The World’s Largest Sauna Opens in Norway

The SALT festival has brought art, music, and a collection of portable structures to the sandy shores of the Norwegian island of Sandhornøy. The event, which runs into 2016, celebrates the culture and landscape of the Arctic region. Most of the festival’s buildings are modeled after traditional Norwegian fish-drying racks, referencing the livelihood of many of the area’s inhabitants. One such structure is the world’s largest sauna, a massive timber construction set on a beach overlooking the Arctic Ocean.

Dubbed the Agora, the sauna was built to be a gathering place for SALT visitors. The main room, which seats up to 150 people, more closely resembles a set of bleachers or an amphitheater than the average boxy sauna. In fact, when the space is not heated, it will be used as a lecture hall for festival events. And for those who need a respite from the heat, there’s actually a bar inside offering cool libations.

The sauna will stay open until the end of summer, though the SALT festival will continue on the site for the next year. After its stay in Sandhornøy, the festival—sauna and all—will make stops in Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and other Arctic states.

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