The Kivalonaapa Meadow Culture Trail is in Vikajärvi, 23.2 km from Rovaniemi toward Sodankylä. It is part of the Arctic Circle Hiking Area, a wilderness destination ideal for year-round outdoor recreation. The landscape's signature features are rugged hills, open water-logged string bogs, and Raudanjoki with its spectacular rapids and lush shoreline forest. The hiking area’s trail network is diverse and has several resting places, offering visitors of all ages a variety of hiking destinations...

The sculpture Fenix-lintu by Harry Kivijärvi is located in front of Rovaniemi Court of Appeal (formerly the office of the Bank of Finland) . With this piece, Kivijärvi participated in the Rovaniemi City Hall sculpture competition held in 1987. The winner was Kain Tapper's sculpture Vuorten synty, but the jury also recommended that Kivijärvi's sculpture be purchased at a later date. The Bank of Finland acquired the piece in 1990...

The Konttinen Manor depicted from across River Kemijoki. The Konttinen Manor was commissioned by Norwegian timber businessman Terje Olsen in late 19th century. As of 1900, the manor housed the forest division of the Kemi company operating in the wood processing industry. The building was destroyed in the air raids of Rovaniemi in 1940...

Alvar Aalto designed three four-story commercial and residential buildings in a prominent location in the center of Rovaniemi for local businessman Aarne Aho. Later, Aalto also designed the private house Maison Aho for the same family. The Aho commercial and residential buildings are all located in the same block, forming a cohesive ensemble. The ground floors of the buildings house commercial spaces, while the upper floors originally contained apartments that have since been converted into office spaces...

Alvar Aalto designed three four-story commercial and residential buildings in a prominent location in the center of Rovaniemi for local businessman Aarne Aho. Later, Aalto also designed the private house Maison Aho for the same family. The Aho commercial and residential buildings are all located in the same block, forming a cohesive ensemble. The ground floors of the buildings house commercial spaces, while the upper floors originally contained apartments that have since been converted into office spaces...

The works of the Kumma puutarha environmental art exhibition engage in a dialogue with the greenery and familiar vegetation of the urban oasis of Kirkkolampi park, offering opportunities for new discovery trips in the familiar garden. In connection with the event, communal environmental artworks have also been produced in the Rovaniemi villages...

Standing about 7 metres tall in the courtyard of the Lapland provincial government building, the mythical Äiti-Lappi, or Mother Lapland, is sculptor Hannele Kylänpää's first public work. Kylänpää uses bronze as the primary material in her pieces. Her material handling is very expressive and nuanced, and accommodates and supports her subject matter well: Kylänpää enjoys depicting motion, children and animals in different situations. The premise of the sculpture is lightness and airiness, and the artist wants to overcome the heaviness of bronze as a material...

The Rovaniemi Civic Centre is, alongside Seinäjoki, the only completed urban center designed by Alvar Aalto in Finland. As early as 1961, the preliminary sketches for the library building included two other structures, which ultimately formed a seamlessly interconnected complex for administration and culture. The buildings are arranged in a fan-shaped layout on a park-like square known as Kansalaistori (Citizens' Square). The center's buildings open towards the city center...

Johannes Lauri established a company called Laurin Tuotteetand a knife factory in 1924. Besides knives, products made of reindeer antlers and bone were produced by the workshop, for example, as souvenirs. The original production building was destroyed during the Lapland War and a new one was built at its site. The current workshop and shop operate in a house built in the late 19th century that was transferred from the village of Namma to the workshop’s courtyard in the 1970s...

Located in Ruokasenpuisto, the Karjalapatsas statue was designed by Kirsi Liimatainen in 1957 and erected by Karelians in Lapland...

The log floating on River Kemijoki began in the 1860s. Felling usually ended in March and then the logs were stored upstream, marked and measured. In the spring, the logs were debarked and, once the river had thawed, the floating of the logs along rivers to steam sawmills of the south began. The fall log floating started after salmon fishing ended on 15 August...

Maantiekatu used to be the main road of Rovaniemi.  Over 30 shops varying from hardware shops to delicatessens were located along the street in the 1910s, not to mention the Rovaniemi markets. This photograph taken from the old church’s tower shows buildings on Maantiekatu; at the front are the post office and Ida Hannula’s book and paper shop, the Konttinen Manor is visible in the background...

Janne Marttiini established the Marttiini Knife Factory in 1928. As the operations of the factory grew, a functionalist factory building was completed in Vartiokatu street in 1940. The building was partly destroyed in the war, but was repaired right after the war. It is the sole industrial building of Rovaniemi to have survived the war...

The Cultural Committee of Rovaniemi organised an open environmental art competition in spring 2010. The competition sought a piece or series of pieces that would unite the cultural attractions of Rovaniemi to form a cultural trail. The winning entry was entitled Muistojen reitti(memory trail) and submitted by Liisa Karintaus and Tiia Lepistö. The memory trail leads those going on foot or by bicycle to the historical sites of the city in addition to the cultural attractions of Rovaniemi...

