Rovaniemi and Santa Claus Village

Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland and the northernmost place in Finland, where tourists usually travel. The city itself is not of particular interest, but seven kilometers to the north there is a village where lives Santa Claus.


The village is a collection of Christmas-themed souvenir shops, a snow transport museum and an office of Santa Claus (Yolopukki) with post-office (https://my.posti.fi/en/santa-claus-main-post-office).


As you may guessed from the pictures, we arrived in the summer, when there are no tourists here. Next time we will arrive in the winter.




The place for the village was not chosen by chance; here is the line of the Arctic Circle.




And now the funniest thing. You probably always imagined Lapland as a harsh northern country? Then pay attention to the thermometer.


This was our second attempt to hide from the summer European heat in the north. A year before this trip, we went to the Lofoten Islands, which are located even further north, but there was also very hot.

We spent the night in the village, where many wooden houses were built. True, soon here will be a whole city, not a village.


Chose a Chinese hotel NOVA SKYLAND Hotel (booking.com).


The city of Rovaniemi has many of the northernmost institutions in the EU, such as a university or McDonalds. Of museums, the the interesting one is Arktikum Science Center. The architecture of city is not interesting, though you can walk along the main street and along the promenade.




In October 1944, the Germans completely destroyed the city. The population was evacuated.


The city began to rebuild in the late 40s, and in 1950, the Goodwill Ambassador Eleanor Roosevelt flew here. To meet her, authorities built a wooden cottage in the forest, which became the first building of the future village of Santa Claus.


The central square is called Lordi in honor of the local hard rock band that won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest.






In addition to Lordi, the city has dozens of other rock groups, a summer rock festival is held here.


Guess the name of the best hotel in town.


Jätkänkynttilä or Lumberjack's Candle Bridge.


Promenade.






Standing benches?


Despite the northern location, there is a beach in the city. Which is not surprising when the temperature is 32 degrees.


Getting there: Rovaniemi has an airport, located near the village of Santa Claus. There is a railway station, from Helsinki it takes 9-12 hours to go by night train, you can take a car with you. The cheapest option is a bus (https://www.koivistonauto.fi/, https://www.matkahuolto.fi/en), but you have to sit for 14 hours.