Sauna Associations
The world's sauna associations
Five governing bodies that define how the world thinks about sauna. They set the rules for what counts as a sauna, run the international congresses, and represent the industry to governments and the public. Heated Retreat is a dealer member of the North American Sauna Society.
The international body
Umbrella organization · Multinational
International Sauna Association
The Helsinki-based umbrella body for national sauna associations, founded in 1958 and re-established in 1977. It coordinates four founding members and roughly seventeen national members across Europe, North America, and Asia. The ISA sets the technical definition of sauna and runs the International Sauna Congress every four years.
EST. 1958 · Helsinki, Finland
Read profile →Founding members
Founding member · Germany
Deutscher Sauna-Bund
The world's oldest national sauna association, founded in Bielefeld in 1949, and the body behind the SaunaPremium certification.
EST. 1949 · Bielefeld
Read profile →Founding member · Finland
Finnish Sauna Society
A private cultural club founded in 1937, with seven saunas at Vaskiniemi on the Helsinki shoreline and roughly 4,400 members.
EST. 1937 · Helsinki
Read profile →Founding member · Japan
Japan Sauna-Spa Association
The only non-European ISA founding member, with a lineage tracing back to the 1971 Japan Sauna Party and 105 licensed facilities today.
EST. 1990 · Tokyo
Read profile →National members
National member · United States
North American Sauna Society
Founded 2004 in New York, the North American ISA member representing traditional sauna interests. Heated Retreat is a dealer member.
EST. 2004 · Fishkill, New York
Read profile →The 1999 Aachen Definition of Sauna
The official document, signed in Aachen, Germany on 8 May 1999, that defines what counts as a sauna by international standard. Read the verbatim text →
International Sauna Congresses
From Bielefeld 1956 to Stuttgart 2022. Next: XIX Oslo, 24-26 September 2026. See the chronology →
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