Sodankylä (; sme, Soađegilli ; smn, Suáđigil; sms, Suäʹđjel) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

. It is located in the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of

Highway 5 Route 5, or Highway 5, may refer to routes in the following countries: International * Asian Highway 5 * European route E05 * European route E005 Argentina * National Route 5 Australia New South Wales * M5 Motorway (Sydney) * The De ...

( E63) and along Highway 4 ( E75). The

Kitinen River Kitinen is a river in Finland. It flows for , making it the fourth longest river in Finland. The river flows through the municipalities of Kittilä, Pelkosenniemi, and Sodankylä in the Finnish region of Lapland. The Porttipahta Reservoir and a ...

flows near the center of Sodankylä. Its neighbouring municipalities are Inari,

Kemijärvi Kemijärvi ( se, Giemajávri, smn, Kiemâjävri, sms, Ǩeeʹmmjäuʹrr) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland. History The first permanent settler inhabitant of Kemijärvi was Paavali Ollinpoi ...

Kittilä Kittilä ( se, Gihttel, smn, Kittâl, sms, Kihttel) is a municipality of Finland and a popular holiday resort. It is located in northern Finland north of the Arctic Circle within the Lapland region. The municipality has a population of () and ...

, Pelkosenniemi,

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Pe ...

, and

Savukoski Savukoski ( sme, Suovvaguoika, smn, Suovâkuoškâ, sms, Suõvvkuõškk) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland, Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The p ...

. The municipality has two official languages: Finnish and

Northern Sami Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

. The municipality has a population of , () which makes it the fourth largest municipality in Lapland after Rovaniemi,

Tornio Tornio (; sv, Torneå; sme, Duortnus ; smn, Tuárnus) is a city and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is ...

and

Kemi Kemi (; sme, Giepma ; smn, Kiemâ; sms, Ǩeeʹmm; Swedish (historically): ''Kiemi'') is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located very near the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden borde ...

, and at the same time the largest municipality in population that does not use the title of

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

. It covers an area of of which is water, making it the second largest municipality in Finland in terms of area, right after its neighboring municipality of Inari. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

is . Sodankylä has an

airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

. Also, one of

EISCAT EISCAT (European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association) operates three incoherent scatter radar systems in Northern Scandinavia and Svalbard. The facilities are used to study the interaction between the Sun and the Earth as revealed by ...

's scientific

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

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 The Finnish Army ( Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraf ...

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". Since 1986, Sodankylä has been home to the

Midnight Sun Film Festival The Midnight Sun Film Festival ( fi, Sodankylän elokuvajuhlat) is an annual five-day film festival in Sodankylä, Finland. The festival usually takes place in the second week of June, but from June 14 to 18 in 2017. One of the main characteristi ...

().

Key sights, events and destinations

* Sodankylä Local History Museum * The Old Church (made 1689 of wood), ''The New Church'' (made 1859 of stone) *

Tankavaara Tankavaara is a village and a tourist attraction in the municipality of Sodankylä in Lapland, Finland. It is located by the E75 highway 90 kilometres north of Sodankylä and 30 kilometers south of the Saariselkä ski resort. Tankavaara is famo ...

, gold museum, gold village * Ilmakkiaapa peatland protection area (35 km north) *

Urho Kekkonen National Park Urho Kekkonen National Park ( fi, Urho Kekkosen kansallispuisto, se, Urho Kekkonen álbmotmeahcci) is a national park in Lapland, Finland, situated in area of municipalities of Savukoski, Sodankylä and Inari. Established in 1983 and coverin ...

(Koilliskaira Visitor Centre) * '' Luosto'' – a hill home to the only open amethyst mine in Europe * Hotel Sodankylä and Hotel Bear Inn (''Hotelli Karhu'') *

(annually mid-June) * Museum-Gallery Alariesto (Andreas Alariesto's life and artwork) * Pappilanniemi walking trail *

Igloo An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow. Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only b ...

village of Kakslauttanen

The old church

The old church is one of the oldest churches in Lapland. The church was built in 1689 for the people of Middle Lapland. It was restored in 1926, and the shingles and the boarding were re-done between 1991 and 1995 by the National Board of Antiquities and Historical Monuments. The church is still open at summer time.

