RAJAPORTINSAUNA-ARKISTO
Rajaportti Sauna Archive
In this archive, one can receive information and hear stories from Rajaportti sauna and Tampere's other public saunas in videos. There are a lot of photos, especially from the year 1989 onwards, when Pispala Sauna Association was founded. And there is a multitude of articles and documents gathered over the years to explore, related to saunas.
At best, in Tampere, there were well over 100 public saunas. Especially after the war, the town councel took notice of developing "the sauna conditions in the town" - the expression of which was the synonym for public saunas - and had built big "sauna houses". One would have saunas nearly in every street corner, and for many generations, going to public sauna was the most common and everyday thing to do.
For the most of the people in the town, saunas were the only place, where to wash and clean up oneself. But saunas were not only bathing centres, but also social centres. Mothers were taking care of each other's children, and everybody stayed online, what was happening locally and globally, while discussing of the news, when sitting in the warm wave of heat with other people. Fairly often one would hear great stories, while sweating there.
Unfortunately, this site is not yet available in English, let alone in some other language. Our hopes and efforts are, that at least parts of this site could be translated in the future in to other languages The videos with photos and stories contain fairly detailed, down-to-earth - and funny - descriptions of the history of Rajaportti Sauna, and we would love to share it with other nationalities, including the videos later with subtitles. But for the time being, you will just have to be happy listening and reading the awkward sounding language of ours.
1880s
In the 1880s, there were about 15 "lesser public saunas", where both the sauna section and the dressing room were shared by both men and women.
The stories in the Tammerkoski magazine mention a sauna in Nalkala, where even prisoners were brought to take bath with shackles on their feet, as well as a sauna at the center of the city by the Tammerkoski rapids, where inventive children could swim over the rapids to the other sauna on the other side of the rapids and take baths in two saunas at the same time.
Mooses Hermanni and Maria Lahtinen, the future founders of the Rajaportti Sauna, moved in to the Tampere region.
The current sauna plot belonged at this time to the municipality of Pohjois-Pirkkala (Northern Pirkkala). Little boys used to open the "Border Gate" (= Rajaportti in Finnish) between the city of Tampere and Pohjois-Pirkkala, situated a couple of hundreds meters away from the current sauna plot towards the city center of Tampere.
1890s
In 1890, Mooses Hermanni and Maria Lahtinen built their first house and sauna in Pispala by Pispala Main Road (in those days the name of the road was "Pispalan maantie"), a few hundred meters away from the current place of the Rajaportti Sauna. After that, in 1895, they rented the current Rajaportti Sauna plot from the Kaarila manor and started to build a handsome two-story house on it. The building was completed in 1898.
Hugo Lahtinen, the couple's son, born in 1891, tells detailed stories about the Lahtinen's first sauna and life in Pispala in the 1890s on an audio tape recorded in 1971.
In the Tammerkoski magazine's one story, the Patruun sauna is praised in the local dialect. That sauna was situated in the city part of Juhannuskylä quite near the center, and you could walk to the sauna and back home practically naked, only using birch whisk as Adam's leaf.
In the document files, there is e.g. the lease agreement of the Rajaportti Sauna plot, signed by Lahtinen in 1895.
Cuppers
till in the 1970s, cupping was a completely common practice in Finland, at least locally. At the end of the 19th century, it was a part of everyday life. In the public saunas of Tampere, the cupper's workplace was down in the washing section of a sauna, underneath the upper hot sauna section.
On the audio tape, you can hear stories about cupping in Pispala. In the videos, you can also learn about the practice of cupping in modern Finland.
There is a selection of newspaper articles about cupping from 1870 to 1920.
1900s
The Lahtinens start running a shop and a bakery in the Rajaportti Sauna plot, and they presumably also build a small log sauna similar to the one, they had in their previous residence, to be used as a public sauna.
The heirs of the blacksmith Davidson's family, who lived just a couple houses away from the Rajaportti Sauna plot, are reminiscing about the life in the surroundings in the beginning of the 20th century.
Tahmela Spring and Pispala Water Supply Cooperative
Water to the water hydrant near the Rajaportti Sauna plot came over the Pispalanharju ridge from the Tahmela Spring since 1905. The Pispala Water Supply Cooperative, which started its operations in 1907, is the oldest water cooperative in Finland. Hermanni Lahtinen was a member of the board of the new cooperative.
