Enontekiö (; ; ; ; ) is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the
Finnish part of
Lapland with approximately
inhabitants. It is situated in the outermost northwest of the country and occupies a large and very sparsely populated area of about
between the
Swedish and
Norwegian border. Finland's highest point, the
Halti fell
A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of M ...
, with a height of above the
mean sea level
A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...
, is situated in the north of Enontekiö. The municipality shares borders with regions of Sweden and Norway that encompass the
Scandinavian Mountains
The Scandinavian Mountains or the Scandes is a mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula. The western sides of the mountains drop precipitously into the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, forming the fjords of Norway, whereas to th ...
. The administrative centre of Enontekiö is the village of
Hetta. About one fifth of the community's population are
Sami people
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
. Enontekiö's main industries are tourism and
reindeer husbandry.
Geography
Location and dimensions
Enontekiö is located in the
region of Lapland in the outermost northwest tip of
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
. The salient between the
Swedish and
Norwegian borders, which is occupied by the municipality of Enontekiö, is called ''Käsivarsi'' (Finnish for "arm"), because before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Finland's borders had the shape of a woman's figure (''
Suomi-neito'') and the area looked like her raised right arm. The municipality occupies a large and sparsely populated area of
(more than three times the area of
Luxembourg
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
). Thus Enontekiö is Finland's third-largest municipality in size, after
Inari and
Sodankylä
Sodankylä (; ; ; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Highway 5 ( E63) and along Highway 4 ( E75). The Kitinen River flows near the center of Sodankylä. Its neighbouring mun ...
, and with a population density of only , it is the second-most sparsely populated municipality, after
Savukoski
Savukoski (; ; ) is a municipality of Finland.
It is located in the province of Lapland, Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , which is the lowest in relation to ...
.
Enontekiö's neighbouring municipalities are Inari in the east,
Kittilä
Kittilä (, , ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland and a popular holiday resort.
It is located in northern Finland north of the Arctic Circle within the Lapland (Finland), Lapland Regions of Finland, region. The municipality ...
in the southeast, and
Muonio
Muonio (previously called ''Muonionniska''; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. The town is located in fell-region of far northern Finland above the Arctic Circle on the country's western border with Sweden, the Muonio ( ...
in the south; on the Swedish side in the west, there is
Kiruna Municipality
Kiruna Municipality (; ; ; ) is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Norrbotten County in northernmost Sweden. Its administrative centre, seat is located in Kiruna. It is the northernmost municipality in Sweden, and at is Sweden's geograph ...
and on the Norwegian side in the north, there are
Storfjord Municipality
, (Northern Sami; ), or is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hatteng. Other villages in Storfjord include Elvevoll, Oteren, and Skibotn.
The municipality is the 54th l ...
,
Gáivuotna Municipality (also known as Kåfjord),
Nordreisa Municipality
, (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami, ), or is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Storslett. Other villages include O ...
, and
Kautokeino Municipality
Kautokeino (; ; ; ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Kautokeino (village), village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. Other villag ...
. Enontekiö shares a border of more than with the two adjacent nations. The border to Sweden is formed by the river
Muonionjoki and its tributary,
Könkämäeno.
Villages
The main village of Enontekiö is the settlement of
Hetta in the south, with approx. 530 inhabitants. There is no village with the name of Enontekiö, but Hetta is often called the municipality's name. Other important places are the village of
Kilpisjärvi, which is located near the border triangle of Finland-Sweden-Norway, as well as
Karesuvanto and
Palojoensuu, both of which are located at the Muonionjoki at the Swedish border. Enontekiö's villages are concentrated in the southern area and along the banks of the rivers Könkämäeno and Muonionjoki in the west of the municipality. Often, there is a corresponding village on the Swedish side of the river, bearing the same name (or the Swedish form of the name), e.g. Karesuvanto/Karesuando. In contrast, the part of the Käsivarsi Mountains away from the rivers is almost completely uninhabited.
