Theme Week Lapland – Sodankylä

Friday, 26 August 2022 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
Reading Time:  2 minutes

Orajärvi village © Maasaak/cc-by-sa-4.0

Orajärvi village © Maasaak/cc-by-sa-4.0

Sodankylä is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Highway 5 (E63) and along Highway 4 (E75). The Kitinen River flows near the center of Sodankylä. Its neighbouring municipalities are Inari, Kemijärvi, Kittilä, Pelkosenniemi, Rovaniemi, and Savukoski. The municipality has two official languages: Finnish and Northern Sámi.

The municipality has a population of 8,200 which makes it the fourth largest municipality in Lapland after Rovaniemi, Tornio and Kemi, and at the same time the largest municipality in population that does not use the title of city or town. It covers an area of 12,415.50 square kilometres (4,793.65 sq mi) of which 718.65 km² (277.47 sq mi) is water, making it the second largest municipality in Finland in terms of area, right after its neighboring municipality of Inari. The population density is 0.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.8/sq mi).
airfield. Also, one of EISCAT‘s scientific radar receiver stations is located outside Sodankylä, at the site of the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory. The urban area around the observatory is known as “Tähtelä”, which translates as “Place of Stars”, although the observatory does not observe stars. The Jaeger Brigade of the Finnish Army is also located in Sodankylä. Although the name “Sodankylä” and (also “Soađegilli”) directly translate to “Village of War”, the etymology of the name is from a surname Sova rather than the word “war”.

Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory and Arctic Research Centre © Antti Leppänen/cc-by-sa-3.0 Sodankylä Old Church © BishkekRocks/cc-by-sa-3.0 Town centre of Sodankylä © BishkekRocks/cc-by-sa-3.0 Gold Village Tankavaara, reproductions of buildings of gold rush towns © Usm/cc-by-sa-4.0 Museum Gallery Alariesto © HeiPe/cc-by-sa-4.0 Orajärvi village © Maasaak/cc-by-sa-4.0
<
>
Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory and Arctic Research Centre © Antti Leppänen/cc-by-sa-3.0
Among the key sights, events and destinations are:

  • Sodankylä Local History Museum
  • The Old Church (made 1689 of wood), The New Church (made 1859 of stone)
  • Tankavaara, gold museum, gold village
  • Ilmakkiaapa peatland protection area (35 km north)
  • Urho Kekkonen National Park (Koilliskaira Visitor Centre)
  • Luosto – a hill home to the only open amethyst mine in Europe
  • Hotel Sodankylä and Hotel Bear Inn (Hotelli Karhu)
  • Midnight Sun Film Festival (annually mid-June)
  • Museum-Gallery Alariesto (Andreas Alariesto’s life and artwork)
  • Pappilanniemi walking trail
  • Igloo village of Kakslauttanen

Here you can find the complete Overview of all Theme Weeks.

Read more on Sodankylä, VisitSodankyla.fi, Midnight Sun Film Festival, Tankavaara Gold Village, Wikivoyage Sodankylä and Wikipedia Sodankylä. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Johns Hopkins University & Medicine - Coronavirus Resource Center - Global Passport Power Rank - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Theme Week Iceland

Theme Week Iceland

[caption id="attachment_163648" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Cheers! © flickr.com - Christine Zenino/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of 332,529 and an area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi), making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Reykjavík and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the country are home to over two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologica...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Champagne - Châlons-en-Champagne

Theme Week Champagne - Châlons-en-Champagne

[caption id="attachment_153550" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Town Hall © TitTornade/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Châlons-en-Champagne is the capital of both the department of Marne and the region of Champagne-Ardenne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims. Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne, the city was officially renamed in 1998. It should not be confused with the Burgundian town of Chalon-sur-Saône. The city was governed by bishops in the Middle Ages, what resulted in numerous rel...

[ read more ]

Ballymena in Northern Ireland

Ballymena in Northern Ireland

[caption id="attachment_160797" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Ballymena Town © geograph.org.uk - Kenneth Allen[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Ballymena is a large town in County Antrim in Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I in 1626, on the basis that the town hold two annual fairs and a free Saturday market in perpetuity. As of 2012, the Saturday market still runs. ...