Pekka Wilen, the son of Yrjö Wilen, the long-term operator of the water pump station, tells about the spring and Pispala's water issues. There is also plenty of other material about the spring.
1910s
The Lahtinens are still building onto their plot of land, first building the so-called Ompeliantalo, Seamstres House, and then the recent stone sauna, built in 1915. Electricity is introduced to Pispala as well as water pipes to the houses in the Rajaportti Sauna plot.
Hermanni Lahtinen is a member of the Pirkkala municipal council and is elected e.g. to the committee, which will be responsible for building the primary school in Ylä-Pispala.
Of the Lahtinen's children, Hugo is a world-class sports hero, Fanny is getting married, and Anna and Toivo help their parents with the shop and the sauna. Finland becomes independent from Russia.
Sauna is almost at the center of events during the Finnish civil war. In 1919, The Lahtinens buys the Rajaportti plot as their own.
In the stories of the Tammerkoski magazine, we take a fairytale trip to the Oksanen Sauna and take a bath in a sauna with Russian soldiers.
Onni Niemi
Onni "Onska" Niemi was born in 1919 and saw as little boy from Pispalanharju ridge e.g. the tragic shipwreck of the Kuru ship in the Näsijärvi lake in 1929. During the war against Russia, Onska was a guerrilla patrol soldier operating behind the enemy lines for six years. He was also an Olympic cyclist, a horseman - and, especially in his last decades, the emblematic figure of the Rajaportti Sauna - after all, he had been taking baths there almost since he was born.
1920s
The practice of going to sauna in shared sauna in the Rajaportti Sauna will end, and from now on, men and women will be separated by a curtain. Pispalan maantie, the main road in front of the Rajaportti Sauna, was already too busy in the 1920s century, according to some.
Hugo Lahtinen wins the bronze medal in the pentathlon at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.
Storytelling about the first house built by Lahtinen in Pispala in 1890 and still in use.
Pispala is growing in population. Atmospheric descriptions of Pispala, e.g. of quite common fires.
In the Tammerkoski magazine's stories, people are telling the stories about the saunas in the city parts of Viinikka and Tammela at Pinninkatu 14.
1930s
The Lahtinen family runs the sauna. Pispala is merged with Tampere in 1937. Hermanni Lahtinen dies in 1938.
Ruuno Pennanen moves to Tampere in 1936, and takes baths in the Rajaportti Sauna while living in Pispala in the 1940s. In 1945, he moved out of Pispala and next took a bath in the Rajaportti Sauna in 2011.
In the Tammerkoski magazine's story, the storyteller e.g. is taking a bath in the old Mustalahdenkatu Sauna in the city part of Amuri.
There are public saunas on every street corner in Tampere.
Cat Alma
Alma Raunio was a long-time customer in the Rajaportti Sauna, whom everyone knew in Pispala.
1940s
The sauna owners Lahtinens were well-liked people in the neihgbourhood. Running the sauna was difficult during the war.
There were a lot of people in the sauna both when it was used normally as sauna and when it was used as a bomb shelter.
"Posti-Pekka" Tuominen tells about going to Rajaportti Sauna in the 1940s. Maija Lehtonen and Laila Mäkinen reminisce about Pispala during the wartime under bombing and Pispala's first Checker taxi.
In the videos based on the Tammerkoski magazine's stories, a public sauna is visited during the war in 1942 and the sauna conditions in the city are reviewed, as well as the construction of new public saunas. Irja Vilkman-Poutavaara's short story "Taking a sauna in Pispala as well" is published in 1948.
1950s
The 1950s is the golden age of public saunas, but the end of the decade also represents the beginning of their decline in popularity.
Seppo Leskinen, Ilkka Kuusniemi, Reino Hilden and members of the Johansson family, who took bathes in the Rajaportti Sauna in the 1950s, reminisce about the sauna at that time.
In the 1954 Aamulehti newspaper, various saunas in the city are visited, including Rajaportti Sauna. In the videos based on the Tammerkoski magazine's stories, the legendary "Löyly" sauna and the Suokatu sauna are visited in the city part of Amuri.
Sauna servants
In the old time public saunas, sauna servants washed the customers and took care of throwing water onto the sauna stove stones. The Rajaportti Sauna has invited sauna servants to work even in recent years to certain parties at the sauna.
