Aufguss Etiquette: What to Do in a German Sauna Aufguss

Part of The German Sauna Guide — built from venues’ published house rules, not from a personal visit.

Search for Aufguss and you get a dozen pages explaining what it is. Almost none of them tell you what you are expected to do — which is the only thing you actually need when the sauna master walks in with a bucket and shuts the door behind him.

This page separates the two things that usually get mixed together: the handful of rules that German and Austrian venues write down, and the much longer list of conventions that nobody publishes but everybody follows.

What an Aufguss is, briefly

A sauna master pours water — usually with an essential-oil infusion — over the hot stones, then uses a towel to move the resulting steam around the cabin. It is done in two or three pours over roughly eight to fifteen minutes, and each pour makes the room feel dramatically hotter even though the air temperature barely changes.

It is a performance as much as a treatment, it runs on a fixed schedule, and it is the busiest the cabin will be all day.

The rules that are written down

There are only two that matter, and they appear in both of the published house rules we worked from: Therme Erding’s Haus- und Badeordnung (in force since 23 February 2026) and the Saarland Therme Haus- und Badeordnung.

Only staff may perform an Aufguss. Both venues state it. You do not ladle water onto the stones yourself in a German public sauna, ever — not before the session, not after it, not because the cabin feels dry.
You may not bring your own essences. Both venues prohibit guests using their own Aufguss oils. The bottle of eucalyptus in your bag stays in the bag.

A third rule is adjacent and worth knowing: nothing may be placed on or over the stove, the heaters or the sensors. Erding gives the reason in brackets — fire risk. Hanging a towel to dry over something warm is a normal reflex at home and a genuine hazard here.

Everything else below is convention. Nobody will remove you for getting it wrong. You will simply be the person who got it wrong.

Before it starts

Find the schedule

Every sauna world with Aufguss sessions posts a timetable — on a board near the cabins, on a screen, or in the venue app. Sessions are typically every half hour or hour, rotating between cabins, and the themed ones (ice, citrus, honey, whatever the house does) fill up first.

Be in the cabin before the door closes

This is the one convention that actually matters, and it follows from physics rather than manners: opening the door mid-session dumps the heat the sauna master has spent five minutes building. Regulars arrive a few minutes early, and at busier houses staff simply close the door at the start time and that is that.

If you arrive late, wait outside and take the next one. Do not open the door.

Do not make it your first round

An Aufguss is noticeably harder than an ordinary round. Go in once normally first, so you know how your body reacts to the cabin before you meet it at its most intense. Erding’s rules note that only healthy people should use the saunas at all and that you should ask a doctor if you are unsure — that applies with more force here.

Alcohol beforehand is prohibited outright at Erding. Heat and alcohol both drop blood pressure.

Where to sit

Heat rises, so the top bench is the hottest seat in the room and it is where the regulars go. For a first Aufguss, sit low and near the door.

Two practical notes. Your large towel goes under your whole body including your feet — that requirement does not pause for an Aufguss. And if the cabin is filling up, moving along the bench rather than making people climb over you is the single most appreciated thing you can do in a German sauna.

During

Silence. Both venues require quiet in the sauna areas as a rule; during an Aufguss it is absolute. No talking, not even between pours.
Let the sauna master work. Do not wave your own towel around. The heat distribution is the point of the performance, and an extra towel in the middle of it wrecks it for the people behind you.
You may leave at any time. This is the important one. Nothing obliges you to sit through all three pours. Step out quietly between pours if you can, but if you feel unwell, leave immediately and do not wait for a polite moment.
No phone, no camera. Not a convention — a rule. Saarland Therme requires camera-capable devices to be left in the locker; Erding prohibits phones, tablets and any recording device in the textile-free area.

Afterwards

The cool-down matters more after an Aufguss than after an ordinary round. Cold shower first, then the plunge pool — Therme Wien states that order in its own sauna rules — then air, then rest for at least as long as the session lasted.

And then cover up. The robe-or-towel requirement outside the cabin applies the moment you have finished cooling down, including the rest areas and the bistro. Saarland Therme adds that you must be dried off before using the furniture.

Applause, tips and the things that vary

Applause at the end is normal in some houses and not in others. So is thanking the sauna master on the way out. Neither is written down anywhere, and the reliable approach is to do what the room does.

Tipping is not a German sauna convention in the way it is in a restaurant. There is often a jar; there is no expectation.

The short version

Check the schedule and be inside before it starts.
Never open the door mid-session.
Towel under your whole body, feet included.
Silence, and let the sauna master do the towel work.
Never pour water yourself, never bring your own oils.
Leave whenever you want to — immediately if you feel unwell.
Cold shower, then plunge pool, then rest. Robe on outside the cabin.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do my own Aufguss?

Not in a German public Therme. Both house rules we checked state that only staff may perform an Aufguss and that guests may not use their own essences. In a rented private sauna or a hotel cabin the convention is different — there, pouring water yourself is normal.

Can I leave in the middle of an Aufguss?

Yes, always. There is no rule keeping you in the cabin, and no venue would want one. Leave quietly between pours if you comfortably can, and immediately if you do not feel right.

How hot does it actually get?

The thermometer barely moves. What changes is how the air behaves: moving humid air transfers heat to your skin far faster than still dry air, which is why a 90 °C cabin during an Aufguss feels nothing like the same cabin ten minutes earlier.

Do I wear anything?

In the textile-free sauna area, no swimwear — that is a rule at both venues. You sit on your large towel. Outside the cabin you cover up with a robe or towel. The full rule list is here.

Is Aufguss a thing outside Germany?

Yes — Austria and Switzerland run them too, and there is a competitive circuit. The surrounding house rules differ though, which we covered in German vs Austrian sauna rules.

Sources and verification

This page is assembled from documents the venues publish themselves, not from a personal visit. Everything stated above can be checked against the sources below — that is the point of the page.

Therme Erding — Haus- und Badeordnung, in force since 23 February 2026
Saarland Therme — Haus- und Badeordnung
Therme Wien — published Saunaregeln

Last verified: 20 September 2026. House rules, opening arrangements and schedules change without notice, and individual venues differ from one another by design. The signage at the entrance and the venue’s own current page are the authority; this page is a starting point for planning, not a substitute for either.

Some pages on this site contain Amazon affiliate links, from which we earn a commission on qualifying purchases. This page is researched from published house rules and is not a claim of personal testing, nor medical advice.

Aufguss Etiquette: What to Do When the Sauna Master Arrives

What an Aufguss is, briefly

The rules that are written down