The following villages belong to Enontekiö (Sami name, if available, in parentheses):
*
Hetta (''Heahttá'')
*
Jatuni (''Jáhton'')
*
Karesuvanto (''Gárasavvon'')
*
Kelottijärvi (''Gelojávri'')
*
Ketomella
*
Kilpisjärvi (''Gilbbesjávri'')
*
Kultima (''Gulddán'')
*
Kuttanen (''Guhttás'')
*
Leppäjärvi (''Leaibejávri'')
*
Luspa (''Luspi'')
*
Markkina (''Boaresmárkan'')
*
Maunu (''Mávdna'')
*
Muotkajärvi (''Muotkejávri'')
*
Näkkälä (''Neahčil'')
*
Nartteli
*
Nunnanen (''Njunnás'')
*
Palojärvi (''Bálojávri'')
*
Palojoensuu (''Bálojohnjálbmi'')
*
Peltovuoma (''Bealdovuopmi'')
*
Raittijärvi
*
Ropinsalmi
*
Saivomuotka (''Sáivomuotki'')
*
Sonkamuotka
*
Vähäniva
*
Vuontisjärvi (''Vuottesjávri'')
*
Yli-Kyrö
Topography
In its northern region, Enontekiö shares borders with areas of Sweden and Norway in which segments of the Scandinavian Mountains are located. Through that and through its location in the far north of Finland, it is geologically and scenically very different from the rest of the country.
Halti, the highest mountain of Finland with a height of 1,324 m, is located in Enontekiö, together with all 21 other mountains higher than in the country. Besides Haltitunturi, probably the best known and scenically most distinctive mountain is the
Saana
Saana () is a fell in Enontekiö, Finland. Saana's summit lies above sea level and above the adjacent Kilpisjärvi lake. Geologically it is part of the Scandinavian Mountains, and is made of the same kinds of schist and gneiss rock. The peak ...
with a height of , which rises above the village of Kilpisjärvi. The southern part of the municipality is less mountainous, but some single
fjells (''tunturi'', which means hills towering above the
timber line) rise above the otherwise rather flat surrounding area. Below, a part of the
Pallastunturi–
Ounastunturi-massif extends into Enontekiö's territory.
A little more than 5% of the municipality's area consists of water. Several large rivers originate in Enontekiö: The
Muonionjoki,
Ounasjoki
The Ounasjoki () is the Kemijoki's largest tributary and is Finland's longest single river tributary. It is also the largest river entirely within its borders. Ounasjoki is approximately in length, and the catchment area is , 27% of the Kemijoki ...
,
Ivalojoki, and one of the headstreams of the
Tenojoki have their sources in the municipality. Enontekiö owes its name to them: ''Eno'' is an old Finnish word for "major river" cognate with the Northern Sámi word ''Eatnu'' or "large river, largest river (in a specific region)" and ''tekiö'' is derived from the Northern Sámi derivational suffix ''-dat'' which forms abstract nouns. All of the 825 lakes in the area are rather small. The largest lakes are the
Pöyrisjärvi, the
Kilpisjärvi near the village with the same name, and the
Ounasjärvi near
Hetta.
Flora and fauna
The vegetation of Enontekiö is very meagre, due to the extreme northern latitude. The northern border of the natural geographic range of the
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
approx. matches the southern border of the municipality; the range of the
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
ends only north of Hetta, too. North of that, only
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...
es grow. The
timber line is approximately ; above that, a
tundra
In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...
-like vegetation predominates. Heaths extends above timber line.
The lower heathlands are dominated by shrubs such as
Betula nana
''Betula nana'', the dwarf birch, is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region.
Description
It is a monoecious, deciduous shrub growing up to high. The bark is non-peeling and shiny red-copp ...
,
Vaccinium myrtillus
''Vaccinium myrtillus'' or European blueberry is a Holarctic realm, holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry. It is more precisely called common bilberr ...
and
Empetrum hermaphroditum, whereas in the fjell heaths at higher elevations
Salix herbacea
''Salix herbacea'', the dwarf willow, least willow or snowbed willow, is a species of tiny creeping willow (family Salicaceae) adapted to survive in harsh arctic and subarctic environments. Distributed widely in alpine and arctic environments ar ...
