All About Aufguss
What is AUFGUSS?
“Sauna Aufguss” is a modern take on the ancient German practice of having a “sauna master” stand at the ready to ensure a great sauna experience, circulating heat, steam and aroma infusions by artfully waving towels. This has evolved into something much more performative and artful in recent years.
Today, sauna masters use their towel skills for storytelling, with performances that can include costumes, singing, chanting and even laser and smoke shows. Aufguss is so popular in Europe, that there is an annual Aufguss World Championship, which took place September 2024 in the Netherlands.
In order to accommodate the aufguss performance, a large event sauna is necessary. These typically will accommodate anywhere from 20 to 100 people. Though event saunas are rare in the USA, they are growing in numbers as communal sauna bathing rapidly gains popularity. In New York, for example, Bathhouse and Othership recently opened within blocks of one another. Both offer huge event saunas and are attracting passionate communities. (Aufguss USA is pleased to have partnered with Othership Flatiron for our 2025 competition.) One of the first event saunas in the USA opened in 2022 at Awana Spa & Wellness at Resorts World in Las Vegas.
What does a sauna master actually do?
The sauna master’s swirling towels artfully accelerate airflow, pushing warm air, enhanced with essential oils, around the room and toward audience members. The sauna master’s movements ensure that each guest benefits from freshly circulated airflow. Because performances circulate the sauna’s heat in an intense manner, the temperature is kept slightly lower than normal, at around 180°F.
Sauna masters dance, craft stories, perform to music, and mesmerize guests with their towel-twirling techniques – all of which serve to take the mind off the heat. That’s one of the biggest draws of sauna aufguss…you are completely enthralled for 15+ minutes while benefiting from the deep wellness aspects of sitting in a sauna. After an aufguss performance (or any sauna session for that matter), it’s strongly recommended that guests cool their bodies down with a contrasting cold therapy.
Why bring AUFGUSS to the USA?
In European countries like Finland, where saunas were born over 2,000 years ago, but also Italy, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, etc., sauna rituals and facilities are creative, deeply social and often, frankly, fabulous. Europeans push the boundaries of the sweat experience and have an innate cultural awareness of the many benefits of contrast bathing therapy (taking a cold plunge or roll in the snow after a period in a sauna, and repeating), which includes getting the blood pumping and a huge release of endorphins.
In recent years, Americans have begun “rethinking” sauna and how they experience it. So, instead of the typical hushed and usually solo sauna bathing in spas, there’s now a craving for something more experiential, entertaining, and communal. That’s sauna aufguss!