Stockholm opens public sauna, aiming to make tradition more accessible

Stockholm has opened its first public sauna with the aim of making the traditional experience more accessible. The new facility is part of a broader city strategy to improve public access to Stockholm's waterfronts. Hornstullsbastun (Hornstull’s sauna) can accommodate up to 16 people at a time and includes outdoor showers, sauna baskets, and a designated swimming area along the waterfront. Popular waterfront saunas often have waiting lists numbering in the thousands, while reservations at newly opened venues can be fully booked within minutes. The new public sauna can be booked online up to one month in advance and is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. A 90-minute session costs 150 Swedish kronor. It was officially opened by the city's vice mayor, Lars Strömgren. “Stockholm has a long tradition of being a harbor city. And because of that, we haven't really opened up the quays to swimming and to the public. Now, we want to do that more, and we also want to make sure that it's possible for everybody to get access to sauna,” he says. Among those who booked the first available sessions was Wendy Liu, a British traveler who said she learned about the opening at a sauna convention. “It's great to have water and a sauna together. I mean, if a sauna without water is not a real experience, these two need to go together. And this is such a beautiful place. And today we got beautiful weather, so it's a perfect combination,” she says. The sauna stands on the site of the former Liljeholmsbadet, a floating public bathhouse dating to the 1930s. The bathhouse was removed last year after falling into disrepair. Pia Karlsson, a project manager with Stockholm's transport office, says the city will monitor public interest in the facility and evaluate whether additional public saunas should be opened in the future. This article was provided by The Associated Press.