Kotiharjun Sauna

This guide to Kotiharjun Sauna in Helsinki's Kallio district goes back to 1928, when the neighborhood held some one hundred fifty public bathhouses serving dock workers and factory hands with no bathtub at home. You'll hear how electric heaters and private plumbing closed them one by one, and what it takes to fire the wood-burning stove that still heats these stones for three to five hours before the doors open. Settle onto the benches in the yard afterward, the same spot generations of workers used to cool off.