4 June 2013 Rovaniemi

I was able to go on a ramble today to learn a little about Rovaniemi itself. Rovaniemi sits on the southern edge of Lapland about 8 km (5 miles) south of the Arctic Circle. It has a population of about 60,000 and is the capital and logistical center for Finnish Lapland. More information can be found on the city's website.

Walking to the City's Center

Rovaniemi is a city set up for pedestrians and those on bicycles. In fact, bicycles appear to be a very popular form of transportation around town, as evidenced by all the bike racks I saw in use. Kim said that in winter skis and kick-sleds are popular. The sidewalks are extra-wide, allowing safe passage for walkers as well as bicyclists or skiers.

Rovaniemi sits at the confluence of two rivers, where the Ounasjoki meets the Kemijoki. This confluence carved out a large bay with some smaller lakes, so walking into the city's center along the Kemijoki is very scenic. It seems that keeping green space is important to the town.

With all this water around, it was obvious that the Finns like to get out on it!

Claims to Fame

The Finns are fairly well known for their general humility… unless, as a friend at Kevo told me, Finland plays against Sweden in ice hockey finals. Then, apparently, all of Finland watches and cheers on the home team.

However, Finland does have a few claims to fame. Probably one of the most well known recent Finnish inventions, created by the Finnish company Rovio Entertainment, is, you guessed it, Angry Birds.

I had a laugh-out-loud moment when I spied the Angry Birds Activity Park.

Yes, there was a slingshot! I did check, and the seat was just for sitting, not for being launched.

The University of Lapland is also located in Rovaniemi. A group from this university stayed at Kevo last week. They are active in a variety of northern studies.

A Brief History

The area that is now Finland was first controlled by Sweden. Then in 1809, this area came under control of the Russian Empire. In 1917 Finland declared independence from the Soviet Union.

Finland and in particular the north – Lapland – did not fair well during the Second World War. The Soviet Union invaded Finland from the east in the Winter War of 1939, cutting off Finland's access to the Barents Sea (an area known as Petsamo). Finland, often threatened by the Soviet Union (the Soviets bombed several Finnish towns in 1941), made a transit agreement with the Germans, who were hoping to get to northern Norway through Lapland. Rovaniemi became a center of German occupation.

The Finns ended up attacking the Germans in 1944, and in retribution, the Germans burned Rovaniemi when they left. They razed the entire city: 14,779 buildings and all the bridges, phone lines, roads, boats and ferries were destroyed. There were side-by-side dioramas in the museum of Rovaniemi before and after the destruction (I was not allowed to take pictures – sorry!). Only four buildings in the whole city were left standing.

So the bustling city I walked through today was totally rebuilt.

The Finnish architect Alvar Aalto designed the new city. He developed the Reindeer Antler Plan, whereby the entire city is laid out as the head of a reindeer. The major transportation corridors outline antlers, the top of the head and the top of the neck. Can you spot the reindeer head and antlers in this plan? I see a reindeer head looking to the left, with the two top thoroughfares being the antlers, the horizontal road corridor being the top of the head and top of the neck, then the lower road corridor outlining the throat/chest of the reindeer.

… and then there's Santa

Oh yes, and one last thing. Santa Claus lives here. His village straddles the Arctic Circle just north of town. Up here, you are welcome to visit him all year long!