Rovaniemi is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately 65,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 69,000. It is the 17th most populous municipality in Finland, and the 12th most populous urban area in the country. Rovaniemi is also the largest city in Europe by land area.
Lapland is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The 21 municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the Finnish region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gulf of Bothnia, Norrbotten County in Sweden, Finnmark County and Troms County in Norway, and Murmansk Oblast and the Republic of Karelia in Russia. The topography of Lapland varies from vast mires and forests in the south to fells in the north. The Arctic Circle crosses Lapland, so polar phenomena such as the midnight sun and polar night can be viewed in this region.
The Jaeger Brigade (Jääkäriprikaati) is a unit of the Finnish Army. The unit is located in Sodankylä and Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland, some 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of the Arctic Circle. The brigade trains 2,200 conscripts per year. The brigade has two main units: Lapland Jaeger Battalion in Sodankylä and Rovaniemi Air Defence Battalion at Rovaniemi air base.
The Battle of Rovaniemi was an event during the 1944 Lapland War. The actual fighting between the components of the Finnish Armoured Division and Finnish 3rd Division against the troops of the German Twentieth Mountain Army took place at the vicinity of the town of Rovaniemi. The notoriety of the encounter derives from the near-total destruction of the town.
Rovaniemi Airport is the second busiest airport in Finland after Helsinki-Vantaa, as measured by the number of passengers and landings. It is located in Rovaniemi, Finland, about 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of Rovaniemi city centre. The Arctic Circle crosses the runway closer to its northern end.
During World War II, the Lapland War saw fighting between Finland and Nazi Germany – effectively from September to November 1944 – in Finland's northernmost region, Lapland. Though the Finns and the Germans had been fighting together against the Soviet Union since 1941 during the Continuation War (1941–1944), peace negotiations between the Finnish government and the Allies of World War II had been conducted intermittently during 1943–1944, but no agreement had been reached. The Moscow Armistice, signed on 19 September 1944, demanded that Finland break diplomatic ties with Germany and expel or disarm any German soldiers remaining in Finland.
The Province of Lapland was a province of Finland from 1938 to 2009.
Leif Rantala was a Finnish-Swedish linguist, and a specialist of Sami languages, cultures of history, especially of the Kola Peninsula.
Juho VihtoriNätti, known as "Nätti-Jussi" was a Finnish forest laborer. The stories told by Nätti made him a legendary figure, particularly in Lapland. Nätti was born to a six-member family in Karstula, Central Finland, in August 1890. His parents were log driver Juho Nätti and hostess Maija Nätti. He had three sisters. Nätti migrated with other members of his family to the Northern logging sites, and worked there for most of his life. He was a well-known lumberjack who was known in Tervola, Pisa, Muurola and Rovaniemi.
Märta Blomstedt (1899–1982) was an architect and one of the driving forces of the Finnish functionalism movement. Partnering with her husband, Pauli E. Blomstedt, her first works were noted for their functional, rather than decorative appearance and settings in park-like environments. After her husband's death, initially she formed a firm with Matti Lampén to complete projects her husband and she had begun. Later, she and Lampén formed a firm designing their own creations. She designed all aspects of her buildings including the furnishings, demonstrated in one of Blomstedt & Lampén's most noted designs of the Hotel Aulanko. During the war, Blomstedt & Lampén mostly worked on renovation and restoration projects of existing buildings, but at the war's end, they returned to their own designs. In addition to buildings, they were responsible for the city plans for Kuusjärvi and the Oravikoski Mining Community and created both public and private buildings in each city as well. When Lampén died, Blomstedt formed a partnership with Olli Penttilä and continued to work into the 1970s.
Erik Edward Lyly was a Finnish fighter pilot and ace in the Continuation War. He flew in the LeLv 24 and LeLv 34, the most successful fighter squadrons of the Finnish Air Force, often flying as a wingman for the most proficient Finnish ace Air Sergeant Master Ilmari Juutilainen. He achieved a total of 8 air victories during the wars. His highest rank during the war was Sergeant Master.
Rovaniemen Kiekko Naiset, abbreviated RoKi Naiset, are an ice hockey team in the Auroraliiga. They play at Lappi Areena in Rovaniemi, the capital city of Finnish Lapland.
Lappia Hall is a performing arts venue and conference centre in Rovaniemi, the capital city of the Finnish Lapland region, situated close to the Arctic Circle. It is notable for having been designed by the renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto in the modernist style.
Rovaniemi Library is the main municipal public library of the city of Rovaniemi, Finland. The library building is notable for having been designed by the renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.
Rovaniemi city hall is the main municipal administrative building of the city of Rovaniemi, Finland.
The Aalto Centre is an urban area milieu in the city of Rovaniemi, in the Finnish Lapland, designed by the renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, comprising the city's key administrative and cultural buildings.
Aino Karppinen is a Finnish ice hockey player and member of the Finnish national team. She plays in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with Skellefteå AIK.
Kaarlo Henrik Hillilä was a Finnish politician who served as the provincial governor of Lapland (1938–1947), head of the market town of Rovaniemi, minister of the interior (1944–1945), minister of supply (1945–1946), and director general of the Social Insurance Institution (1946–1954).
The German Military Cemetery of Rovaniemi is located on lake Norvajärvi, in Finnish Lapland. It is the final resting place of 2,530 German soldiers who died in the Finnish regions of Lapland and Oulu during World War II. It was inaugurated on August 31, 1963 and is managed by the German War Graves Commission. The red granite structure houses a mausoleum as well as a bronze interpretation of the Pieta, depicting a mother holding her fallen son.
Sodankylä Old Church is a 17th-century wooden church located near the Kitinen River in the Sodankylä municipality in Lapland, Finland.
