Rovaniemi
Encyclopedia
Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland
. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle
and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence
of the Kemijoki River and its tributary, the Ounasjoki. The city and the surrounding (Rural municipality of Rovaniemi) were consolidated into a single entity on January 1, 2006. The new municipality has an area of km2 and an approximate population of .
".
. Periodic clearance of new land for agriculture
and the practice of slash-and-burn cultivation began around 750–530 B.C. Artifacts found in the area suggest that an increasing number of travelers from Karelia
in the east, Häme in the south and the Arctic Ocean
coast in the north must have come there from 500 A.D. onwards. The Sami
are considered to be Lapland's own indigenous population.
It is first mentioned by name in official documents in 1453, existing effectively as a set of small villages whose inhabitants earned their living mainly in agriculture and animal husbandry - with fishing and hunting the most important offshoots.
The exploitation of Lapland's natural resources
in the 1800s boosted Rovaniemi's growth. Extensive logging sites and gold fever attracted thousands of people to Lapland. As the mining
of natural resources was increased, Rovaniemi became the business center of the Province of Lapland.
During the Second World War, Finland signed the Moscow Armistice
and found itself involved in the Lapland War
with its former German ally. Retreating German forces utilized scorched earth
tactics, and though initially German General Lothar Rendulic
ordered only the public buildings in Rovaniemi to be destroyed, on 13 October 1944 the German army received orders to destroy all the buildings in Rovaniemi, only excluding hospitals and houses where inhabitants were present. The explosion of a German ammunition train at the railway station further contributed to the complete destruction of the town. During these hostilities 90 percent of all the buildings in Rovaniemi were destroyed.
Because of the unspoiled nature and numerous recreational opportunities, tourism
is an important industry
in Rovaniemi. The city has a number of hotels and restaurants located both in the center and on the outskirts of the town.
Since Rovaniemi represents the capital of the Province of Lapland, many government institutions have their offices there. About 10,000 of the inhabitants are students. Rovaniemi is home to not only the University of Lapland
but also the Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences (formerly known as the Rovaniemi Polytechnic), which comprises institutes of information and traditional technology, business, health and social care, culinary studies, forestry
, rural studies and sports.
Local newspapers include the Lapin Kansa, Uusi Rovaniemi and ROI-press.
Rovaniemi's most prominent landmarks include the Jätkänkynttilä bridge with its eternal flame over the Kemijoki river, the Arktikum House which rises out of the bank of the Ounasjoki river, the Rovaniemi Town Hall, the Lappia House which serves as a theatre, concert hall and congress centre, and the library. The last three mentioned buildings are by the famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto
. Official home town of Santa Claus
, Santa Claus Village
and Santapark, is located 8 km north of the centre. Rovaniemi is also home to the world's most northern
branch of McDonald's
. The Arktikum is a very comprehensive museum of Finland's and the world's Arctic regions.
Directly across the river from the town is the Ounasvaara ski center. The top of the Ounasvaara hill bears the site of some of the earliest known human settlements in the area.
A phenomenon also attracting numerous tourists is the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. In Finnish
Lapland the number of auroral displays can be as high as 200 a year whereas in southern Finland the number is usually fewer than 20.
The educational department takes part in Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 in Finland
.
. VR Group
operates direct daytime and overnight passenger trains from Rovaniemi Station
to Oulu
, Tampere
, Helsinki
and Turku
. Diesel
-powered passenger trains operate north-east of Rovaniemi to Kemijärvi
. Rovaniemi Airport
is located about 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of the Rovaniemi city centre.
, Hungary
Alanya
, Turkey
City of Blue Mountains
, Australia
Cadillac, Michigan
, United States
Drvar
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Frederikshavn
, Denmark
Grindavík
, Iceland
Harbin
, China
St. Johann in Tirol
, Austria
Kassel
, Germany
Kiruna
, Sweden
Murmansk
, Russia
Narvik
, Norway
Neustrelitz
, Germany
Olsztyn
, Poland
Rabka-Zdrój
, Poland
Veszprém
, Hungary
(Köppen
Dfc) with short, mild summers and very cold and snowy winters. The city lies just south of the 0°C (32°F) mean annual isotherm, but freezing in the soil is very limited even during the winter by heavy snow cover.