[ read more ]

San Bernardino in California

San Bernardino in California

[caption id="attachment_165693" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Wigwam Motel © flickr.com - Marcin Wichary/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area (called the "Inland Empire"). It serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County. As one of the Inland Empire's anchor cities, San Bernardino spans 81 square miles (210 km²) on the floor of the San Bernardino Valley, and has a population of 210,000. San Bernardino is the 17th-largest city in Californi...

[ read more ]

Aachen Cathedral

Aachen Cathedral

[caption id="attachment_205384" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © CEphoto - Uwe Aranas/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Aachen Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen,Germany, and the see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen. One of the oldest cathedrals in Europe, it was constructed by order of the emperor Charlemagne, who was buried there in 814. From 936 to 1531, the Palatine Chapel saw the coronation of thirty-one German kings and twelve queens. The church has been the mother church of the Diocese of Aachen...

[ read more ]

Causeway Bay in Hong Kong

Causeway Bay in Hong Kong

[caption id="attachment_200880" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © WiNG/cc-by-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Causeway Bay is a heavily built-up area of Hong Kong, located on Hong Kong Island, and covering parts of Wan Chai District. The Cantonese name is also romanised as Tung Lo Wan as in Tung Lo Wan Road. The rent in the shopping areas of Causeway Bay was ranked as the world's most expensive for the second year in a row, after overtaking New York City's Fifth Avenue in 2012. Causeway Bay borders the Eastern District. Causeway...

[ read more ]

Boulevard Haussmann in Paris

Boulevard Haussmann in Paris

[caption id="attachment_168829" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Boulevard Haussmann - Street sign © flickr.com - Sergio Calleja/cc-by-sa-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Boulevard Haussmann, 2.53 kilometres (1.57 mi) long between the crossings of Boulevard des Italiens / Boulevard Montmartre and Rue de Monceau / Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré from the 8th to the 9th arrondissement, is one of the wide tree-lined boulevards created in Paris by Napoleon III, under the direction of his Prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann. The Boulev...

[ read more ]

Perros-Guirec in Brittany

Perros-Guirec in Brittany

[caption id="attachment_229414" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Hortensia, one of the symbols of Brittany at the local market © Marc Schuelper/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Perros-Guirec is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It has been a seaside resort since the end of the 19th century and is located on the famous Côte de Granit Rose. Inhabitants of Perros-Guirec are called Perrosiens in French. Perros-Guirec was long attended by men of letters and artists, for ins...

[ read more ]

Cambrils in Spain

Cambrils in Spain

[caption id="attachment_232562" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © panoramio.com - Mika Auramo/cc-by-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Cambrils is a coastal town in the comarca of Baix Camp, province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is near the tourist town Salou and is frequently visited by those travelling by air using Reus Airport. The city, along with the rest of the region around Tarragona, has enjoyed very rapid development over the last two decades. The town's fishing and agriculture background is being replaced by s...

[ read more ]

Mons and Plzeň, European Capitals of Culture 2015

Mons and Plzeň, European Capitals of Culture 2015

[caption id="attachment_154261" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © rtbf.be[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"] MONS Mons is a Belgian city and municipality, and the capital of the province of Hainaut. Together with the Czech city of Plzeň, Mons will be the European Capital of Culture in 2015. The nearby village of Cuesmes is host to Vincent van Gogh's house. The first signs of activity in the region of Mons can be found at Spiennes, where some of the best flint tools in Europe were found dating from the Neolithic period. When...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top
Ksar Berromdhan © El Golli Mohamed/cc-by-sa-4.0
Sfax in Tunisia

Sfax is a city in Tunisia, located 270 km (170 mi) southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD 849...

Sami flag at a reindeer farm © Manfred Werner/cc-by-sa-3.0
Theme Week Lapland – Inari, capital of Sámi culture

Inari is Finland's largest municipality by area (but one of the most sparsely populated), with four official languages, more than...

© Adert/cc-by-sa-3.0
Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella in the Veneto region

Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella (Venetian: Sant’Anbroxio) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located...

Schließen