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 about 5 kilometres (3 miles) south of the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the river Kemijoki and its tributary, the Ounasjoki. The city and the surrounding Rovaniemen maalaiskunta (Rural municipality of Rovaniemi) were consolidated into a single entity on January 1, 2006. The new municipality has an area of 8,016.72 square kilometres (3,095.27 sq mi) and an approximate population of 61,000, which makes it the larges city in Europa by space, with only 7.2 inhabitants per squarekilometer.
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 Lappilainen.
Rovaniemi’s most prominent landmarks include the Jätkänkynttilä bridge with its eternal flame over the Kemijoki river, the Arktikum House, a very comprehensive museum of Finland’s and the world’s Arctic regions, 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. The official home town of Santa Claus, Santa Claus Village and Santapark, is located 8 km (5 mi) north of the centre. 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.
[responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Café Europe, Café d'Europe or also Café Europa was a cultural initiative of the Institute of the Regions of Europe (IRE) during the Austrian presidency of the European Union, held on Europe Day (9 May 2006) in 27 c...