, Empetrum and alpine grasses with lichens and mosses occur. In the mountains of the north-west
Cassiope tetragona is abundant. The largest part of the municipal area consists of these plateaus or
bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...
s, which mainly predominate at the rivers. Only 19% of Enontekiö's area is afforested. About 70% of the total area is conservation area of various grades. Enontekiö contains parts of the
Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park, as well as the wilderness areas of
Käsivarsi,
Pulju,
Pöyrisjärvi and
Tarvantovaara.
Due to the harsh climatic conditions, there are not especially many species among Enontekiö's fauna; however, there are Arctic species that are unknown to southern Finland, e.g.
Norway lemming,
Arctic fox
The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small species of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Tundra#Arctic tundra, Arctic tundra biome. I ...
,
snowy owl
The snowy owl (''Bubo scandiacus''), also known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl, is a large, white owl of the true owl family. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mo ...
,
Eurasian dotterel,
ptarmigan
''Lagopus'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily commonly known as ptarmigans (). The genus contains four living species with numerous described subspecies, all living in tundra or cold upland areas.
Taxonomy and etymology
The genus ''L ...
, and
ring ouzel. Besides the semi-domesticated
reindeer
The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...
, there are a lot of small mammals and bird species.
Climate
Enontekiö's climate is characterised by the extreme northern location, the high altitude compared to the rest of Finland and the closeness of the
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...
. Due to the moderating influence of the
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36°N latitude (North Carolin ...
, the winters are not quite as harsh as in central Lapland, which is characterised by the
continental climate
Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...
, but the summers are shorter and cooler.
The annual average temperatures of Enontekiö are the lowest of Finland. In Kilpisjärvi, in the north of the municipal area, the long-term average is −2.3 °C (compared to
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
: approx. +5 °C;
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
approx. +9 °C). July is the warmest month, with an average temperature of +10.9 °C, the coldest is January with −13.6 °C. Due to these extreme climatic conditions, the growing season only lasts a little over 100 days. Thus, the winter, with its 200 days, is very long. The annual average precipitation is . In the cold season, enormous amounts of snow can fall: The highest snow depth ever recorded in Finland was measured on April 19, 1997, in Kilpisjärvi: . Normally, a permanent snow cover is generally formed in October and does not melt again until the end of May. In sheltered places, snow can remain even longer; thus a ski race is traditionally held for
Midsummer
Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer, taking place on or near the date of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the longest Daytime, day of the year. The name "midsummer" mainly refers to summer solstice festivals of Eu ...
's night in Kilpisjärvi.
Enontekiö's municipal area is located between 200 and 300 km north of the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circl ...
. Accordingly, there are extreme seasonal differences in the length of daylight. In Kilpisjärvi, the
Midnight Sun
Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...
shines between May 22 and July 23. Accordingly,
Polar night
Polar night is a phenomenon that occurs in the polar regions of Earth, northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth when the Sun remains below the horizon for more than 24 hours. This only occurs inside the polar circles. The opposite phen ...
(''kaamos'') prevails between December 2 and January 11. Enontekiö has the highest rate of occurrence of
Polar lights in Finland: In the region around Kilpisjärvi, this natural spectacle can be observed on average three out of four nights during the dark season in clear weather.
History
Prehistory and Swedish age
The first human settlement in Enontekiö emerged after the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the last
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
, when people of the
Komsa culture migrated from the coast of the Arctic Ocean. The oldest traces of settlement were found at the shores of the Ounasjärvi Lake and are dated to a time 6,000
BC. Later, the
Sami
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...
population of Lapland, which predominated for a long time in Enontekiö, developed by the blending of this
stone-age ancestral population with speakers of
Uralic languages
The Uralic languages ( ), sometimes called the Uralian languages ( ), are spoken predominantly in Europe and North Asia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian. Other languages with speakers ab ...
, who immigrated after the 3rd millennium BC. Initially, the inhabitants of Enontekiö made their living from hunting and fishing, and they had only a few reindeer as draught animals.
In early modern times, Enontekiö came under Swedish influence during the course of the
Christianisation
Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...
of the
shaman
Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...
istic Sami. In the 16th century, Enontekiö's first church was built. It was a small wooden building in the village of Rounala on the right shore (today in Sweden) of the Könkämäeno river. According to tradition, the church was erected by three Sami brothers who had converted to Christianity. It was a central meeting point, where Sami people gathered for religious ceremonies, where merchants travelled to sell their wares, and where Swedish officials held judicial courts at particular times. In 1611, a new church was built in the village of Markkina. After the destruction of this church, another one was erected in the same place in 1661.
