Hundreds of traditional smoke saunas already tallied in Estonia-wide count
A nationwide smoke sauna census launched this spring and led by the Võromaa Smoke Sauna Cooperation Council has already gathered information on 500 saunas, daily Postimees writes.
Of the 500 submissions received to date, folklore researchers at the Võro Institute have already reviewed 400 — many containing notes on family traditions, renovation photos and even documentation of construction details attesting to the craftsmanship of the sauna' original builders, the Southern Estonian edition of the paper noted (link in Estonian).
So far, the info collected suggests that smoke saunas in Estonia are still most commonly found where they were three generations ago — in the Vana-Võromaa region and immediately surrounding areas — and smoke sauna traditions are well maintained.
What stands out is the number of new smoke saunas — over 25 years, 120 such saunas have been built or renovated, half of them in the last ten years.
Võromaa's smoke sauna tradition has been listed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2014.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
