Korvatunturi is a

fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of M ...

in Lapland, on the border between

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Its Finnish part is within

Urho Kekkonen National Park Urho Kekkonen National Park (, , often abbreviated to ''UKK'') is a national park in Lapland, Finland, situated in area of municipalities of Savukoski, Sodankylä and Inari. Established in 1983 and covering , it is one of Finland's largest prot ...

in the municipality of

Savukoski Savukoski (; ; ) 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 population density is , which is the lowest in relation to ...

. In

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

the name ''Korvatunturi'' means "Ear Fell", referring to the mountain's distinctive profile. Korvatunturi stands above sea level; it has three peaks, with the middle peak crossing Finland and Russia's borders. Since Korvatunturi straddles the border of the country, all visitors are required to obtain written permission from the

Finnish Border Guard The Finnish Border Guard (FBG, ; ) is the agency responsible for enforcing the security of Finland's borders. Duties Main duties of the Finnish Border Guard: * Protecting the land borders and territorial waters of Finland from unauthorised e ...

. There are also no roads that directly lead to the fell, but there are hike

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

s that provide access, such as the one found in the Savukoski area.

Cultural significance

Korvatunturi is best known as the home of the legendary

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to Theoph ...

Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrela ...

(or ''

Joulupukki () is a Finnish Christmas figure. The name literally means or in Finnish; the word comes from the Old Swedish word ''bukker'', a cognate of English " buck", meaning . An old Nordic folk tradition, the figure is now often conflated with S ...

'' in Finnish, ''Julgubben'' in Finland Swedish). According to Finnish folklore, this land is said to be the location of Father Christmas’ secret workshop, where toys, trinkets and gifts are said to be made and eventually wrapped by '' Joulutonttu''

elves An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. In medieval Germanic-speakin ...

. Known for their good-natured demeanour and their role as guardians of homes, these elves are also said to be responsible for analysing weather patterns for the yearly gift-giving trip around the world. People have also claimed that the ear-shaped structure of the fell allows Father Christmas to hear the wishes of every child on Earth. For letters to Father Christmas, Korvatunturi has the postal code ''99999 Korvatunturi''. Mail sent to this address is delivered to

Santa Claus Village Santa Claus Village () is an amusement park in Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland. It was opened in 1985. History The first building to be built in the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi was the Roosevelt Lodge, which was built in the 1950 ...

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

. In popular media, this legend has been adapted into the film '' Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale''.

References

External links

*
Visit Savukoski: Korvatunturi
{{Christmas Mountains of Finland Father Christmas Savukoski Mountains of Murmansk Oblast International mountains of Europe Finland–Russia border Landforms of Lapland (Finland) Christmas traditions