Since the end of the 17th century, the reindeer-Sami culture, which was based on keeping large herds of reindeer, spread from Norwegian and Swedish Lapland to Enontekiö. The reindeer-Sami of Enontekiö had a
nomad
Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
ic way of life; they moved with their animals between the coniferous forests in the south to
Kåfjord,
Kvænangen Kvænangen (or historically ''Quenangen'') may refer to:
Places
* Kvænangen Municipality, a municipality in Troms county, Norway
* Kvænangen (fjord), a fjord in Troms county, Norway
* Kvænangen concentration camp, a World War II era concentratio ...
, and
Nordreisa Nordreisa may refer to:
Places
* Nordreisa Municipality, a municipality in Troms county, Norway
* Nordreisa Church, a church in Nordreisa Municipality in Troms county, Norway
Other
* Nordreisa IL, a sports club in Nordreisa Municipality in Troms c ...
(in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
) on the coast of the Arctic Ocean following the annual cycle of summer and winter grazing land. Enontekiö's last nomads did not settle down until the 1960s, but the culture of the reindeer-Sami is still preserved in the large-scale herding of reindeer. As of the 17th century, the first
Finnish people
Finns or Finnish people (, ) are a Baltic Finns, Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these cou ...
settled down in the south of Enontekiö and introduced the culture of settled agriculture. Due to the Finnish immigration and the assimilation of the old-established Sami population, a Finnish majority emerged over the years.
Period of Russian sovereignty
In 1809 when Sweden ceded the region of today's Finland to
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in the
Treaty of Fredrikshamn
The Treaty of Fredrikshamn, or the Treaty of Hamina, was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on 17 September 1809. The treaty concluded the Finnish War and was signed in the Finnish town of Fredrikshamn ( Hamina). Russia ...
, Enontekiö became a part of the newly founded Grand Duchy of Finland, too. Because the church of Markkina stood on the Swedish—and therefore wrong—side of the river after the Swedish-Russian demarcation, it was torn down in 1826. Its beams were shipped down the Muoniojoki to Palojoensuu, where the church was rebuilt as henceforth the fourth church of Enontekiö. Already in 1864, the church was again moved to Hetta, which had in the meantime became the largest settlement of the region. The closing of the Russian-Norwegian border in 1852 and of the Russian-Swedish border in 1889 had severe consequences for Enontekiö's reindeer-nomads, because they could no longer move with their herds to the coast of the Arctic Ocean. As a result, they transferred their grazing areas inland to the southeast and helped spread the culture of reindeer-herding to the remaining parts of Lapland. Due to the separation of the administration of the municipality from the church administration, the political municipality of Enontekiö came into existence in 1877.
After independence

With the Finnish declaration of independence in 1917, Enontekiö became a part of the independent republic of Finland, too.
During the Continuation War (1941–1944), where Finland allied with Germany in fighting against the Soviet Union, Enontekiö, together with all of northern Finland, was part of the operational region of the Wehrmacht. In 1942, the Germans in Enontekiö started to establish the Sturmbock emplacement in occupied Norway and in Pechengsky District, Petsamo in order to protect the harbours on the Arctic Ocean. When Finland concluded the Moscow Armistice with the Soviet Union on September 4, 1944, committing themselves to expel the German troops, the Finnish-German Lapland War broke out. Lapland's civilian population had to be moved to a safe place in a very short time. Enontekiö's population was evacuated to neutral Sweden together with all of western Lapland's inhabitants. After the Germans quickly left southern Lapland, the 12,000 soldiers of the 7th ''Gebirgsdivision'' (Mountain Division) of the Wehrmacht occupied the Sturmbock emplacement at the end of October. During their fallback, the German applied the tactics of scorched earth and devastated Enontekiö, too. During the cold winter, a attrition warfare, war of attrition was maintained between German troops, barricaded in their fortifications, and Finnish troops, who took a stand in Markkina. After the Wehrmacht had abandoned Petsamo and northern Norway, the Sturmbock emplacement was no longer of strategic value and was cleared without a struggle at the beginning of January in 1945. In order to secure the flank in Lyngen Municipality, their last emplacement in northern Norway, the Germans still operated in the north of the Käsivarsi region, where minor combat operations took place, before the last Wehrmacht soldiers left Finnish soil on April 27 at Kilpisjärvi.