, partly takes place in Rovaniemi.
Rovaniemi appears in the video game Tom Clancy's EndWar
as a possible battlefield. In the game, Rovaniemi houses military facilities critical to a missile shield for a European Federation.
Rovaniemi is a central scene in a documentary film Reindeerspotting.
TV-Star Bam Margera
and his friends travelled to Rovaniemi in their movie Bam Margera Presents: Where the ♯$&% Is Santa? in order to find Santa Claus who is assumed to live in Rovaniemi.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the Kemijoki River and its tributary, the Ounasjoki. The city and the surrounding (Rural municipality of Rovaniemi) were consolidated into a single entity on January 1, 2006. The new municipality has an area of km2 and an approximate population of .
Name
The rova part in the name Rovaniemi has often been considered to be of Saamic origin, as "" in Saami denotes a forested ridge or hill or the site of an old forest fire. In Southern Saami dialects, however, means a heap of stones, a rock or a group of rocks in a stretch of rapids, or even a sauna stove. The niemi part of the name means "capeCape (geography)
In geography, a cape or headland is a point or body of land extending into a body of water, usually the sea.A cape usually represents a marked change in trend of the coastline. Their proximity to the coastline makes them prone to natural forms of erosion, mainly tidal actions. This results in capes...
".
History
There has probably been continuous settlement in the Rovaniemi area since the Stone AgeStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
. Periodic clearance of new land for agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and the practice of slash-and-burn cultivation began around 750–530 B.C. Artifacts found in the area suggest that an increasing number of travelers from Karelia
Karelia
Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
in the east, Häme in the south and the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
coast in the north must have come there from 500 A.D. onwards. The Sami
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
are considered to be Lapland's own indigenous population.
It is first mentioned by name in official documents in 1453, existing effectively as a set of small villages whose inhabitants earned their living mainly in agriculture and animal husbandry - with fishing and hunting the most important offshoots.
The exploitation of Lapland's natural resources
Natural Resources
Natural Resources is a soul album released by Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in 1970 on the Gordy label. The album is significant for the Vietnam War ballad "I Should Be Proud" and the slow jam, "Love Guess Who"...
in the 1800s boosted Rovaniemi's growth. Extensive logging sites and gold fever attracted thousands of people to Lapland. As the mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
of natural resources was increased, Rovaniemi became the business center of the Province of Lapland.
During the Second World War, Finland signed the Moscow Armistice
Moscow Armistice
The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on September 19, 1944, ending the Continuation War...
and found itself involved in the Lapland War
Lapland War
The Lapland War were the hostilities between Finland and Nazi Germany between September 1944 and April 1945, fought in Finland's northernmost Lapland Province. While the Finns saw this as a separate conflict much like the Continuation War, German forces considered their actions to be part of the...
with its former German ally. Retreating German forces utilized scorched earth
Scorched earth
A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
tactics, and though initially German General Lothar Rendulic
Lothar Rendulic
Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic was an Austro-Hungarian and Austrian Army officer of Croatian origin who served as a German general during World War II. He commanded the 14. Infanterie-Division, 52. Infanterie-Division, XXXV Armeekorps, 2. Panzer-Armee, 20...
ordered only the public buildings in Rovaniemi to be destroyed, on 13 October 1944 the German army received orders to destroy all the buildings in Rovaniemi, only excluding hospitals and houses where inhabitants were present. The explosion of a German ammunition train at the railway station further contributed to the complete destruction of the town. During these hostilities 90 percent of all the buildings in Rovaniemi were destroyed.
Rovaniemi today
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
is an important industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
in Rovaniemi. The city has a number of hotels and restaurants located both in the center and on the outskirts of the town.