The sculpture Luonnon osa is made of concrete and rocks over a welded iron frame. The concrete is tinted, and the rocks have been chosen according to the shapes of a reindeer. The antlers are welded from stainless iron and stand as large as trees over the pile of rocks. The posture of the statue is reminiscent of a bow-legged, silly-looking reindeer standing frozen on the road in front of a car, unable to understand the danger it is in...

One barracks building, about which little details exist but which has an impressive concrete foundation, is located near the tower blocks. In the German drawings, a car repair shop or truck garage is marked on this spot. The building may also have been a kitchen. A pipe used to drain rainwater is protruding from the concrete...

Doors as a public work of art are a rarity in Finland. In the door relief of the Court of Appeal, Rovaniemi native Matti Nurminen has stylised the old symbol of justice, a pre-Christian stone circle for holding court. Matti Nurminen was born in 1947 in Rovaniemi. Today, he lives and works in Helsinki...

On this spot, sheltered by earth ramparts, probably stood the local officers' club, which the Germans called the casino. The club wasn't actually a casino, however. The servicemen had their own canteen along the present-day Lukkarinkatu and possibly elsewhere, too. The officers' club was a place of leisure for officers, hosting song nights and occasional guest performers such as singers or magicians...

The photograph shows the Old Church of Rovaniemi at the time of the parish’s 300th anniversary on 16–17 July 1932. The old wooden cruciform church seated 1,200 people, and was located close to the current church. Just before their northbound withdrawal, the German troops set the church on fire with petrol bombs. The new, current church was completed in August 1950...

The railway from Rovaniemi to Kemijärvi was completed in 1934. On the first part of the route, large and expensive bridges needed to be built, such as the Ounaskoski bridge. The old bridge in the photograph was used only for about 10 years, because the German troops blew it up when withdrawing from Lapland in October 1944. The current bridge was completed in 1951...

The old Ounasvaara ski stadium and shooting range includes a shooting pavilion designed by Viljami Kaltio for the Civil Guard. The pavilion, formerly known as Ampula, was completed in 1927. During the war, the pavilion housed a radio station for both Finns and Germans and accommodation for personnel. The Civil Guard's shooting range and its surroundings were used for shooting and field training exercises, among other things...

The sawmill industry grew in Northern Finland in the latter half of the 19th century. The first steam sawmill of Rovaniemi, Pitkäniemi steam sawmill, was established in Sahanperä by River Ounasjoki in 1901. During the depression of the 1930s, the difficulties of the Pitkäniemi steam sawmill grew unbearable and it ended its operations in 1934...

The Monument to the Heroes of the War of Independence is located in Rovaniemi's first cemetery and is the oldest statue in Rovaniemi. Statues commissioned from the artist, Porila, include Myhrberg's statue in Raahe and Mannerheim's statue in Tampere in 1939 and some 30 monuments to war heroes, including Rovaniemi as well as Kemi, Jämsä, Korpilahti, Orivesi, Ruokolahti, Tampere and Terijoki, among others...

The monument to the Lapland Border Guard was designed by architect Kari Poskiparta. It is located on the site of the old Border Guard headquarters, which was demolished in the 1960s. The monument consists of the posts of the main gate of the old headquarters, with a masonry pedestal made of stones collected from Lake Inari. The brass plaques, one of which depicts the bear emblem of the Finnish Border Guard and the other containing text, are the handwork of the now retired captain and sculptor Urpo Kärri and plant worker Kalevi Kuokkanen...

Finland’s first postal vehicle line between Rovaniemi and Sodankylä was inaugurated in 1921. The postal vehicle depot was completed in 1931–1933. After the Second World War, the depot was expanded and housing was also provided to depot workers who had lost their homes. Bricks collected from the city’s ruins were used as construction material...

Primavera is Laila Pullinen's first public sculpture and was acquired shortly after her breakthrough exhibition in 1963 in Helsinki. The work is located in the inner yard of the Ainonkulma residential building. The sculpture's title refers to its inspiration, the famous painting Primavera by Italian Renaissance painter Botticelli from 1478. painting depicts a group dancing with three beautiful women...

The Aseveliketju monument to Swedish, Norwegian and Danish volunteers who fought in the Finnish Winter War in 1939–40 is located in Keskuskoulu park. The chain symbolises Nordic co-operation, especially during wartime. The purpose of the statue is to remind current and future generations of Nordic unity. Oscar Reutersvärd is a Swedish sculptor, painter, draughtsman and graphic artist...

East of Ranuantie is a sports field called Rommel's field. The field was built in 1943 by men from the bakery company 602 of the German Army and the adjacent Army transport corps as a recreation area. The field was given the grandiose name Sportsbahn Feldmarschall Rommel, or Field Marshal Rommel's sports field. The name was written on the top board of the main gate...

The Rovaniemi Civic Centre is, alongside Seinäjoki, the only completed urban center designed by Alvar Aalto in Finland. As early as 1961, the preliminary sketches for the library building included two other structures, which ultimately formed a seamlessly interconnected complex for administration and culture. The buildings are arranged in a fan-shaped layout on a park-like square known as Kansalaistori (Citizens' Square). The center's buildings open towards the city center...

The scenic sculpture walk across Rovaniemi's bridges includes 17 works of art. The route is 5 kilometres long and takes about two hours to get around on foot. You can find descriptions and photos of the artworks in the menu below...