Ivalo is a village in Inari Municipality

Inari, Finland

Inari is Finland's largest, sparsely populated municipality with four official languages, more than any other in the country. Its major sources of income are lumber industry and nature maintenance. With the museum Siida in the village of Inari, it is a center of Sami culture...

, in Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

's Lapland Province, located on the Ivalo river 20 kilometres to the south of Lake Inari

Lake Inari

Lake Inari is the third largest lake in Finland and the largest lake in Sápmi. It is located in the northern part of Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle. The lake is 117–119 meters above sea level and it is regulated at the Kaitakoski power plant in Russia...

. It has a population of 3,998 and a small airport

Ivalo Airport

Ivalo Airport is an airport in Ivalo, Inari, Finland. It is located southwest from Ivalo, the municipal centre of Inari, and north of Saariselkä. It is the northernmost airport in Finland.-Airlines and destinations:-Statistics:- External links :*...

. 30 kilometres south of Ivalo is a very popular resort named Saariselkä

Saariselkä

Saariselkä is a mountain area and a village in Finland. It is a popular tourist destination, providing activities such as skiing, hiking and a spa. It is located in Northern Lapland and belongs to the Inari municipality....

.
Many tourists visit this place every year for winter sports (downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, husky and reindeer sledge riding) and for summer activities (trekking and hiking in the Saariselkä fjells, canoeing in Lapland's rivers, mountain biking, panning for gold, fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

, etc).

Ivalo was severely damaged during the Lapland War

Lapland War

The Lapland War were the hostilities between Finland and Nazi Germany between September 1944 and April 1945, fought in Finland's northernmost Lapland Province. While the Finns saw this as a separate conflict much like the Continuation War, German forces considered their actions to be part of the...

 (1944-1945) by retreating German troops led by Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic

Lothar Rendulic

Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic was an Austro-Hungarian and Austrian Army officer of Croatian origin who served as a German general during World War II. He commanded the 14. Infanterie-Division, 52. Infanterie-Division, XXXV Armeekorps, 2. Panzer-Armee, 20...

; the village was subsequently extensively rebuilt.

External links