Since Rovaniemi represents the capital of the Province of Lapland, many government institutions have their offices there. About 10,000 of the inhabitants are students. Rovaniemi is home to not only the University of Lapland
University of Lapland
The University of Lapland is located in the city of Rovaniemi, Finland. It was founded in 1979.The university is divided into four faculties:* Faculty of Art and Design* Faculty of Education* Faculty of Law* Faculty of Social Sciences...
but also the Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences (formerly known as the Rovaniemi Polytechnic), which comprises institutes of information and traditional technology, business, health and social care, culinary studies, forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, rural studies and sports.
Local newspapers include the Lapin Kansa, Uusi Rovaniemi and ROI-press.
Rovaniemi's most prominent landmarks include the Jätkänkynttilä bridge with its eternal flame over the Kemijoki river, the Arktikum House which rises out of the bank of the Ounasjoki river, the Rovaniemi Town Hall, the Lappia House which serves as a theatre, concert hall and congress centre, and the library. The last three mentioned buildings are by the famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto
Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware...
. Official home town of Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
, Santa Claus Village
Santa Claus Village
Santa Claus Village is an amusement park near Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland.-Location and transportation:Santa Claus Village is located about 8 km northeast of Rovaniemi and about 2 km from the Rovaniemi Airport....
and Santapark, is located 8 km north of the centre. Rovaniemi is also home to the world's most northern
The world's most northern
This is a list of various northernmost things on earth.- Cities and settlements :See also: Northernmost settlements, Northernmost cities and towns-Geography:-Animals:-General:-Shrubs:-Trees:-Culture and music:-Sport :- Religion :...
branch of McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
. The Arktikum is a very comprehensive museum of Finland's and the world's Arctic regions.
Directly across the river from the town is the Ounasvaara ski center. The top of the Ounasvaara hill bears the site of some of the earliest known human settlements in the area.
A phenomenon also attracting numerous tourists is the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. In Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Lapland the number of auroral displays can be as high as 200 a year whereas in southern Finland the number is usually fewer than 20.
The educational department takes part in Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 in Finland
Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 in Finland
Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 in Finland has been implemented in several ways. The programmes are coordinated by an unit of the ministry of the education of Finland, Centre for International Mobility – CIMO. Finland has been a member of the European union beginning with 1st January, 1995...
.
Transport
Rovaniemi is the northernmost point of the electric railway system managed by the Finnish Rail AdministrationFinnish Rail Administration
The Finnish Transport Agency is responsible for the maintenance of Finland's transport system. The Agency took over from the Finnish Rail Administration and parts of the work of the former Finnish Maritime Administration and the Finnish Road Administration on 1 January 2010.- Rail...
. VR Group
VR Group
VR or VR Group is a state-owned railway company in Finland. Formerly known as Suomen Valtion Rautatiet until 1922 and Valtionrautatiet / Statsjärnvägarna until 1995...
operates direct daytime and overnight passenger trains from Rovaniemi Station
Rovaniemi railway station
Rovaniemi railway station is located in Rovaniemi, Finland. The line from the south opened in 1909; it is now the northernmost point of VR's electrified railway system, with direct daytime and overnight passenger trains to Oulu, Tampere, Helsinki and Turku...
to Oulu
Oulu
Oulu is a city and municipality of inhabitants in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world....
, Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
, Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
and Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
. Diesel
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
-powered passenger trains operate north-east of Rovaniemi to Kemijärvi
Kemijärvi
Kemijärvi is a municipality of Finland and the northern-most town in Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
. Rovaniemi Airport
Rovaniemi Airport
Rovaniemi Airport is the fifth biggest airport in Finland by annual number of passengers, located in Rovaniemi, Finland, about north of Rovaniemi city centre. The Arctic Circle crosses the runway closer to its northern end.- History :...
is located about 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of the Rovaniemi city centre.
