Finland - Lapland - Shaman Drum Animals

Shaman Drum Animals

Sent by Tanja from Finland.

Finland - Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi and the Arctic Circle in July.

Sent by Pirkko, a postcrosser from Finland.

This is from Wikipedia : Rovaniemi; Inari Sami: Ruávinjargâ; Northern Sami: Roavenjárga and Roavvenjárga; Skolt Sami: Ruäˊvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River 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.

The rova part in the name Rovaniemi has often been considered to be of Saamic origin, as "roavve" in Saami denotes a forested ridge or hill or the site of an old forest fire. In Southern Saami dialects, however, rova means a heap of stones, a rock or a group of rocks in a stretch of rapids, or even a sauna stove. The niemi part of the name means "cape".

Finland - Tornio

Multiviews of Tornio, Finland.

Sent by Sansku, a postcrosser from Tornio, Finland.

This is from Wikipedia : Tornio (Official name: Tornion kaupunki; in Northern Sami: Duortnus; in Swedish: Torneå) is a town and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The municipality covers an area of 1,348.55 square kilometres (520.68 sq mi) of which 161.59 km2 (62.39 sq mi) is water. The population density is 18.98 inhabitants per square kilometre (49.2 /sq mi), with a total population of 22,525 (31 January 2012). It borders to the Swedish municipality of Haparanda (in Finnish: Haaparanta). Tornio is unilingually Finnish.

The delta of the Torne river has been inhabited since the end of the last ice age, and there are currently (1995) 16 settlement sites (boplatsvallar) known in the area, similar to those found in Vuollerim (c.6000–5000 BC). The Swedish part of the region is not far from the oldest permanent settlement site found in Scandinavia. A former theory that this region was uninhabited and "colonised" from the Viking Age onward has now been abandoned.

The church spire at Tornio was one of the landmarks used by de Maupertuis in his measurements. The church was constructed in 1686 by Matti Joosepinpoika Härmä.

Until the 19th century, inhabitants of the surrounding countryside spoke Kemi Sami, a language of the Eastern Sami group similar to Finnish, while those of the town were mainly Swedish-speaking.

Tornio was named Torneå in Swedish after Torne å, an alternative name of the river, and later fennicized Tornio.

The town received its charter from the King of Sweden in 1621 and was officially founded on the island of Suensaari (literally "Wolf Island", probably named after one of the main landowners of the past). The charter was in recognition of Tornio being the hub of all trade in Lapland throughout the 16th century. It was the largest merchant town in the North at the time and for some years ranked as the richest town in the Swedish realm. Despite the lively trade with Lapland and overseas, the population of the town remained stable for hundreds of years at little over 500.

During the 18th century Tornio was visited by several expeditions from Central Europe who came to discover the Arctic. The most notable expedition (1736–1737) was led by a member of the Académie française, Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, who came to take meridian arc measurements along the Torne River Valley which would show that the globe is flattened towards the poles.

The Lapland trade on which Tornio depended started to decline in the 18th century, and the harbour had to be moved downriver twice as a result of the rising of the land (post-glacial rebound), which made the river too shallow for navigation. However, the greatest blow to the wealth of the town came in the last war between Sweden and Russia in 1808, which saw the Russians capture and annex Finland. The border was drawn through the deepest channel of the Muonio and Tornio rivers, splitting Lapland in two parts, hurting the trade. Tornio ended up on the Russian side of the border on special insistence by the Russian czar. The Swedes developed the village of Haaparanta (present day Haparanda) on their side of the border, to balance the loss of Tornio, and Tornio became unilingually Finnish.

During the Russian period Tornio was a sleepy garrison town. Trade only livened up during the Crimean War and the First World War, when Tornio became an important border crossing for goods and people. During the First World War Tornio and Haparanda had the only rail link to connect the Russians to their Western allies.

After the independence of Finland in 1917 Tornio lost its garrison and saw further decline although its population increased steadily. The town played no role of importance in the Finnish Civil War, but was the scene of some fierce street fighting at the onset of the Lapland War between Finland and Nazi Germany. The quick liberation of the town by the Finnish forces probably saved it from being burned down like so many other towns in Lapland. As a result the beautiful wooden church from 1686 can still be admired today.

After World War II, the town created new employment with the success of the local brewery Lapin Kulta and the stainless steel factory Outokumpu. Tourism based on the border has been a growing industry too. The town is a centre of education for Western Lapland with a vocational college and a university of applied sciences.

Tornio and Haparanda have a history as twin cities, and are set to merge under the name EuroCity. A new city centre is under construction on the international border and several municipal services are shared. The towns also have a common golf course, situated astride the border. The new IKEA store in Haparanda has signposting in Finnish as well as in Swedish, and all prices are signposted in two currencies.

Finland - Kemi

View of Kemi, Finland.

sent by Airi, a postcrosser from Kemi, Finland.

This is from Wikipedia : Kemi (Northern Sami: Giepma) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located very near the city of Tornio. It was founded in 1869 by royal decree, because of its proximity to a deep water harbour.

Kemi is situated by the Bothnian Bay, at the mouth of river Kemijoki, and it is part of Lapland region. The town has a population of 22,579 (31 January 2011) and covers an area of 747.44 square kilometres (288.59 sq mi) of which 652.1 km2 (251.8 sq mi) is water. The population density is 236.83 inhabitants per square kilometre (613.4 /sq mi).

