A sauna lightened up green.

Savutuvan Apaja sauna going green for St. Patrick’s Day, 17 March 2021

The City of Jyväskylä participates in the Global Greening campaign coordinated by Tourism Ireland by lighting up the sauna at Savutuvan Apaja green 11.3-17.3.2021.

Hundreds of cities around the world take part in the campaign by lighting up, or “greening”, their own sights on St. Patrick’s Day, the national day of Ireland, on 17 March 2021.

The Finnish sauna tradition has been adopted into the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2020. Therefore, Finnish cities will participate in Global Greening this year through a sauna theme. Jyväskylä will do its part by greening the traditional sauna located at the courtyard of the Savutuvan Apaja on the shore of Lake Päijänne.

– Central Finland is known far and wide as the Sauna Region of the World, so we were quite excited to do a sauna theme and illuminate a sauna destination. The area is known for its sauna industry and is host to a diverse variety of saunas and sauna experiences. The saunas at Savutuvan Apaja are a great example of the selection of sauna-themed services our tourism businesses can offer, says Tourism Director Susanne Rasmus of Visit Jyväskylä Region.

Savutuvan Apaja, for its part, is excited for the greening

– We are very pleased to see our sauna selected for this campaign, respecting the traditions of the sauna. We feel it is very important that the visitor’s arrival to Apaja will allow them to forget the pressures and stresses of modern life and focus on the moment. There is no better way to relax than partaking in our saunas and either ice swimming or our outdoor hot tubs, says Jemina Kyyrö, Sales Manager at Savutuvan Apaja.

The Global Greening campaign has taken place annually for the last ten years. Jyväskylä, the City of Light, illuminates a destination as part of the campaign for the second time this year.

Irish Ambassador Ruth Parkin warmly welcomes the Savutuvan Apaja to participate the Global Greening campaign.

– I’m delighted that, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the City of Jyväskylä will once again light up the site to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a great way to celebrate the friendship between Finland and Ireland and that the Finnish sauna is now included in the UNESCO Heritage List.

– We were happy to once again “greenlight” our cooperation with Tourism Ireland, says the greening team leader, Jani Ruotsalainen, coordinator of the City of Light project.

Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vu6ch5doqa3fb9p/AAAf6ru_RnUnzAHPk3azg_Xna?dl=0, Jiri Halttunen/City of Jyväskylä

Video: https://youtu.be/vhd_V6ybLjY

More information

Jemina Kyyrö, Sales Manager, Savutuvan Apaja Oy, tel. +358 14 262 022
Susanne Rasmus, Tourism Director, Visit Jyväskylä Region, tel. +358 400 885 786
Jani Ruotsalainen, City of Light Coordinator, City of Jyväskylä, tel. +358 400 642 364
Niamh Walsh, Publicity Assistant, Tourism Ireland, tel. + 45 3317 7232