Public saunas in Pispala
There were, of course, other public saunas in Pispala as well, besides the Rajaportti Sauna, a few of which are presented here.
1960s
The popularity of public saunas began to decline in the end of the 1950s. The city expropriated the Rajaportti Sauna in 1965 for the widening of street Mäkikatu. Toivo died in 1960 and Fanny in 1969.
Veikko Lindström and Seppo Koivunen, who took baths in the sauna in the 1960s and lived only "a stone's throw and a short run" away from sauna, reminisce about the sauna and Pispala at that time.
In the article video of the Tammerkoski magazine, we are in the mood of a public sauna in the 1960s.
Lahja Mäkinen and The Rajaportti Women Association
Beloved Lahja Mäkinen started running the sauna in 1965 and ran it until 1977. After that, she continued to live in the courtyard house and passed on the tradition of sauna heating, inherited from the very beginning of the sauna, to The Pispala Sauna Association founded in 1989. She was also a leading figure in Pispala's powerful ideological association Rajaportin Naiset ry, The Rajaportti Women Association.
Irja Lastunen
The antique dealer Irja Lastunen, who lived next door to the Rajaportti Sauna, was a woman, whom everyone remembers, and who was a regular customer of Rajaportti Sauna.
Mooses and Hilja Lehtonen
War veteran Mooses Lehtonen and his wife were among the regular customers of the Rajaportti Sauna.
1970s
In 1971, Pispalan Moreeni ry association organizes "An Evening of Sauna Memories" event in Pispala, and records the happening with a newly acquired tape recorder.
Raimo Virtamo, who took baths in the Rajaportti Sauna in the 1970s, tells about the sauna.
Pispalan Asukasyhdistys - The Pispala Residents'Association - is founded in 1976, and the "Pispalalainen" magazines discuss the difficult situation of the Rajaportti Sauna.
In the story of the Tammerkoski magazine, we visit the last sauna of the city part Amuri.
The Pispala postman
Postman Rauni Hoikkala, or "Post Ansu", was a character, that everyone knew in Pispala. The Pispala post office was located along the Pispalan valtatie - Pispala Main Road - in Ala-Pispala for a long time.
1980s
The story in Pispalalainen magazine discusses the situation of Pispala's public saunas.
Film director Rauni Mollberg's The Unknown Soldier is shot e.g. at the Rajaportti Sauna in 1984.
A young couple has been trying to maintain the Rajaportti Sauna since 1986, but the sauna was closed in 1987 as unprofitable.
Irmeli Salvas
he life of the Pispala legend Irmeli Salvas, once known to everyone, shows that a basic Pispala person is an international being, who can get by anywhere, even without language skills, if necessary.
1988
The spark to reopen the Rajaportti Sauna is born, and the idea of an association emerges. Reminiscing about the late 1980s.
1989
The Pispala Sauna Association is founded, the sauna is renovated, and the sauna is reopened on the Finnish Independence Day 1989. The active members of the early days of the association reminisce about the foundation of the association and the initial renovations. Contrary to expectations - finally to the sauna! (Contrary = Vastoin, a double meaning in Finnish, also "with a birch whisk used in sauna", finally = Vihdoin, also a double meaning in Finnish, another way to say "with a birch whisk used in sauna").
1990
Roar from Northern Finland: Could the Rajaportti Sauna exist anymore without the people from The North?
Videos capturing the year 1990.
Masquerade party photos.
1991
Lahja Mäkinen, the longtime operator of the Rajaportti Sauna, turns 80.
Sauna's neighboring house, the Puukkoniemi store house, will be used as a recycling center
Tinner
There has been a tinner in the sauna block at least since the 1940s. Around the time the association was founded, tinner Toivo Mäkiö had premises for his work in the Rajaportti plot on the upper floor of the sauna, where he tinkered, until he was over 80 years old, well into the 1990s.
Liming
Liming or whitewashing is a part of the sauna's annual maintenance - by Christmas time, also in the old days of sauna, we always had a bright, white sauna to take baths in. In the beginning, the sauna was limed with our own cleaning staff, later and nowadays liming has been taken care of by The Ikaalinen Handicrafts and Arts College Ikata as an internship for building restoration students. In the videos, you can familiarize yourself with the different working stages of liming.
