Story
The story of Santa Claus Village
Step across the white line painted through Santa Claus Village and, officially, you have entered the Arctic. The line marks the Arctic Circle at its position in 1865; the real circle actually lies 700 meters further north, just south of the airport.
A webcam near the line has been broadcasting live since 2009. The village opened in 1980, the year Rovaniemi was declared an official hometown of Santa Claus. Yet the ground beneath it has a darker past.
During the Continuation War this area was part of a large German Luftwaffe base, with barracks, workshops and stores, and remains of those barracks could still be seen behind the tourist buildings in the 2010s. German forces destroyed most of their buildings around Rovaniemi during their withdrawal in October 1944. Today you can meet Santa in his office, visit a museum of snowmobiles, and step into the Main Post Office, an official Finnish post office where you can read letters sent to Santa.
This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗
Hear this story on the spot, in a natural voice
On Sightlore, the story of Santa Claus Village is narrated in a natural voice in 5 languages. When you arrive, say "I'm here" and get your passport stamp.
11 more stories from Rovaniemi (Lapland) in the app
More highlights in Rovaniemi (Lapland)
- Lappia HallLappia Hall is a performing arts venue and conference centre in Rovaniemi, the capital city of the Finnish Lapland region, situated close to the Arctic Circle.
- Rovaniemi Local Heritage MuseumMuseum at the Pöykkölä farm on the Kemijoki river showing life in a prosperous northern Finnish farmhouse around 1900.
- Regional Museum of LaplandRegional museum of Lapland, founded in 1975 and operating near the centre of Rovaniemi since 1992.
- Rovaniemi Art MuseumMunicipal art museum opened in 1986 in central Rovaniemi, housed in a former post-bus depot built in 1933.
- Rovaniemi Norvajärvi German military cemeteryThe German Military Cemetery of Rovaniemi is located on lake Norvajärvi, in Finnish Lapland.
- Forestry Museum of LaplandOpen-air museum in the Pöykkölä district of Rovaniemi, where forestry buildings from across Lapland have been moved since the 1960s.