Rovaniemi

This article is about the city. For the soccer team known as Rovaniemi, see Rovaniemen Palloseura.
Rovaniemi
Roavvenjárga (Northern Sami)
Ruávinjargâ (Inari Sami)
Ruäʹvnjargg (Skolt Sami)
Municipality
Rovaniemen kaupunki
Rovaniemi stad
City of Rovaniemi
Clockwise from top: the Rovaniemi Church, the Rovaniemi Airport, the Santa Claus Village, downtown Rovaniemi, a view of the city from Ounasvaara, the Arktikum Science Museum, and aurora borealis in Someroharju.
Clockwise from top: the Rovaniemi Church, the Rovaniemi Airport, the Santa Claus Village, downtown Rovaniemi, a view of the city from Ounasvaara, the Arktikum Science Museum, and aurora borealis in Someroharju.
Flag of Rovaniemi
Flag
Coat of arms of Rovaniemi
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): 
Arctic Capital; Hometown of Santa Claus
Location of Rovaniemi in Finland
Location of Rovaniemi in Finland
Coordinates: 66°30′N 025°44′E / 66.500°N 25.733°E / 66.500; 25.733
CountryFinland
RegionLapland
Sub-regionRovaniemi sub-region
Charter1929
City1960
Government
 • City managerUlla-Kirsikka Vainio
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total
8,016.75 km2 (3,095.28 sq mi)
 • Land7,581.63 km2 (2,927.28 sq mi)
 • Water434.75 km2 (167.86 sq mi)
 • Rank5th largest in Finland
Population
 (2024-08-31)[2]
 • Total
65,321
 • Rank17th largest in Finland
 • Density8.62/km2 (22.3/sq mi)
Demonymrovaniemeläinen (Finnish)
Population by native language
[3]
 • Finnish94.8% (official)
 • Swedish0.2%
 • Sami0.3%
 • Others4.7%
Population by age
[4]
 • 0 to 1416.3%
 • 15 to 6463.8%
 • 65 or older19.9%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.rovaniemi.fi

Rovaniemi (/ˈroʊvəni.əmi/ ROH-və-nee-ə-mee,[6] Finnish: [ˈroʋɑˌnie̯mi] ⓘ; Northern Sami: Roavvenjárga [ˈroɑ̯vveˌɲaːrːka]; Inari Sami: Ruávinjargâ; Skolt Sami: Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately 65,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 69,000. It is the 17th most populous municipality in Finland, and the 12th most populous urban area in the country. Rovaniemi is also the largest city in Europe by land area.[7]

Rovaniemi is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Peräpohjola. The city centre is situated about 6 kilometres (4 miles) south of the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the river Kemijoki and its tributary, the Ounasjoki. It is the second-largest city of Northern Finland after Oulu, and, together with the capital city Helsinki, it is one of Finland's most significant tourist cities in terms of foreign tourism.[8]

The city and the surrounding Rovaniemen maalaiskunta (Rural municipality of Rovaniemi) were consolidated into a single entity on 1 January 2006. Rovaniemi municipality has an approximate population of 65,000. The urban area of Rovaniemi has a population of 53,361, in an area of about 59 km2 (23 sq mi). Rovaniemi is a monolingual Finnish-speaking municipality, and unusually for larger Finnish towns, it is also known by its Finnish name and spelling in the Swedish language.

The coat of arms of Rovaniemi was designed by Toivo Vuorela. Its explanation is "in the green field, a silver pall with light-height upper branches; accompanied by a golden flame in the upper corner".[9] It was approved on 15 August 1956 by the Rovaniemi Rural Municipal Council and confirmed on October 26 at the Ministry of the Interior as the coat of arms of the Rovaniemi Rural Council.[10]

  1. ^ "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Finland's preliminary population figure was 5,625,011 at the end of August 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-09-24. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  3. ^ "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-04-26. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  4. ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Rovaniemi". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-11-29.
  7. ^ https://earth.esa.int/web/earth-watching/image-of-the-week/content/-/article/rovaniemi-finland/index.html
  8. ^ Lapin Kansa: Rovaniemen ja Helsingin johtajat saivat ministeriltä tehtävän miettiä, miten matkailu nousee korona-ajan mentyä ohi – Rahaa on luvassa EU:n elpymispaketista (in Finnish)
  9. ^ "Sisäasiainministeriön vahvistamat kaupunkien, kauppaloiden ja kuntien vaakunat 1949-1995 (I:12) Jakso 240: Rovaniemen maalaiskunta". Kansallisarkiston digitaaliarkisto (in Finnish). Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  10. ^ Suomen kunnallisvaakunat (in Finnish). Suomen Kunnallisliitto. 1982. pp. 121, 160. ISBN 951-773-085-3.