Twin cities
AjkaAjka
Ajka is a city in Hungary with about 35,000 inhabitants. It is situated in the hills of Bakony.-History:Around 1000 BCE the area was inhabited by Celts. By the 2nd century CE the territory was conquered by the Romans...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Alanya
Alanya
Alanya , formerly Alaiye, is a beach resort city and a component district of Antalya Province in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey, from the city of Antalya. On the southern coast of Turkey, the district has an area of 1,598.51 km2 and 248,286 inhabitants...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
City of Blue Mountains
City of Blue Mountains
The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains range west of Sydney.-Demographics:...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Cadillac, Michigan
Cadillac, Michigan
Cadillac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Wexford County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,000. The city is situated at the junction of US 131, M-55 and M-115...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Drvar
Drvar
Drvar is a town and municipality in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, located on the road between Bosansko Grahovo and Bosanski Petrovac, also near Glamoč. It is administratively part of Canton 10 of the Federation....
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
Frederikshavn
Frederikshavn
This article is about a Danish town. For the German town, see Friedrichshafen, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Frederikshavn is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Grindavík
Grindavík
Grindavík is a fishing town at the peninsula of Reykjanes at the south-western coast of Iceland.It is one of the few cities with a harbour at this coast. Most of the 2,800 inhabitants work in the fishing industry...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
St. Johann in Tirol
St. Johann in Tirol
-History:St. Johann is situated in the Leukental, which extends from Jochberg to the Streichen close to the Bavarian border. This region was already settled in the 4th century BC by a Celtic tribe, the Ambisontiers, who pursued copper mining in the surrounding mountains.In 15 B.C...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Kiruna
Kiruna
Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
Narvik
Narvik
is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
Neustrelitz
Neustrelitz
Neustrelitz is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1738 until 1918 it was the capital of the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Olsztyn
Olsztyn
Olsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Rabka-Zdrój
Rabka-Zdrój
Rabka-Zdrój , usually referred to as Rabka, is a spa town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It is located between Kraków and Zakopane in a valley on the northern slopes of the Gorce mountains, where the rivers Poniczanka and Słonka join the river Raba . In 2008 it had a population of 13,052...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Veszprém
Veszprém
Veszprém is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name.-Location:...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Climate
Due to its location almost on the Arctic Circle, Rovaniemi has a subarctic climateSubarctic climate
The subarctic climate is a climate characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. It is found on large landmasses, away from the moderating effects of an ocean, generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N poleward of the humid continental climates...
(Köppen
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfc) with short, mild summers and very cold and snowy winters. The city lies just south of the 0°C (32°F) mean annual isotherm, but freezing in the soil is very limited even during the winter by heavy snow cover.
- average annual temperature: 0.2 °C (32.4 °F)
- annual precipitaiton: 535 mm/annum (21 inches)
- snow stays on the grounds 183 days a year on average
- lowest temperature ever recorded: −47.5 °C, recorded on January 28, 1999
- highest temperature ever recorded: 30.7 °C (87 °F), recorded on June 10, 2011
- the midnight sun can be seen from June 6 to July 7
Demographics
(figures December 31, 2005)- female: 29,813
- male: 28,022
- Finnish: 57,037
- foreigners: 798
- total: 57,835
Famous inhabitants
- Jari TervoJari TervoJari Tervo is a well-known Finnish author of prose. He is a major name in current Finnish literature.He writes traditional plot-driven prose, sometimes more humoristic , sometimes more like a detective story . Often he includes autobiographical elements...
, author - Harri OlliHarri OlliHarri Olli is a Finnish former ski jumper who has been competing on World Cup level since 2002. He is best known for his silver medal in the individual large hill at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Sapporo...
, ski jumperSki jumpingSki jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long... - writer Timo K. MukkaTimo K. MukkaTimo Kustaa Mukka was a Finnish author who wrote about the lives of people in Lapland.-Life and work:Timo Mukka was born in Bollnäs in Sweden...
died in Rovaniemi in 1974. - Snowboarder and 2005 Winter X GamesX GamesThe X Games is a commercial annual sports event, controlled and arranged by US sports broadcaster ESPN, which focuses on action sports. The inaugural X Games was held in the summer of 1995 in Rhode Island....
gold medalist Antti AuttiAntti AuttiAntti-Matias Antero Autti is a Finnish snowboarding star who shot to fame when he defeated big-name talents Danny Kass, Andy Finch, and Shaun White in the Men's Superpipe at the 2005 Winter X Games to claim the gold...
is a Rovaniemi native, and in April 2005 he received his own piece of land in the city for being named to the 2006 Finnish Olympic teamFinland at the 2006 Winter OlympicsFinland competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, with 102 athletes competing in 11 of the 15 sports.Janne Lahtela, a moguls freestyle skier, was the flag bearer at the Opening Ceremonies.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing :...