The statue "A reindeer and a Lapp"

Sculptor

Ensio Seppänen Kauko Ensio Seppänen (7 September 1924 in Kemi – 28 June 2008 in Kemi) was a Finnish sculptor, professor (1978) and sculpture pioneer in Lapland. He created a total of 127 public sculptures. On the occasion of his crafting more public scul ...

designed this statue in 1970, located in the center of Sodankylä. The bronze statue presents reindeer husbandry, which still is one of the most important trades in Sodankylä.

Tankavaara Gold Museum

The International Gold Museum of

presents the history of Finnish gold, as well as the history of the world's major gold rushes. A display called Golden world, tells the story of gold in more than 20 countries. The outdoor museum is housed within several historic buildings and the courtyard is decorated with a large bronze statue of a gold prospector, by the artist professor

. The museum's stone and mineral collection has more than 2500 samples on display from around the world.

Museum-gallery Alariesto

Andreas Alariesto (1900-1986) was painter from Sodankylä. Museum-Gallery Alariesto was opened in July 1986. The museum's permanent exhibition displays artist Andreas Alariesto's life and works. Museum-Gallery is maintenanted by Riikkas and Andreas Alariesto's Lapinkuvat (pictures of Lapland) Foundation and the Municipality of Sodankylä. The foundations's main goal is to take care of Alariesto's collected works and to preserve old Sompio's distinctive cultural tradition.

Geography

Sodankylä lies just north of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at ...

Climate

Sodankylä has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, g ...

(

Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman * Erwin Koppen (1929–1990), German literary scholar * Luise Koppen (1855–1922), German author * Wladimir Köppen (1846� ...

: ''Dfc''), with short, mild summers and long, freezing, extremely snowy winters. However global warming has brought more extreme snowfalls, typically an increase. Its extreme northerly location combined with frequent overcast skies leads to very low amounts of sunshine in the winter months; December will average just under two minutes of sunshine daily. Sodankylä experiences polar night between 20 and 23 December and polar day between 31 May and 14 July. The temperature is usually between and , but the all-time temperature range is between recorded on 28 January 1999 and recorded on 18 July 2018.

Twin towns

Kola KOLA (99.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Redlands, California, and broadcasting to the Riverside-San Bernardino-Inland Empire radio market. It is owned by the Anaheim Broadcasting Corporation and it airs a classic hits radio form ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, since 1968 *

Berlevåg ( sme, Bearalváhki) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Øst-Finnmark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Berlevåg. There are two settlements in ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

, since 1971 *

Norsjö Norsjö () is a locality and the seat of Norsjö Municipality in Västerbotten County, Sweden, with 2,051 inhabitants in 2010. It is the birthplace of writer Torgny Lindgren, singer-actor-musician Tommy Körberg, and American author Charlotte Agel ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, since 1977 * Heiligenblut,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, since 1979 * Révfülöp,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

Gallery

Notable people

* Andreas Alariesto (1900–1989), painter * Benjamin Anneberg (1865–1925), lawyer and politician * Aleksi Hihnavaara (1882–1938), frontiersman and reindeer herder *

Kaija Kärkinen Kaija Kärkinen (born 9 September 1962) is a Finnish singer and actress. She represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1991, with the song " Hullu yö", finishing 20th. Kärkinen was born in Sodankylä. She started her career in the ...

(born 1962), singer and actress * Maria Lähteenmäki (born 1957), history researcher and university professor * Lasse Näsi (1930–2022), politician *

Katja Riipi Katja Hannele Riipi (born 26 October 1975) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and former member of the Finnish national ice hockey team. She won an Olympic bronze medal representing Finland in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 1998 ...

(born 1975), retired ice hockey player *

Johanna Sinisalo Aila Johanna Sinisalo is a Finnish science fiction and fantasy writer. She studied comparative literature and drama, amongst other subjects, at the University of Tampere. Professionally she worked in the advertising business, rising to the leve ...

(born 1958), science fiction and fantasy writer * Pertti Ukkola (born 1950), wrestler and Olympic champion