Sodankylä facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sodankylä
Suáđigil (Inari Sami)
Suäʹđjel (Skolt Sami) |
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Municipality
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| Sodankylän kunta Soađegili gielda Sodankylä kommun |
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Centre of Sodankylä
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Location of Sodankylä in Finland
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| Country |  Finland |
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| Region | Lapland | |
| Sub-region | Northern Lapland | |
| Charter | 1893 | |
| Area
(2018-01-01)
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| • Total | 12,415.50 km2 (4,793.65 sq mi) | |
| • Land | 11,692.98 km2 (4,514.68 sq mi) | |
| • Water | 718.65 km2 (277.47 sq mi) | |
| Area rank | 2nd largest in Finland | |
| Population
(2023-12-31)
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| • Total | 8,126 | |
| • Rank | 118th largest in Finland | |
| • Density | 0.69/km2 (1.8/sq mi) | |
| Population by native language | ||
| • Finnish | 95.9% (official) | |
| • Swedish | 0.2% | |
| • Sami | 1.6% | |
| • Others | 2.4% | |
| Population by age | ||
| • 0 to 14 | 13.3% | |
| • 15 to 64 | 58.5% | |
| • 65 or older | 28.2% | |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) | |
Sodankylä is a special place in Finland. It's a municipality located far north in a region called Lapland. You can find it at the end of Highway 5 and along Highway 4. The Kitinen River flows right through the center of Sodankylä.
Sodankylä shares borders with several other municipalities. These include Inari, Kemijärvi, Kittilä, Pelkosenniemi, Rovaniemi, and Savukoski. The people here speak two official languages: Finnish and Northern Sami.
About 8,126 people live in Sodankylä. This makes it the fourth largest municipality in Lapland by population. It's also the largest municipality that isn't called a "city" or "town." Sodankylä is very large in terms of land area. It covers about 12,415.50 square kilometres (4,793.65 sq mi), with some of that being water. It's the second largest municipality in Finland by area, right after its neighbor, Inari.
Sodankylä has its own airfield. It's also home to a science station called EISCAT. This station has a large radar receiver used for scientific research. The area around this observatory is known as "Tähtelä," which means "Place of Stars." Even though it's called that, the observatory doesn't actually study stars. The Jaeger Brigade of the Finnish Army is also based in Sodankylä.
There's a lot of mining happening in Sodankylä. The Pahtavaara mine, which opened in 1996, digs for gold. The Kevitsa mine started digging for nickel in 2012. Even though the name "Sodankylä" means "Village of War," its name actually comes from a family name, Sova, not from the word "war."
Every year since 1986, Sodankylä hosts the Midnight Sun Film Festival. This is a popular event where people watch movies under the bright summer sun, which never sets completely in this part of the world during mid-summer!
Contents
Fun Places to Visit
Sodankylä has many interesting places to explore and fun events to enjoy.
- Sodankylä Local History Museum: Learn about the local past.
- The Old Church: A beautiful wooden church from 1689.
- The New Church: A stone church built in 1859.
- Tankavaara: A special gold museum and a "gold village."
- Ilmakkiaapa peatland protection area: A large natural area about 35 km north.
- Urho Kekkonen National Park: A huge national park with a visitor center.
- Luosto: A hill where you can visit the only open amethyst mine in Europe.
- Hotel Sodankylä and Hotel Bear Inn (Hotelli Karhu): Places to stay.
- Midnight Sun Film Festival: An annual film festival in June.
- Museum-Gallery Alariesto: Shows the life and art of Andreas Alariesto.
- Pappilanniemi walking trail: A nice path for a walk.
- Igloo village of Kakslauttanen: A unique place to stay in glass igloos.
The Old Church of Sodankylä
The old church in Sodankylä is one of the oldest churches in all of Lapland. It was built way back in 1689. This church was made for the people living in the middle part of Lapland. It has been carefully repaired over the years to keep it looking good. For example, between 1991 and 1995, its roof and outer walls were fixed. You can still visit this church during the summer months.
The Reindeer and Lapp Statue
This statue was created by a sculptor named Ensio Seppänen in 1970. You can find it in the center of Sodankylä. The bronze statue shows a reindeer and a person from Lapland. It represents reindeer herding, which is still a very important job in Sodankylä today.
Tankavaara Gold Museum
The International Gold Museum in Tankavaara tells the story of gold. You can learn about how gold was found in Finland and about big "gold rushes" around the world. There's a special display called "Golden World" that shares gold stories from more than 20 countries. The museum also has an outdoor area with old buildings. In the courtyard, you'll see a large bronze statue of a gold prospector. The museum also has a collection of over 2500 rocks and minerals from all over the world.
Museum-Gallery Alariesto
Andreas Alariesto (1900-1986) was a famous painter from Sodankylä. The Museum-Gallery Alariesto opened in July 1986. It has a special exhibition that shows Andreas Alariesto's life and his artwork. The museum helps to preserve his art and the old Sami cultural traditions from the Sompio area.
Sodankylä's Location and Weather
Sodankylä is located just north of the Arctic Circle. This is an imaginary line around the Earth where the sun can stay above or below the horizon for 24 hours.
Sodankylä's Climate
Sodankylä has a subarctic climate. This means it has short, mild summers and very long, cold, and snowy winters. Because it's so far north, the sun doesn't shine much in winter. In December, there's only about two minutes of sunshine each day! Sodankylä also experiences special days:
- Polar Night: From December 20 to 23, the sun doesn't rise at all.