Population
Population development and structure
Enontekiö currently has nearly 2,000 inhabitants. In the beginning 1990s, there were still 2,500 inhabitants. Because the structurally weak Lapland was hit harder by the Finnish economic crisis than the south, a wave of migration to expansion centers in the south started in the middle of the decade. Initially, the number of inhabitants also rapidly decreased in Enontekiö, but it now has consolidated at a lower level. Enontekiö's population consists of under the age of 15, between 15 and 64, and older than 64.
The excess of men is conspicuous. They account for 53.2% of the population.
[Website of Enontekiö municipality: ''Tilastotietoa Enontekiön kunnasta''](_blank)
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Sami

Enontekiö is part of the native settlement area of the indigenous
Sami people
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
. Nineteen percent of the municipality's population are ethnic Sami, but only speak Sami as their native language.
The municipality is part of the Sami "homeland" (''kotiseutualue''), which is defined by law and where Sami have special minority rights. Thus Northern Sami, the particular Sami languages, Sami language used in Enontekiö, has official status in the municipality besides the Finnish language, and therefore is allowed to be used in contact with the authorities. Well-known Sami from Enontekiö are the artist, Nils-Aslak Valkeapää and the Joik-singer Wimme.
Religion
Enontekiö's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Evangelical Lutherans are part of the parish of Enontekiö, which is subordinate to the diocese of Oulu. It has been an independent parish since 1916, it had previously been a chapel parish of
Muonio
Muonio (previously called ''Muonionniska''; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. The town is located in fell-region of far northern Finland above the Arctic Circle on the country's western border with Sweden, the Muonio ( ...
. As in the rest of Lapland, the Laestadianism, a conservative Lutheran movement of the Great Awakening, is strongly represented in Enontekiö. The Laestadian are organised within the Evangelical Lutheran Church. From 1826 to 1849, Lars Levi Laestadius, the founder of the Laestadianism, was pastor in Karesuando in Sweden, from where his doctrine quickly spread to the adjacent Enontekiö. The first awakening in Finland took place in the winter of 1846/47 in Enontekiö and Muonio.
Politics
Parliamentary elections
Results of the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election in Enontekiö:
* Centre Party (Finland), Centre Party 38.2%
* True Finns 15.2%
* National Coalition Party 14.7%
* Social Democratic Party of Finland, Social Democratic Party 12.7%
* Swedish People's Party 0,3%
* Left Alliance (Finland), Left Alliance 4.8%
* Green League 9.0%
* Christian Democrats (Finland), Christian Democrats 3.4%
Administration
After some contested decisions have been made during the 2017-2021 election period, some members of the formerly dominating Centre Party (Finland), Centre Party established the independent list ''Enontekiöläisten ääni'' ("Voice of the people of Enontekiö"). In the 2021 elections of the municipal council, which is the highest instance for local affairs, the new list ''Enontekiöläisten ääni'' gained the most votes and now provides five out of 17 representatives to the municipal council. Both of the large parties in rural Finland, the National Coalition Party (Finland), National Coalition Party and the Centre Party have three seats in the municipal council each. The Green league and the local Sami list of ''Johtti Sápmelaččat'' have two representatives each. Like ''Enontekiöläisten ääni,'' also the Finns Party is new to the municipal council. The Finns Party as well as the Christian Democrats (Finland), Christian Democrats provide one representative to the municipal council each. Since 2017 the National Coalition Party and the Christian Democrats have been in a local alliance. The number of seats in the local municipal council is 17.
Coat of arms
Enontekiö's coat of arms was designed by Olof Eriksson. It depicts a silver, red-armoured Willow grouse in a blue field. The willow grouse is a very prevalent bird in Northern Lapland and was an important food for Enontekiö's inhabitants in the past, which is why it is also called the "bird of life".