1992
The Pispala Sauna Association is given permit to continue its activities.
Series - and Gift Cards for use in the sauna.
A children's sauna event in the sauna.
The felt roof of the sauna is renewed.
1993
In the Rajaportti Sauna, one will no longer use the outdoor toilet: From now on, one can use the compost toilet in the opposite Sauna-Lahtinen building.
Photos from the children's sauna event.
1994
Visitors from the Iraqi hamman sauna.
National Sauna Day at the Rajaportti Sauna.
Outdoor video footage and moods of sauna heating from 1994.
Plastering
The plastering of the outer wall of the sauna was completely renewed in 1994, and it was repaired in 2012. In the videos , you can familiarize yourself with the plastering structure used.
1995
Tampere-tv's coverage of the Unbearable Lightness of Construction event. Dreaming about the legal conservation of the sauna block.
A visit to the Kalmasaun in Estonia.
Concrete floors
Concrete floors in the sauna facilities are renewed with underfloor heating
1996
The city of Tampere makes a conservation decision regarding the 90-year-old Rajaportti Sauna.
The charming history book of Rajaportti Sauna, "Puhrasta tuli" ("Clean Again"), is published, edited by Marianna Laiho and Sanna Kivimäki.
The renovation of the Seamstres House
The Seamstres House, which had fallen into an unusually bad condition, was finally renovated. " Seamstress" here is written with only "s" at the end of the word in order to imitate the typo in the original seamstress's door sign.
Replacing sauna stove stones
Replacing sauna stove stones is an annual maintenance operation for the sauna. The videos show the sauna stones used in the Rajaportti Sauna.
Sauna's 90th anniversary celebration
The Rajaportti Sauna turned 90 years old in 1996, and the birthday party was held at the Pispala Haulitorni.
1997
The Rajaportti Sauna was chosen as "Bright Spot of the Year" in Tampere. Tampere-tv interviews the chairman and heater of The Sauna Association.
1998
In the videos, people are reminiscing about the times before the turn of the millennium.
The Sauna-Lahtinen House renovation and café
The sauna's café starts to operate in the so-called Sauna-Lahtinen building. In the videos people are reminiscing about the early days of café and its development.
1999
Onska Niemi, the symbol of the Rajaportti Sauna, turns 80 years old.
The Pispala Sauna Association turns 10 years old.
At this point, at the latest, the so-called "Onska's group" can also be declared to have been born. The group takes baths in the sauna like Onska from 3 pm on on Fridays.
From the group, the nickname "Emeritus Parazit" begins to write stories into the guestbook with the headline "Friday Epistle". The stories are often poetic, funny and intelligent.
The city of Helsinki supports the Kotiharju Sauna in Helsinki.
2000
At "The Night of The Events", we will also be in the Rajaportti Sauna.
The sauna stove - construction, maintenance, repairs & chimney renewal
In 2000, the sauna stove wall on the men's side of the sauna and metal shutters were renewed, and in 2003, the corresponding wall on the women's side and the chimney were renewed.
The videos also present the structure of the sauna stove.
The major interior renovation
At the Rajaportti Sauna, the interiors of the sauna's dressing rooms were renewed in 2000, including the colors and floors of the rooms.
The annual maintenance
The videos describe annual maintenance tasks in addition to replacing the stove stones and liming.
2001
Musician and artist Veltto Virtanen performs "Sauna Song" at the sauna. There has been published many newspaper articles about the sauna, and Suomen Kuvalehti magazine has now written a big and great story about Pispala, with the Rajaportti Sauna as its central element.
No to löyly competions
Thoughts and surprising articles about the löyly competitions held elsewhere, which in time led to the death of one person.
2002
Videos capturing the year 2002.
The Sauna Association received an environmental award.
The fate of the Puukkoniemi house, which is situated next to the Rajaportti Sauna and has served as a recycling center in recent years, arouses discussion, and the city will finally sell it to a buyer, who appreciates tradition.
Estonian film crew visiting.
Timo Rautiainen and Trio Niskalaukaus
Timo Rautiainen and Trio Niskalaukaus release their album "Rajaportti", for the illustration of which the customer Rautiainen has used the atmosphere of the sauna.
2003
The wall of the wood shed breaks, and boulders roll down the slope into the shed. The wall is repaired, but the wood shed shrinks smaller than before.
