Story – The Heritage of Lempäälä Spa
Traditional Uoti water treatments since 1926.
1911 – Roots and Augusta Uoti
Traditional Uoti water treatments have been offered in Finland since 1911.
The developer of the method, M.A. and pastor Juho Uoti (1862–1920), was born in Nakkila. He published his book “Kotiopas terveyden hoidossa” in 1912.
The founder of Lempäälä Spa, Pastor’s wife Augusta Uoti (née Laurila), was born in 1863 in Perniö. She studied at the Jyväskylä teacher training college and worked as a primary school teacher in Säkylä until her marriage in 1895.
1926 – Founding and the Years of Growth
Lempäälä Spa began operating in 1926. For the first ten years, Pastor’s wife Augusta Uoti ran the spa in Lempäälä from Helsinki while also managing a few other Uoti clinics (e.g. in Vyborg, Turku, Tampere, Kotka, Hamina and Helsinki).
1933 – The Tradition Continues – Kauko Uoti
After that, the spa was led by her son Kauko Uoti (1898–1979). He studied medicine and naturopathy in Germany and Austria and graduated in 1933 as a doctor of naturopathy in New York (The American School of Naturopathy). In 1945, Kauko Uoti married Sirkka Kavander (1919–1981), who had worked for a few years as the head of the Tampere spa. Her parents, Martta and Kaarlo Kavander, ran a Uoti spa first in Tapanila and later in Salo from 1932 to 1967.
1930–1960 – A Favourite Among Artists
In the 1930s–60s the spa was especially popular with artists. Notable guests of the era included Ilmari Kianto, Mika Waltari, Aaro Hellaakoski, Ture Bahne, Mikko Oinonen, Ture Junttu, Einari Vuorela and Emmi Jurkka. The latter writes in her memoirs that once she experienced the restorative effects of the bath treatments, she later treated all ailments with Uoti therapies.
1981→ – The Tradition Continues – Kirsti Uoti
Since 1981, the spa has been led by Kirsti Uoti, a specialist in internal medicine and rheumatology.