Sodankylä

Sodankylä
Sodankylä – Soađegilli
Municipality
Sodankylän kunta

Centre of Sodankylä

Coat of arms

Location of Sodankylä in Finland
Coordinates: 67°25′N 026°35′E / 67.417°N 26.583°E / 67.417; 26.583Coordinates: 67°25′N 026°35′E / 67.417°N 26.583°E / 67.417; 26.583
Country Finland
Region Lapland
Sub-region Northern Lapland sub-region
Charter 1893
Government
 • Municipal manager Viljo Pesonen
Area (2011-01-01)[1]
 • Total 12,415.46 km2 (4,793.64 sq mi)
 • Land 11,696.81 km2 (4,516.16 sq mi)
 • Water 718.65 km2 (277.47 sq mi)
Area rank 2nd largest in Finland
Population (2016-03-31)[2]
 • Total 8,739
 • Rank 123rd largest in Finland
 • Density 0.75/km2 (1.9/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
 • Finnish 98.1% (official)
 • Swedish 0.1%
 • Sami 1.3% (official)
 • Others 0.5%
Population by age[4]
 • 0 to 14 14.5%
 • 15 to 64 66.1%
 • 65 or older 19.4%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5] 19.5%
Website www.sodankyla.fi

Sodankylä (Inari Sami: Suáđigil, Northern Sami: Soađegilli, Skolt Sami: Suäʹđjel) 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 8,739 (31 March 2016)[2] and covers an area of 12,415.46 square kilometres (4,793.64 sq mi) of which 718.65 km2 (277.47 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 0.75 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.9/sq mi). Neighbouring municipalities are Inari, Kemijärvi, Kittilä, Pelkosenniemi, Rovaniemi, and Savukoski.

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.

With a mean temperature of −1 °C (30.2 °F), Sodankylä lies just north of the 0 °C (32.0 °F) mean annual isotherm and experiences a subarctic climate, with short, mild summers and long, freezing, snowy winters. 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. 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) and 30.9 °C (87.6 °F).[6]

Climate data for Sodankylä
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)		 8.5
(47.3)		 14.6
(58.3)		 26.9
(80.4)		 30.5
(86.9)		 30.9
(87.6)		 28.2
(82.8)		 23.0
(73.4)		 13.5
(56.3)		 9.2
(48.6)		 10.3
(50.5)		 30.9
(87.6)
Average high °C (°F) −9.5
(14.9)		 −8.3
(17.1)		 −2.6
(27.3)		 2.6
(36.7)		 9.6
(49.3)		 16.6
(61.9)		 19.4
(66.9)		 16.1
(61)		 9.8
(49.6)		 2.3
(36.1)		 −4.3
(24.3)		 −7.9
(17.8)		 3.6
(38.5)
Average low °C (°F) −19.6
(−3.3)		 −18.2
(−0.8)		 −13
(9)		 −7.4
(18.7)		 0.0
(32)		 6.4
(43.5)		 9.1
(48.4)		 6.6
(43.9)		 2.1
(35.8)		 −3.7
(25.3)		 −11.8
(10.8)		 −17.4
(0.7)		 −5.6
(21.9)
Record low °C (°F) −49.5
(−57.1)		 −44.4
(−47.9)		 −42.7
(−44.9)		 −31.6
(−24.9)		 −17.8
(0)		 −3.7
(25.3)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 −5.5
(22.1)		 −11.4
(11.5)		 −28
(−18)		 −34.5
(−30.1)		 −41
(−42)		 −49.5
(−57.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 35
(1.38)		 29
(1.14)		 29
(1.14)		 28
(1.1)		 35
(1.38)		 57
(2.24)		 63
(2.48)		 61
(2.4)		 47
(1.85)		 50
(1.97)		 40
(1.57)		 35
(1.38)		 507
(19.96)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 54
(21.3)		 70
(27.6)		 76
(29.9)		 71
(28)		 14
(5.5)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 2
(0.8)		 16
(6.3)		 34
(13.4)		 337
(132.7)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 12 57 125 196 240 268 269 183 109 60 22 1 1,542
Source: Climatological statistics for the normal period 1971–2000[7]

Twin towns

References

  1. 1 2 "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2011" (PDF) (in Finnish and Swedish). Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Ennakkoväkiluku sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, maaliskuu.2016" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  6. ↑ http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/finland/sodankyla?month=7&year=2015
  7. ↑ Climatological statistics for the normal period 1971–2000
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