Twin municipalities
Enontekiö is a town twinning, twin municipality with three of its neighbouring municipalities,
Kiruna Municipality
Kiruna Municipality (; ; ; ) is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Norrbotten County in northernmost Sweden. Its administrative centre, seat is located in Kiruna. It is the northernmost municipality in Sweden, and at is Sweden's geograph ...
in Sweden,
Storfjord Municipality
, (Northern Sami; ), or is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hatteng. Other villages in Storfjord include Elvevoll, Oteren, and Skibotn.
The municipality is the 54th l ...
in Norway, and
Kautokeino Municipality
Kautokeino (; ; ; ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Kautokeino (village), village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. Other villag ...
in Norway.
Economy and infrastructure
Economy
Enontekiö's economic structure has a large percentage involved in the service sector: 76% of the gainfully employed population work in the tertiary sector, 45% of these work in civil service. Agriculture and forestry employ 13% of Enontekiö's inhabitants, the manufacturing sector 6%. As is usual in the structurally weak Lapland, the unemployment in Enontekiö is a big problem: In January 2007 with 24.7%, the municipality had the second highest unemployment rate of all Finnish municipalities. In 1996 at the peak of the Finnish economic crisis, the unemployment rate was near 40%.
Reindeer husbandry was the dominant branch of business in Enontekiö for a long time. In the northwest of Lapland, reindeer husbandry has already been done for centuries, in contrast to the other regions of the Finnish reindeer husbandry area, where it was only introduced on a large scale in the 19th century after the eradication of the wild Finnish forest reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus fennicus''). Reindeer husbandry plays an important role even today. The herders are organised in the Siida, cooperatives (''paliskunta'') of Näkkälä and Käsivarsi and have a total of 20,000 semi-domesticated reindeer. Due to the climatic conditions, agriculture is scarcely possible, but dairy farming is operated on a small scale. Due to the sparse vegetation, forestry plays only a minor role.
Tourism is a major branch of business in Enontekiö, even if there are fewer visitors than in those municipalities of Lapland which have big skiing centres. Enontekiö mostly attracts nature tourists, who travel to Lapland for hiking, fishing, canoeing, skiing or snowmobiling, as well as automobile tourists, such as those on their way to the North Cape, Norway, North Cape. Annually, more than 100,000 overnight stays are registered. Twenty percent of the tourists are from abroad. The largest group are the Norwegians, followed by the Germans, Swedes, Dutch, and British. The Norwegians visit Enontekiö mainly for its low prices. The Norwegian shopping tourism made up 40% of the retail business volume in all of Enontekiö, and even 60–70% in Kilpisjärvi, near the border.
Transportation
Enontekiö's most important traffic connection is Highways in Finland, highway 21 (European route E8, E8). Along its entire route, starting in Tornio at the Gulf of Bothnia, it follows the line of the Finnish–Swedish border and ends in Kilpisjärvi at the Norwegian border. The main road 93 branches off highway 21 at Palojoensuu and at first leads in an eastward direction to the municipal centre of Hetta and then further in a northward direction to the Norwegian border. The villages of the southern part of the municipality are connected to each other by small roads. But in the northern part of Enontekiö, highway 21 is the only road, taking a course next to the banks of the Muonionjoki and Könkämäeno; the uninhabited area between the river valley and the Norwegian border has no roads at all. There are three border crossings in Enontekiö: The village of Karesuvanto is connected by a bridge with the Swedish bank and there are border crossings to Norway in Kilpisjärvi and Kivilompolo.
The municipality has its own airport, (Enontekiö Airport), west of Hetta. It is mainly approached by charter flights, whose passengers account for 95% of the airport's passenger volume. Regular flights to Enontekiö are established only in the spring. The company Finncomm Airlines provides direct flights to Enontekiö from Helsinki-Vantaa between March and May. The passenger volume of 13,700 passengers per year is relatively low.
Enontekiö is not connected to the railroad network. The next railroad station is in Kolari, approximately to the south.
