Banya Fest Europe

One of the festival's activities is the banya master europe competition. 

The competition takes place in a special glass sauna in front of which the jury and the audience sit. Since the festival is always held during warm spring days, the atmosphere is very pleasant. The competitors of this competition are tasked with showing a 20-minute private whisk massage on a figure in the sauna. They can include peeling, hammam, hand massage, aromatherapy, smoker, hot drink, etc.

The competition is judged by a professional banya masters from around the world. These six judges evaluate professionalism, atmosphere, knowledge, skill, imagination, rhythm, but also safety and show. The winner receives the title of European banya master for the current year and very valuable prizes such as a mobile sauna Morzh.cz or clothing and equipment from the company Banyamaster.cz

Each year, the competition is open to 20 competitors, divided into two days of ten competitors each day for one hour. Thanks to this, the competition sauna is always quite busy. There are loungers for spectators, seating on the lawn, as well as umbrellas for relaxing in the shade. You can also bring your food and drinks and watch the entire competition in peace, which also has a microphone output located inside so that spectators can hear everything that is happening inside the sauna.

Another important part is contact and herbal ceremonies in the log cabin and in the earth banya sauna.

Ceremonies are prepared by world-class banya masters. Every year we welcome masters from all over the world such as Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Japan, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain and other countries, including the Czech Republic.

You can find world champions here, as well as absolute professionals from their traditional home sauna "in the middle of the mountains". Thanks to this, you always get a truly authentic experience.

These ceremonies take place every hour (always between competition procedures) so the daily program is really full from morning until evening! Part of these ceremonies is the whisk contact between the banya master and the client. During the ceremony, the banya master warms you up with whisks, pleasantly scents the sauna with fresh and dried herbs, can prepare a peeling or drink for you and, above all, draws all sauna visitors into the atmosphere of nature.

In addition to these herbal and contact ceremonies in both outdoor banya saunas, an accompanying program is also prepared for you, such as music-relaxation in TeePee, meadow massages, private whisk massages in Morzh.cz mobile saunas and, of course, peeling procedures in the transparent "igloo" sauna or in the steam chamber.

For 2026, this competition will hold qualifiers across Central and Southern Europe and Scandinavia. Anyone interested in a given country can apply. The qualifiers will be organised by the World Banya Association together with the association from the host country. Applications will be published on our social media and those of our partners. The top three places from the qualifiers will advance to the final championship, which will be held in April 2026 in Prague - Czech Republic

The winner of the banya master competition will receive a large wooden plaque and the title of Banya Master Europe 2026, a mobile sauna from Morzh.cz, clothing from Banyamaster.cz, as well as valuable prizes from other sponsors.

The festival always takes place in the premises of Aquapalace Prague, which is a reliable, strong and trustworthy partner for our association. You can book a room in a 4* hotel, park safely, and also get entry to the water world as part of your ticket. The resort is located on the outskirts of the capital of the Czech Republic - Prague