The main economic activity in Kemi is centred on two large paper and woodpulp mills and on the only chromium mine in Europe (which supplies the Outokumpu ferrochrome plant in Tornio). A polytechnic university is also situated in Kemi.

Kemi also has a claim to fame as the home of the world's largest snow castle (reconstructed every year with a different architecture). The snowcastle is usually located at the inner harbour of Kemi.

A model of The Crown of Finland (original was never made for the King of Finland) is kept in the Gemstone gallery. There are also replicas like the Imperial State Crown of Great Britain; the Sceptre of the Czar of Russia; Orbs of Denmark and the Diamond necklace of Marie Antoinette among other things.

It's also the hometown of the Power Metal band Sonata Arctica.

Finland - Inari

FINLAND
Inari.

Sent by Heli, a postcrosser from Finland.

This is from Wikipedia : Inari (Inari Sami: Aanaar, Northern Sami: Anár, Skolt Sami: Aanar, Swedish: Enare) is Finland's largest, sparsely populated municipality with four official languages, more than any other in the country. Its major sources of income are lumber industry and nature maintenance. With the museum Siida in the village of Inari, it is a center of Sami culture. The airport in Ivalo and the country's key north-south European Route E75 (Finland's National Road 4) bring summer and winter vacationers who look for resorts with access to well-preserved, uncrowded outdoors.

The municipality of Inari has a population of 6,779 (31 January 2011).[2] The population density is 0.45 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.2 /sq mi).

Its two largest villages are Ivalo and Inari. Other villages are Törmänen, Keväjärvi, Koppelo, Sevettijärvi–Näätämö, Saariselkä, Nellim, Angeli, Kaamanen, Kuttura, Lisma, Partakko, and Riutula.

The municipality has four official languages: Finnish, Inari Sami (ca. 400 estimated speakers), Skolt Sami (ca. 400 speakers), and Northern Sami (ca. 700 speakers). The estimates of how many people have some command of each of the Sami languages differ from the number of people who list them as their mother tongues. Of the total population of 6,863 in 2010, 6,366 people registered Finnish as their mother tongue and 400 one of the Sami languages. 97 inhabitants were native speakers of other languages.

Only about 1%, 78 persons, were citizens of countries other than Finland in 2010.

Finland - Tradition of Pole Decorating

Finnish tradition of pole decorating, mainly by Swedish-speaking folk. The tradition takes place in mid-summer.

Sent by Vuokko, a postcrosser from Finland.

Finland - Lapland Map

A map of Lapland.

Sent by Virpi, a postcrosser from Lapland, Finland.

Finland - A Karesuvanto Woman

A Lapland woman in Karesuvanto.

Sent by Ana, a postcrosser from Finland.

This is from Wikipedia : Karesuvanto, also Kaaresuvanto, is a village in the Enontekiö municipality of the Lapland region in northern Finland, located on the Muonio River which forms the border with Sweden.

On the Swedish side of the river the village of Karesuando, part of the Kiruna municipality, is located. According to Finnish tradition they are considered one and the same locality (with pop. about 470) and both called Karesuvanto, though officially a national border is in between. Both sides are linked by a road bridge built in 1980. The area is traditionally Finnish and Sami speaking. After the Finnish War in 1809, the border was drawn for political reasons, not because of any cultural or linguistic reasons existing at that time. Later a cultural and language difference has grown because of school and church influence.

The village got its first buildings in 1670, when Måns Mårtensson Karesuando, called "Hyvä Maunu Martinpoika" in Finnish and "Good Maunu, Son of Martin" in English, bought land from Sami Henrik Nilsson Nikkas. The vicar and botanist Lars Levi Læstadius worked in Karesuando where he founded laestadianism movement named after him. In 1944 the area was burnt down by German troops during the Lapland War and had to be rebuilt afterwards.

Karesuando/Karesuvanto is the northernmost point on the major European route E45 to Gela and a stop on the European route E8 from Tromsø to Turku.

Finland - The Lapps

The Lapps.

Sent by Tanja, a postcrosser from Finland.

Finland - Shaman of Lapland

Shaman of Lapland.

Sent by Suvi, a postcrosser from Finland.

Finland - Lapland

FINLAND
LAPPI-LAPLAND

Sent by Raija, a postcrosser from Finland.

Finland - Lapland Mapcard

A map postcard of Lapland.

Sent by Elina, a postcrosser from Finland.

Finland - Lappland Traditional Costumes

Lappland's (North Finland) traditional costumes.

Sent by Kaki, a postcrosser from Kuopio in Finland.

Finland - Lapland

From the Artic Circle to the North Cape.

Sent by Tarja, a postcrosser from Helsinki, Finland. Thanks for the ticket to Olympiastadion. I really appreciate it.

Finland - North Samis

North Samis at Utsjoki Parish Cabin - Sápmi - Finnish Lapland

Sent by Soili, a postcrosser from Hartola in Finland.

Finland - Lapland

The Lapps and reindeers.

Sent by Elina, a postcrosser from Jyväskylä in Central Finland.

Finland - The Lapps

I've received this one before. Anyway, thanks to Jorma, a postcrosser from Jarvenpaa in Finland for sending this postcard.

Finland - Sami People

Two Sami girls in front of their tent. Sent by Anne from Turku in Finland.

Lappish National Dress

Sent by paraiha from Turku in Finland.

Traditional Costumes

Sent by Hilkka, a postcrosser from Liminka, Finland. This postcard shows a national costume of Lappish people.