HISTORY

It all started with a group of avantoswimming enthusiasts during the 1960s. They swam in Lake Pyhäjärvi, which then became so polluted that swimming was forbidden. Thus, on March 6, 1960, the Tampere Winter Swimmers association was founded. It requested and received from the city of Tampere a heated changing room next to the then Armonkallio beach. And in 1966, the avantoswimmers’ activity resulted in the city allowing the construction of a ”barrack sauna” in addition to a changing room, which was opened on October 17, 1966. The maintenance and heating of the sauna was part of the association’s activities, and the heating was also done at first with a team of volunteer workers, when the permanent ”swimming supervisor” was unable to do so. A total of 11,568 visits were recorded in 1968, if everyone remembered to write their names in the notebook. This continued until 1977, and the popularity grew and the sauna began to get crowded. In the words of a historian, ”The sauna burns twice, but not enough, it’s just repaired.”

In 1977, there was a turning point: a new sauna and a warehouse were built on the bank of Kauppi, and the former changing rooms were moved. Tree cutting, heating, and other maintenance tasks are still handled as volunteer work. In 1986, the first version of Takkatupa, ”Matin tupa” (=”Matti’s lounge”), is completed, as an extension of the women’s dressing room. In the lounge, the association’s meetings and events were held, food is offered to the volunteer workers, and sauna customers could also stay there and fry sausages in the fireplace.

On Christmas Eve 1985, the first Christmas Eve devotional was held at the Kaupinoja sauna, and the Christmas sauna was heated with the power of volunteer work. The father of the idea was Matti Koponen, who ended up as an honorary member, after whom Sauna Lounge was then named. On Christmas Eve 1995, Seppo Rantanen held the devotion and continued until the devotion was missed during the corona epidemic and the tradition has not been continued after that – instead, on Christmas Eve, Kaupinoja still has a Christmas sauna, in the morning, as well as glögg and gingerbread for all. For many, this has become an essential part of the Christmas celebration.

1993 – 1996 a new handsome sauna is built. The takkatupa is now ”Sepon Tupa” (=”Seppo’s Lounge”), and apart from the association’s meetings and events, it can be rented to customers. Stoking and hauling logs and many other jobs are still handled by volunteer workers, the staff were the only salaried persons. In 1998, 35,500 sauna visits were recorded.

The association’s activities diversified when the first national winter swimming competitions were held in Tampere in 1989. But of course, Kaupinoja needed its own competition too, so in 1998, the first Pirkanmaa Winter Swimming Event was organized at the sauna. Nowadays, two competitions are held annually at Kaupinoja – Kaupin Kuohut in the fall and the Pirkanmaa Winter Swimming Event in the spring. The Tampere Winter Swimmers have also successfully competed in national and world championships. Visitor numbers are increasing, and the association’s financial situation is stabilizing and improving. As a result, in 2001–2002, a 3-bedroom apartment with a kitchen was acquired in Pärnu for members’ vacation use.

In 2008, the sauna burnt down—yet again. This time, the löyly room is destroyed, and the vilpola and both showers are severely damaged. Only the takkatupa remains untouched by fire or water damage. ”We’ll be doing sauna here again,” vowed Esko Jalanto, Marinka Mäkelä, and Tapio Kivimäki to an Aamulehti reporter—and indeed, they did! On April 25, 2010, the renovated sauna as we now know it opened: a massive löyly room that can seat 60 people on the benches, with twice the space in the dressing rooms and showers. The storage building has also grown, as have the tools and equipment used for maintenance and upkeep of the sauna. Now wood is split and hauled by machines, the avanto is kept open by large pumps running day and night, and heated mats and stairs provide access to the lake. The massive stove holds 800 kg of stones, which are replaced monthly (by hand!), and the sauna burns 1 to 1.5 cubic meters of wood daily. There are several sauna attendants, all of them paid employees. The sauna now attracts over 85,000 visitors annually. Cash is no longer accepted, but mobile payments and cards are!

Still, the sauna and the avanto remain the core of it all, and taking a sauna followed by a dip in the avanto with others who share the passion is the best thing in the world.

For more detailed information, refer to the history book ”And First There Was the Avanto. 50 Years of the Tampere Winter Swimmers Association” (only in finnish) edited by Tapio Kivimäki, Aaro Louhela, Niilo Mustikkamaa, Marinka Mäkelä, Kirsti Niemelä, and Seppo Rantanen. Published by Tampereen Offsetpalvelu in 2010.