sauna-nn.ru ("Saunas of Nizhny Novgorod," "Saunas-NN") is a Nizhny Novgorod reference website about banyas and saunas in Nizhny Novgorod and nearby towns of the Region: descriptions of establishments by district, room capacities, photographs, and terms of visiting [1]. The site has been operating since 2007 [2][4].
History
The domain sauna-nn.ru was registered in March 2007 [4]. The earliest surviving copy of the site in the web archive dates to September 2007: at that time it was a single page, "Saunas of Nizhny Novgorod," signed "© Saunas of Nizhny Novgorod, 2007," presenting, in the site's own words, the city's most popular saunas, each with a short list of amenities and a link to additional information. Even then the site noted that it could be opened from a cell phone, smartphone, or PDA [5].
By January 2012 the page had grown into a directory: a "Full List" of several dozen establishments had appeared on the main page, and sauna owners were invited to submit information about themselves to the "Saunas of Nizhny Novgorod" directory by email. The introductory text of those years explained the purpose of the site — instead of leafing through a phone book or asking acquaintances, one could choose a banya or sauna by address, photographs, room capacity, and services [6].
In January 2017, the site was called "Saunas and Banyas of Nizhny Novgorod," and the establishments were sorted by city district — Avtozavodsky, Kanavinsky, Leninsky, Moskovsky, Nizhegorodsky, Sovetsky, Sormovsky, Prioksky — and by suburb: Afonino, Dzerzhinsk, Balakhna, Kstovo. The general index listed 90 saunas. Themed sections appeared: banyas, swimming pools, saunas outside the city, "Saunas in 3D," "About Saunas and Banyas," "Saunas in Painting," and videos about saunas [7].
Site content
In 2026, the site describes itself as an independent information portal about banyas, saunas, and spa services in Nizhny Novgorod and the Region. According to its own figures, its database contains more than 100 establishments and 298 rooms, and it takes the photographs — more than 4,200 images — itself and marks them with a watermark bearing its address. As stated on the "About the Project" page, it obtains its information directly from the owners of the establishments; it takes no commission for customers it refers, and the order of establishments in the listing is random [2].
The alphabetical index on the home page in 2026 lists 95 saunas and banyas; besides the districts of Nizhny Novgorod, it includes establishments in Afonino, Gorodets, and Balakhna, Bogorodsk, Bor, Dzerzhinsk, and Kstovo, a map marking all the establishments, and a search by criteria — from wood-fired banyas and public banyas to swimming pools and hammams. The earlier themed sections have also been kept: articles about the banya, video clips, and a selection of paintings on the banya theme [1]. The site calls the selection of paintings its own collection, and among its materials it lists articles on types of steam, the history of banyas, rules of conduct, and the benefits of the treatments [2].
The site is run by a sole proprietor registered in 2005 [3].
Place in the city's internet
In the NN Top100 traffic ranking of Nizhny Novgorod sites, as measured on October 6, 2026, sauna-nn.ru ranks 43rd: 5,860 visitors from the region over 31 days according to the LiveInternet counter [8]. The web archive has preserved copies of the site for every year from 2007 to 2026 [5].
Sources
- sauna-nn.ru — Saunas and Bathhouses of Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
- sauna-nn.ru — About the Project: Saunas and Bathhouses of Nizhny Novgorod
- egrul.nalog.ru — Extract from the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs (Federal Tax Service of Russia) (archive)
- nic.ru — whois
- web.archive.org — Web Archive: sauna-nn.ru, snapshot of 09/29/2007 (archive)
- web.archive.org — Web Archive: sauna-nn.ru, snapshot of 01/17/2012 (archive)
- web.archive.org — Web Archive: sauna-nn.ru, snapshot of 01/25/2017 (archive)
- Historical Encyclopedia of Nizhny Novgorod — NN Top100 Traffic Ranking