Aufguss: A Ritual, Not Just a Sauna Session
Aufguss: A Ritual, Not Just a Sauna Session
Aufguss is a European sauna ritual where heat becomes a shared, guided experience. Originating in Germany and Austria, it combines water infused with essential oils, rising humidity, music and precise towel techniques performed by a sauna master.
Unlike casual sauna use, Aufguss follows a structure. Heat builds in waves, intensity is intentional, and the group moves through the ritual together. The result is cleansing, energising and often surprisingly emotional.
How an Aufguss Ritual Works
An Aufguss session usually lasts between 8 and 15 minutes and unfolds in stages.
Water mixed with essential oils is poured onto hot stones, sharply increasing humidity. The sauna master uses rhythmic towel movements to distribute hot air across the space, creating controlled bursts of heat. Music often sets the tempo, helping guests stay present and grounded.
Cooling is essential. Fresh air, cold showers or ice baths complete the cycle and allow the body to recover.
Why Aufguss Is a Collective Experience
One of the defining features of Aufguss is that it’s shared. Everyone in the sauna goes through the same waves of heat together. There’s no adjusting the temperature, no coming and going — just presence and endurance.
This collective element is why many people describe Aufguss as closer to a ritual than a spa treatment. It creates connection, focus and a sense of “reset” that lingers long after the session ends.
Aufguss and Russian Banya: Different Paths to the Same Goal
While Aufguss is rooted in European sauna culture, Russian banya follows a different tradition — one that is older and more body-focused.
Aufguss is performance-led: towels, choreography, music, spectacle.
Banya is ritual-led: Parenie, veniks, breath, circulation and recovery.
In banya, heat is paired with Parenie — rhythmic leaf whisking using oak, birch or eucalyptus veniks. The focus is not on endurance, but on releasing tension, improving circulation and restoring the nervous system.
Many guests who enjoy Aufguss find banya rituals deeper and more personal, while still delivering the same intensity and contrast.
Ritual-Led Sauna Experiences in London
Classic competition-style Aufguss is still rare in London. What is available are ritual-driven thermal experiences that deliver the same depth — without reducing the ritual to performance.
At Banya No.1 – Hoxton, public banya sessions follow structured heat and cold cycles guided by experienced practitioners. Aroma, steam, Parenie and recovery are treated as one continuous ritual, not separate add-ons.
Wednesday Club: Where Sauna Ritual Meets Community
For those drawn to the collective spirit of Aufguss, Wednesday Club is the closest expression of that energy.
Every Wednesday evening in Hoxton, guests take part in a three-hour ritual of heat, cold, sound and shared presence. Each guest receives a 20-minute aroma steam, with special guest practitioners leading sound, shamanic or ceremonial practices.
It’s not Aufguss in the strict European sense — but it shares the same essence: guided intensity, rhythm and community.
Final thought
Aufguss shows that sauna can be more than heat. It can be intentional, shared and transformative.
Whether you’re exploring European sauna culture or looking for something deeper than a standard steam room, ritual-led banya experiences offer a powerful alternative — grounded in tradition, not performance.
