sauna in public use. Originally, the building had three saunas heated by wood-fired stoves located in the basement. Today there are two saunas: a large one and a small one. One of the small saunas has been converted into a lounge area. Over time, the stoves have also been converted to run on electricity. The large sauna still has an old Vetokiuas stove, which was the successor to the stove in the basement. The large sauna's original stove in the basement has been dismantled, but the stove of the small saunas still exists. The building has two large chimneys on the roof, but no functioning fireplace remains. The building never had a fireplace at all, in fact. The chimneys now mainly serve as exhaust air ducts. The building was originally heated by steam coming from the factory, but the related technology, including water tanks, has been removed from the basement and replaced with geothermal heating. There is also an old air conditioning unit in the basement, which is likewise no longer in use. The laundry's washing machine, spin dryer, and drying cabinets are still in place.