The sauna is the hot heart of every spa landscape — and it is far more than a room with a stove. Knowing the sauna types, their temperatures and rituals doubles what you get out of a spa day. This topic special gathers all of our sauna knowledge: from the mother of all sweat baths to the question of whether you sit on the towel or in it.
Why the sauna is worth it
Alternating heat and cold trains the blood vessels, loosens the muscles and reliably clears the head — Finnish sauna culture has even been on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage since 2020. What matters is not sweating for as long as possible but the right sequence: heat up, cool down, rest, and repeat two or three times. Which sauna suits whom depends on temperature and humidity.
The main sauna types at a glance
- Finnish sauna — 85–100 °C, dry heat: the powerful reference model.
- Bio sauna / sanarium — 50–60 °C, mild and humid: the most accessible form.
- Steam bath & caldarium — 40–50 °C, saturated mist: gentle on airways and skin.
- Kelo and earth sauna — rustic builds with a heat quality of their own.
- Salt sauna & infrared cabin — salt on the skin, or radiant heat without hot air.
Well staged is half relaxed
You recognise a good sauna landscape by its staging: from the mild herbal steam bath up to the hot Finnish sauna, with bio and salt saunas in between, complemented by cooling and rest areas. Houses such as Hotel Esperanto in Fulda (seven sweat baths), the Mooshof in the Bavarian Forest (eight themed saunas) or the Landromantik Hotel Oswald demonstrate exactly this dramaturgy — and the Aufguss is its ceremonial climax.
