Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi
- the Capital of Lapland (Excursion on Wednesday)
The wide-open spaces of Lapland start from the Rovaniemi area. Clean nature
and the changing seasons create experiences for all visitors. The Rovaniemi
area invites you to come and enjoy yourself. You will find colourful city life,
varied scenery, and genuine wilderness. Rovaniemi - a gateway to Lapland.
Rovaniemi, the 'capital' of Northern Finland, is in the lower regions of Lapland
at the centre of where the Arctic Circle winds its way through the heart of
the Maid of Finland (the name Finns give to describe the shape of the country).
The official website of Rovaniemi is www.rovaniemi.fi.
Rovaniemi has maintained contact with the surrounding countryside but the urban
infrastructure creates opportunities for development and also provides versatile
educational and cultural facilities.
The Rural Municipality of Rovaniemi surrounds it with its lively villages and
Santa Claus' Village at the Arctic Circle where it is always Christmas.
Within 10 kilometers from the city centre you can find undisturbed nature or
a busy international airport. Rovaniemi remembers its past but is not afraid
to look into the future. People enjoy living there and are also friendly towards
visitors.
What are the Northern Lights?
The Northern Lights is a phenomenon that is seen in the skies on clear dark
nights in the northern and southern polar regions. They are typically created
about 100 km above the surface of the earth when accelerated particles in the
earth's magnetic field collide with molecules of air, which in turn release
some of their resulting energy as visible light. The phenomenon is similar to
how the picture is made on a television screen or to the glow from a fluorescent
lamp.
The common green-yellow and the rarer reds of the Northern Lights originate
from the oxygen in the atmosphere; blue and violet come from the nitrogen. The
particles that create the Northern Lights originate from the sun, which hurls
them out into space at a speed of 1000 km a second on the so-called solar wind.
According to ancient Asian beliefs, a person that has once seen the Northern
Lights will live happily until the end of his life. In Rovaniemi, the Northern
Lights are seen on average every second night, mostly in September and October
and in February and March. In Finland, the Northern Lights are known as the
Fox's Tail. This name comes from an old Sámi myth in which a fox was
running across the fells when its tail hit a snow bank and threw sparks - the
Northern Lights - into the heavens.
