Inari is a

population centre In demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to different geogr ...

in the municipality by the same name in Lapland,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It is widely known as the capital of Finnish

Sámi culture The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Rus ...

.Saamenmaasta, kulttuurista ja mytologiasta – Rantapallo
(in Finnish)

History

The village grew up along in a spot where the fast-flowing

Juutua River Juutuanjoki is a river of Finland that flows from Lake Paatari in the municipality of Inari in Finnish Lapland into Lake Inari, which in turn flows into the Paatsjoki River towards Russia and into the Barents Sea. See also * List of rivers of ...

empties into

Lake Inari Lake Inari ( fi, Inarijärvi/Inarinjärvi, se, Anárjávri, smn, Aanaarjävri, sms, Aanarjäuʹrr, sv, Enare träsk, no, Enaresjøen) is the largest lake in Sápmi and the third-largest lake in Finland. It is located in the northern part of L ...

. As the centuries went by, the village developed into a robust and active market and trade centre. When the municipality of Inari was founded in 1876, the village became its centre. The people living in Inari then were not, however, the first people to live in the village, as people had been living on the shores of Lake Inari for thousands of years before that. Several stone-age dwellings have been found in Vuopaja, on the edge of town near

Siida The siida is a Sámi local community that has existed from time immemorial. A ''siida'' ( se, siida; smn, sijdâ; sma, sïjte; smj, tjiellde; sjd, сыййт, translit=syjjt; sjt, се̄ййп, italic=no, translit=siejjp; sms, paalǥâskå ...

, the Sámi Museum.

Gallery

File:Sami Cultural Center SAJOS Inari village.JPG,

Sajos Sajos is a Sámi cultural and administrative centre, located on the banks of the Juutuanjoki in Inari, Finland and is the largest convention and event venue in northern Lapland. It houses the Sámi Parliament of Finland The Sámi Parliament of ...

, the Sami Cultural Center in the Inari village File:Inari, Suomi - Finland 2013-03-10 a.jpg, Snow in Inari File:Hotelli inari2.jpg, Hotel Inari File:Inari, Suomi - Finland 2013-03-10 Kuukkeli a.jpg, Supermarket in Inari File:Inari lake.jpg,

Inari Lake Lake Inari ( fi, Inarijärvi/Inarinjärvi, se, Anárjávri, smn, Aanaarjävri, sms, Aanarjäuʹrr, sv, Enare träsk, no, Enaresjøen) is the largest lake in Sápmi and the third-largest lake in Finland. It is located in the northern part of L ...

References

External links

Villages in Finland Villages in Inari, Finland Populated lakeshore places in Finland {{Finland-stub