. - Tanja PoutiainenTanja PoutiainenTanja Poutiainen is a Finnish alpine ski racer, the silver medalist in the women's giant slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino....
Alpine skier - World champion snowcross winner Janne Tapio is a Rovaniemi native.
- Tomi PutaansuuTomi PutaansuuTomi Petteri Putaansuu , better known by his stage name Mr. Lordi, is the lead vocalist in the Finnish heavy metal/hard rock band Lordi. Mr. Lordi is the singer, songwriter and costume designer for hard rock band Lordi...
, better known as Mr. Lordi lead singer of the Hard rockHard rockHard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band and 2006 Eurovision Song Contest winner LordiLordiLordi is a Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band, formed in 1996 by the band's lead singer, songwriter and costume-designer, Mr. Lordi. The band is known for wearing monster masks and using pyrotechnics during concerts...
. - Progressive rockProgressive rockProgressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band Absoluuttinen NollapisteAbsoluuttinen NollapisteAbsoluuttinen Nollapiste is a pop/rock band originating from Rovaniemi, Finland. It is somewhat famous for combining catchy melodies and solid, slightly progressive songwriting with Tommi Liimatta's eccentric lyrics.... - Antti TuiskuAntti TuiskuAntti Tapani Tuisku is a Finnish pop singer, made famous by the 2003 Idols talent show, the Finnish version of Pop Idol. Although Tuisku finished third in the show, he has easily become the most popular artist of the three. Currently Tuisku lives in Helsinki.Tuisku has sold over 200,000 records in...
, singer. - Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi is said to be the residence of Father ChristmasFather ChristmasFather Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries for a figure associated with Christmas. A similar figure with the same name exists in several other countries, including France , Spain , Brazil , Portugal , Italy , Armenia , India...
. - The Black Metal band BeheritBeherit (band)Beherit is a black metal band from Finland. The band was formed in 1989 by Nuclear Holocausto , Black Jesus and Sodomatic Slaughter , with the purpose of performing "the most primitive, savage, hell-obsessed black metal imaginable." "Beherit" is the Syriac word for Satan...
came from Rovaniemi.
Popular Culture
1998 Spanish romantic film Lovers of the Arctic Circle (Los amantes del Círculo Polar), by director Julio MedemJulio Medem
Julio Médem is a Spanish writer and film director.Medem was born in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain and showed an interest in movies since childhood, when he would take his father's Super 8 camera and shoot at night, while nobody was paying attention...
, partly takes place in Rovaniemi.
Rovaniemi appears in the video game Tom Clancy's EndWar
Tom Clancy's EndWar
Tom Clancy's EndWar is a real-time tactics game designed by Ubisoft Shanghai for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows platforms. The Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable versions feature turn-based tactics instead of the real-time tactics of their console counterparts...
as a possible battlefield. In the game, Rovaniemi houses military facilities critical to a missile shield for a European Federation.
Rovaniemi is a central scene in a documentary film Reindeerspotting.
TV-Star Bam Margera
Bam Margera
Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera is an American professional skateboarder, television and radio personality, actor and daredevil. He released a series of videos under the CKY banner and came to prominence after being drafted into MTV's Jackass crew...
and his friends travelled to Rovaniemi in their movie Bam Margera Presents: Where the ♯$&% Is Santa? in order to find Santa Claus who is assumed to live in Rovaniemi.
External links
- City of Rovaniemi – official website
- Information about Finnish Lapland
- Satellite view of Rovaniemi