History and Use The origins of the sauna have been lost in the mists of time (so to speak), but it is safe to say its history goes back at least 1000 years. We know that the nomadic peoples of Finland had a primitive type of sauna that was made by building a fire inside a tentlike structure. When the heat had built up and the fire had gone out, the people would enter the sauna to bathe. This was very similar to the American Indian sweat lodge. This type of sauna evolved into a smoke sauna — a small building with a stone fireplace inside. There was a small hole in the roof where the smoke could escape but the fire had to die down before the building could be entered. This type of sauna was commonly used up until the 1920s when it started to be replaced by modern saunas as we know them today. The smoke sauna, however, has enjoyed a recent revival in Finland. Many people consider them to be the finest type of sauna. By the 1930s, a new type of sauna stove was introduced. This sauna…