Rovaniemi is a city in Lapland best known as the home of Santa Claus. It also offers tourists numerous possibilities of active leisure, both in summer and winter.
The city developed in the 19th century, when iron ore was discovered and exploited in its vicinity. The logging of the local forests also began, and gold was sought further north. Due to its industrial importance, Rovaniemi was destroyed during World War II, and was basically rebuilt after the war. Currently, its urban layout resembles the head of a reindeer, which of course is best seen when looking at the city from above.
The biggest attraction of Rovaniemi is, of course, the Santa Claus Village with Santa's Post Office, home and elven workshop. his legend was born in the 1920s when Markus Rautio popularized a local story that there was a saint in the woods north of Rovaniemi who sets out every year to give gifts to children from all over the world. In addition to the village, Rovaniemi also has SantaPark, which is an amusement and theme park associated with the figure of Santa.
When visiting Rovaniemi, it is also worth taking into account the local modern museums, the Pilke Science Center and the Arktikum, which introduce nature and life in the Arctic and Lapland. The Arctic Circle runs through the village of Mikołaj, which makes Rovaniemi an ideal place to popularize knowledge about these topics. On the outskirts of the city there is also the Forest Museum of Lapland in the form of an open-air museum.
