Most German saunas advertise themselves as Finnish sauna experiences, but as we know, that’s not exactly true. When you visit Finnland Zentrum you get quite close, though.
On our trip to this Finnish oasis in the midst of Berlin’s Kreuzberg we were accompanied by a couple of old friends, so we’ll call this evening an extended edition Saunamafia visit. The sauna at Finnland Zentrum is just one of the services provided by the place, and as such, it’s not open every day — in fact, this sauna is open to general public just every second and fourth Friday of the month. This sauna doesn’t follow traditional German rules, so a pair of slippers isn’t mandatory, and you might even get by with sitting butt-naked in the hot.
Note that in the usual Finnish fashion the sauna has separate times for men and women, so no mixed groups on public turns here. It’s possible to rent the place for private evenings, though.
We were the only visitors this time and we could thus do the sauna rounds on our own pace. The sauna room fits six quite comfortably, or a couple of more if you squeeze a bit. In an usual Finnish way we didn’t opt for an appointed Saunameister, but rather the person closest to the water bucket would do the honours. The sauna was hot enough, and the stove had no troubles keeping up with us, but it’s possible that the heat would suffer if the place was packed full.
The sauna is on the second floor, but you can take the elevator to the ground floor to visit a calm inner yard. In addition the place has a small room with a window to cool down and a large Ruheraum (with a cosy wood-burning stove) which also serves as a changing room — no Umkleiden 🙂
You can rent a towel for a modest price of one euro, and beers may be available too — though there’s a Späti nearby if they run out. The sauna itself costs 7,50 EUR, or 5 EUR for students and other discount groups.
Pros:
- You are your own Saunameister
- No traditional German sauna rules
- Nice cooling room with a wood-burning stove
- Modest price
- Friendly people running the place
Cons:
- You are your own Saunameister
- Open only twice a month
- Open only for 2,5 hours at a time
Conclusion:
The most Finnish sauna we’ve discovered so far in Berlin. Go there if you’re interested in the Finnish sauna culture, as most of the guests are usually Finns.
Saunamafia 