The European Building Heritage Days were also in Pispala.
German film crew visiting.
The pellet boiler's introduction into the sauna
In 2003, the electricity used for heating the water in the sauna and heating the dressing rooms was replaced with pellet boiler energy. In the videos people discuss, how this heating system has turned out to be.
2004
Onska Niemi, who has taken baths in the sauna since 1919, turned 85, which anniversary was also celebrated in the sauna.
2005
Aerial photos of the sauna.
Rajaportti Sauna beer label competition.
2006
This year at Rajaportti Sauna was spent for the most part in preparations for the 100th anniversary celebrations in the late summer.
A renewed edition of the book "Puhrasta tuli" ("Clean Again") is published.
The Rajaportti Sauna's 100th anniversary celebration
he party featured e.g. Seela Sella, an actress from Pispala.
2007
Choir in the sauna.
Guests from Turku and Lithuania in the sauna.
Additional air holes were made into the sauna stove to improve secondary air supply.
2008
Italian sauna society members in the sauna.
Sauna concert in the Rajaportti Sauna in January.
2009
The Rajaportti Sauna is on the sales list of the city of Tampere, which of course worried sauna goers, but with the support given to community houses, The Rajaportti Sauna was also removed from the sales list.
The Pispala Sauna Association turns 20 years old.
The film " Siinä näkijä, missä tekijä" (Loosely translated "There is the prophet, where there is the executor") is filmed in the sauna for television.
Duo Hurme gave a concert in the sauna.
2010
The Rajaportti Sauna's representative visited Lithuania for the birch whisk lambasting competition.
The movie "Men's Turn" premiered at the Rajaportti Sauna.
Beer tasting session in the café.
The grating of the sauna stove in the sauna is replaced.
2011
Finland wins World Cup gold in ice hockey, and "Poika" ("The Boy" meaning the trophy) makes his way also to the Rajaportti Sauna accompanied with Janne Lahti, an ice hockey player with roots in Pispala.
This year, Lithuanian birch whisk lambasting days were organized at the sauna.
German Alexander Lembke fell in love with Finnish sauna and Rajaportti with his camera.
Sahti and beer at Rajaportti Sauna
Markku Konttinen talks about beers and the Tampere sahti championship, which has been held at the sauna since 2006 - but is there really any sahti, which could beat sahti from Hollola?
2012
The plastering of the sauna's outer wall is being repaired.
On National Sauna Day, melancholy tunes are heard, and on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus is seen dreaming of mulled wine.
2013
Duo Hurme performs Scandinavian songs in the Rajaportti Sauna.
The sauna receives two recognition awards.
The annual National Sauna Day in June is celebrated at the Rajaportti Sauna.
In November, it's time for the annual renovation again.
Sauna's green yard
The yard of the sauna in the early 1990s was quite barren, devoid of green. Today, it sometimes resembles a tropical garden in the summer. How did the vegetation in the sauna yard come about?
2014
The Rajaportti Sauna introduction video for the Lithuanian Sauna Congress.
National Sauna Day with performers again at Rajaportti Sauna.
Sauna yoga.
2015
In addition to the normal Finnish Sauna Day event, a support concert for the Pispala Radio Association was organized at the sauna.
The sauna's chimney no longer smokes like it used to, thanks to the new secondary air fan.
The Rajaportti Sauna can be found in a charming series of fashion photos.
The wooden floor on the men's side was replaced with a concrete floor.
2016
On National Sauna Day, there was an opportunity to e.g. to get Estonian birch whisk treatment and to hear about Latvian birch whisk lambasting therapy.
Sauna will start broadcasting in Japanese and Chinese.
Pulp wool is blown into the sauna attics as insulation.
Sauna's 110th anniversary celebration
Folk artists played and sang with heart and soul, and the Rajaportti party crowd danced joyfully.
In honor of the anniversary, a new piece of music, "Höyry nousee" ("Steam arises"), was composed for the Rajaportti Sauna and for the crowd to sing along, and a 300-liter batch of Rajaportteri celebration beer was brewed at Pyynikin Käsityöläispanimo (Pyynikki Artisanal Brewery).
2017
On National Sauna Day, the joyful Sine Nomine singing group brought a fresh breeze from Colombia.
2018
On National Sauna Day, the acrobatic combat dance group Capoeiro Corda de Ouro performed, among others.