Education and social affairs
There are five primary schools in Enontekiö: In the Kilpisjärvi primary school, pupils are taught from preschool to 9th grade, in the schools of Karesuvanto, Hetta, and Peltojärvi, from preschool to 6th grade. Enontekiö's upper school is attended by pupils of the 7th to 9th grade. The higher education entrance qualification can be obtained after graduating from the upper school at the secondary school of Enontekiö. The primary schools of Kilpisjärvi and Karesuvanto and the upper school of Enontekiö offer native language education to Sami pupils. Adult education takes place at an adult education centre. The municipality's library is located in the main village of Hetta, more remote regions are supplied by a mobile library. The University of Helsinki runs a biological research station in Kilpisjärvi. The University of Oulu runs the KAIRA radio telescope facility at Kilpisjärvi as well.
Healthcare is organised together with the neighbouring municipality of
Muonio
Muonio (previously called ''Muonionniska''; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. The town is located in fell-region of far northern Finland above the Arctic Circle on the country's western border with Sweden, the Muonio ( ...
. In Enontekiö, there are two health centres for inpatient treatment, one in Hetta and one in Karesuvanto. Beds are available in Muonio's health centre.
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings

The church of Enontekiö was built in the central village of Hetta in 1951/52 as a replacement for its predecessor, which was destroyed during the Lapland war; it is the sixth church of the municipality. It is a modern building made from brick and concrete and designed by the architect, Veikko Larkas. The slender church tower is 30 m high and is connected to the nave by a porch. The artist Uuno Eskola made the altarpiece of the church with a combination of fresco and mosaic techniques. It depicts the resurrected Jesus Christ, who is blessing Lapland and its people. The church's organ (music), organ was a gift from Germany from 1958.
Due to their preserved old building structure, the villages of Kultima, Näkkälä, Nunnanen, Peltovuoma, Pöyrisjärvi, and Raittijärvi are officially listed cultural monuments. The stone bridge of Ahdaskuru, erected in 1943 near the Norwegian border, is also listed; it is the only bridge in Lapland which was not destroyed during the Lapland War.
[Finnish Preservation List 1993]
''Kultiman kylä''
Museums
There are three museums in Enontekiö: The buildings of the museum of local history, which opened in 1991, were moved to Hetta from different villages in the municipality. They are a farmhouse from Raattama from the end of the 19th century, a living room from Ylikyrö from the 1920s, a storehouse also from Ylikyrö from the 18th century, a sauna from Muotkajärvi built in 1937, and a cattle shed from Kaukonen in the neighbouring municipality of Kittilä. The nature and culture centre of Fjell-Lapland is maintained by the Finnish Forest Office (''Metsähallitus'') and is located in Hetta, too. With its exhibitions, it shows the nature of northern Lapland and the culture of the reindeer-Sami. In Järämä, approximately 20 km north of Karesuvanto, a part of the Sturmbock emplacement from the Lapland War was restored. Since 1997, there is an annexed museum, dealing with the history of the Lapland War in Enontekiö.
Regular events
Since 1971, a Sami cultural event, the Mary's Days of Hetta (''Hetan Marianpäivät''), is held at the beginning of March. It continues the old Sami tradition of meeting in the church village on special holidays. Today, Mary's Days include performances of Sami music, art exhibitions, contests of riding a reindeer sleigh and roping. At Easter, a church and chamber music festival, the Music Days of Hetta (''Hetan musiikkipäivät''), is held in Enontekiö. From the end of April to the beginning of May, a contest of ice fishing (''Kilpisjärven pilkkiviikot'') attracts fishermen. In late summer, a tournament of orienteering (''Suomen tunturisuunnistus'') is held on the fells near Kilpisjärvi.
Notable individuals
* Andte Gaupe-Juuso, Big Brother 2014 winner
* Kai Hyttinen, musician and a former Kilpisjärvi wilderness guide
* Anni-Kristiina Juuso, actress
* Aslak Juuso, a herder
* Pigga Keskitalo, Sámi politician and academic
* Yrjö Kokko, writer
* Ilmari Mattila, actress
* Juhani Raattamaa, "lay preacher"
* Wimme Saari, singer
* Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, writer, artist and musician
* Niko Valkeapää, musician
* Vuontis-Kalle, storyteller
References
External links
*
Municipality of Enontekiö– Official website
Tourism portal of the municipality
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enontekio
Enontekiö,
Sámi-language municipalities
Populated places established in 1877
Populated places of Arctic Finland
1877 establishments in Finland
Municipalities of Lapland (Finland)