Sodankylä

Sodankylä (Northern Sami: Soađegilli; Inari Sami: Suáđigil; Skolt Sami: Suäʹđjel; Latin: Bellonia or Polemopolis) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Finnish national road 5. The municipality has a population of 8,323 (31 July 2020)[3] and covers an area of 12,415.50 square kilometres (4,793.65 sq mi) of which 718.65 km2 (277.47 sq mi) is water.[2] The population density is 0.71 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.8/sq mi). Neighbouring municipalities are Inari, Kemijärvi, Kittilä, Pelkosenniemi, Rovaniemi, and Savukoski.

Sodankylä

Sodankylä – Soađegilli
Municipality
Sodankylän kunta
Sodankylä kommun
Centre of Sodankylä
Coat of arms
Location of Sodankylä in Finland
Coordinates: 67°25′N 026°35′E
Country Finland
RegionLapland
Sub-regionNorthern Lapland
Charter1893
Government
 • Municipal managerKirsi Virtanen[1]
Area
 (2018-01-01)[2]
 • Total12,415.50 km2 (4,793.65 sq mi)
 • Land11,696.81 km2 (4,516.16 sq mi)
 • Water718.65 km2 (277.47 sq mi)
Area rank2nd largest in Finland
Population
 (2020-07-31)[3]
 • Total8,323
 • Rank117th largest in Finland
 • Density0.71/km2 (1.8/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish98.1% (official)
 • Swedish0.1%
 • Sami1.3%
 • Others0.5%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1414.5%
 • 15 to 6466.1%
 • 65 or older19.4%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[6]19.5%
Websitewww.sodankyla.fi

The municipality has two official languages: Finnish and Northern Sami.

Since 1986, Sodankylä has been home to the Midnight Sun Film Festival (Sodankylän elokuvajuhlat).

The Jaeger Brigade of the Finnish Army is also located in Sodankylä. Although the name "Sodankylä" and (also "Soađegilli") directly translate to "Village of War", the etymology of the name is from a surname rather than the word "war".

One of EISCAT's scientific radar receiver stations is located outside Sodankylä, at the site of the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory. The urban area around the observatory is known as "Tähtelä", which translates as "Place of Stars", although the observatory does not observe stars.

Sodankylä has an airfield.

Key sights, events and destinations

The old church

The old church is one of the oldest churches in Lapland. The church was built in 1689 for the people of Middle Lapland. It was restored in 1926, and the shingles and the boarding were re-done between 1991 and 1995 by the National Board of Antiquities and Historical Monuments. The church is still open at summer time.

The statue "A reindeer and a Lapp"

Sculptor Ensio Seppänen designed this statue in 1970, located in the center of Sodankylä. The bronze statue presents reindeer husbandry, which still is one of the most important trades in Sodankylä.

Tankavaara Gold Museum

The International Gold Museum presents the history of Finnish gold, as well as the history of the world's major gold rushes. A display called Golden world, tells the story of gold in more than 20 countries. The outdoor museum is housed within several historic buildings and the courtyard is decorated with a large bronze statue of a gold prospector, by the artist professor Ensio Seppänen. The museum's stone and mineral collection has more than 2500 samples on display from around the world.

Andreas Alariesto (1900-1986) was painter from Sodankylä.

Museum-Gallery Alariesto was opened in July 1986. The museum's permanent exhibition displays artist Andreas Alariesto's life and works. Museum-Gallery is maintenanted by Riikkas and Andreas Alariesto's Lapinkuvat (pictures of Lapland) Foundation and the Municipality of Sodankylä. The foundations's main goal is to take care of Alariesto's collected works and to preserve old Sompio's distinctive cultural tradition.

Geography and climate

Sodankylä lies just north of the Arctic circle.

Sodankylä has a subarctic climate (Koppen: Dfc), with short, mild summers and long, freezing, extremely snowy winters. However global warming has brought more extreme snowfalls, typically an increase. Its extreme northerly location combined with frequent overcast skies leads to very low amounts of sunshine in the winter months; December will average just under two minutes of sunshine daily. Sodankylä experiences polar night between 20 and 23 December and polar day between 31 May and 14 July.[7] The temperature is usually between −19.6 °C (−3.3 °F) and 19.4 °C (66.9 °F), but the all-time temperature range is between −49.5 °C (−57.1 °F) recorded on 28 January 1999 and 32.1 °C (89.8 °F) recorded on 18 July 2018.

Climate data for Sodankylä, elevation: 179 m, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1908-present
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)
Average high °C (°F) −9.1
(15.6)		 −8.1
(17.4)		 −2.4
(27.7)		 3.5
(38.3)		 10.1
(50.2)		 16.7
(62.1)		 19.6
(67.3)		 16.5
(61.7)		 10.3
(50.5)		 2.9
(37.2)		 −3.8
(25.2)		 −7.4
(18.7)		 4.1
(39.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) −13.5
(7.7)		 −12.7
(9.1)		 −7.5
(18.5)		 −1.3
(29.7)		 5.3
(41.5)		 11.6
(52.9)		 14.5
(58.1)		 11.7
(53.1)		 6.2
(43.2)		 0.1
(32.2)		 −7.1
(19.2)		 −11.7
(10.9)		 −0.4
(31.3)
Average low °C (°F) −18.7
(−1.7)		 −18.1
(−0.6)		 −13.1
(8.4)		 −6.7
(19.9)		 0.5
(32.9)		 6.5
(43.7)		 9.7
(49.5)		 7.2
(45.0)		 2.5
(36.5)		 −2.7
(27.1)		 −10.8
(12.6)		 −16.5
(2.3)		 −5.0
(23.0)
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) 34
(1.3)		 29
(1.1)		 30
(1.2)		 29
(1.1)		 41
(1.6)		 56
(2.2)		 74
(2.9)		 66
(2.6)		 49
(1.9)		 46
(1.8)		 39
(1.5)		 34
(1.3)		 527
(20.7)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 13 61 128 199 225 261 245 171 105 57 20 1 1,486
Source 1: FMI climatological normals for Finland 1981–2010[8]
Source 2: record highs and lows[9]

Twin towns
  • Sodankylä New Church
  • Sodankylä Old Church
  • Alariesto Gallery
  • Centre of Sodankylä

See also

References
  1. "Kirsi Virtanen Sodankylän kunnanjohtajaksi". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  2. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  3. "Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestön ennakkotilasto [verkkojulkaisu]. Heinäkuu 2020" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  4. "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  5. "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  6. "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  7. http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/finland/sodankyla?month=7&year=2015
  8. "FMI normals 1981-2010" (PDF). fmi.fi. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  9. "FMI data". FMI. Retrieved 19 November 2020.

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