- Polar Day: From May 31 to July 14, the sun never sets. This is also called the "Midnight Sun."
Temperatures usually range between about -19.6°C (or -3.3°F) and 19.4°C (or 66.9°F). But it can get much colder or hotter! The coldest temperature ever recorded was -49.5°C (-57.1°F) in January 1999. The hottest was 32.1°C (89.8°F) in July 2018.
| Climate data for Sodankylä Tähtelä, elevation: 179 metres or 587 feet, 1991-2020 normals, extremes 1908-present | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 6.5 (43.7) |
6.5 (43.7) |
11.1 (52.0) |
17.4 (63.3) |
28.1 (82.6) |
31.3 (88.3) |
32.1 (89.8) |
31.2 (88.2) |
24.0 (75.2) |
14.5 (58.1) |
9.2 (48.6) |
6.7 (44.1) |
32.1 (89.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −8.1 (17.4) |
−7.6 (18.3) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
4.0 (39.2) |
10.5 (50.9) |
16.9 (62.4) |
20.2 (68.4) |
17.4 (63.3) |
11.1 (52.0) |
2.9 (37.2) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
4.8 (40.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −12.5 (9.5) |
−12.1 (10.2) |
−7.1 (19.2) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
5.6 (42.1) |
11.9 (53.4) |
15.0 (59.0) |
12.4 (54.3) |
7.0 (44.6) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
−9.6 (14.7) |
0.3 (32.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −17.5 (0.5) |
−17.2 (1.0) |
−12.9 (8.8) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
0.7 (33.3) |
6.9 (44.4) |
10.1 (50.2) |
7.8 (46.0) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
−9.2 (15.4) |
−14.0 (6.8) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −49.5 (−57.1) |
−49 (−56) |
−42.7 (−44.9) |
−36 (−33) |
−21.3 (−6.3) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
−5.5 (22.1) |
−17 (1) |
−31.8 (−25.2) |
−42 (−44) |
−46.9 (−52.4) |
−49.5 (−57.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 36 (1.4) |
31 (1.2) |
30 (1.2) |
32 (1.3) |
40 (1.6) |
61 (2.4) |
76 (3.0) |
56 (2.2) |
52 (2.0) |
47 (1.9) |
42 (1.7) |
41 (1.6) |
544 (21.5) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 12 | 59 | 141 | 187 | 224 | 245 | 251 | 174 | 107 | 57 | 17 | 1 | 1,486 |
| Source 1: FMI climatological normals for Finland 1991-2020 | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: record highs and lows | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Sodankylä Vuotso (1991-2020 normals, extremes 1959–present) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) |
6.1 (43.0) |
9.5 (49.1) |
14.8 (58.6) |
26.9 (80.4) |
30.6 (87.1) |
31.7 (89.1) |
30.8 (87.4) |
22.3 (72.1) |
12.2 (54.0) |
8.2 (46.8) |
5.7 (42.3) |
31.7 (89.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −8.8 (16.2) |
−8.5 (16.7) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
2.7 (36.9) |
8.8 (47.8) |
15.6 (60.1) |
19.1 (66.4) |
16.1 (61.0) |
10.0 (50.0) |
1.9 (35.4) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−6.3 (20.7) |
3.6 (38.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −13.2 (8.2) |
−13 (9) |
−8.2 (17.2) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
4.2 (39.6) |
10.6 (51.1) |
13.9 (57.0) |
11.3 (52.3) |
6.1 (43.0) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
−6.9 (19.6) |
−10.5 (13.1) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −18.3 (−0.9) |
−18.2 (−0.8) |
−14.3 (6.3) |
−7.3 (18.9) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
5.6 (42.1) |
8.8 (47.8) |
6.6 (43.9) |
2.1 (35.8) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−11.2 (11.8) |
−15.0 (5.0) |
−5.5 (22.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −49 (−56) |
−47.1 (−52.8) |
−41.7 (−43.1) |
−32.7 (−26.9) |
−22.7 (−8.9) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−7.3 (18.9) |
−18.7 (−1.7) |
−29.3 (−20.7) |
−36.1 (−33.0) |
−40.3 (−40.5) |
−49 (−56) |
| Source 1: https://www.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/ilmastollinen-vertailukaus | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: https://kilotavu.com/asema-taulukko.php?asema=102001 | |||||||||||||
Twin Towns
Sodankylä has "twin towns" or "sister cities" in other countries. This means they have special friendly relationships.
Kola, Russia (since 1968)
Berlevåg, Norway (since 1971)
Norsjö, Sweden (since 1977)
Heiligenblut, Austria (since 1979)
Révfülöp, Hungary
Gallery
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Sodankylä New Church
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Tankavaara's gold prospecting stream
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Igloo village of Kakslauttanen
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The Kitinen River in Sodankylä
Famous People from Sodankylä
- Andreas Alariesto (1900–1989), a painter
- Benjamin Anneberg (1865–1925), a lawyer and politician
- Aleksi Hihnavaara (1882–1938), a frontiersman and reindeer herder
- Kaija Kärkinen (born 1962), a singer and actress
- Maria Lähteenmäki (born 1957), a history researcher and university professor
- Lasse Näsi (1930–2022), a politician
- Katja Riipi (born 1975), a retired ice hockey player
- Johanna Sinisalo (born 1958), a science fiction and fantasy writer
- Pertti Ukkola (born 1950), a wrestler and Olympic champion
See also
In Spanish: Sodankylä para niños
