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All you need to know about Swedish sauna culture

All you need to know about Swedish sauna culture

Local Sweden14-05-2025

This week's episode of Sweden in Focus Extra for Membership+ subscribers features an interview with Svante Spolander, co-founder of Sweden's Bastuakademien, or sauna academy.
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In this week's episode we enter the steamy world of Swedish sauna culture. Recently The Local's Nordic editor and regular podcast panelist Richard Orange caught up with Svante Spolander, a co-founder of Sweden's Bastuakademien, or Sauna Academy.
A native of the Torne Valley near the border with Finland, Spolander speaks with infectious enthusiasm about the history of Swedish sauna culture, a newfound interest in the practice thanks to a song by Sweden's Eurovision hopefuls KAJ, attitudes to nudity, and many other do's and don't of sharing a sauna with Swedes.
Membership+ subscribers can listen to the interview in the latest episode of Sweden in Focus Extra, out May 14th.
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