Kilpisjärvi (; ) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the municipality of Enontekiö, Lapland,

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, ...

. It is located in Finland's northwestern "arm" near the northwesternmost point of the country. Although Kilpisjärvi is one of the largest villages in Enontekiö, it is still quite small. In 2000 its population was recorded as 114. Like most

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 ...

villages, Kilpisjärvi is built mainly around one major road, ''Käsivarrentie'', or the "Arm Road" and ''Neljäntuulentie'', or the "Four Winds' Road" — also known as E8. Near Kilpisjärvi is the highest point of Finnish road network, at an elevation of 565.8 m. Kilpisjärvi has its own school and a hotel, and the northernmost research station of the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

is situated there, as well as the KAIRA research facility. The best-known tourist attractions in Kilpisjärvi are the Saana fell and the " three-country border point", a monument at the common border point of Finland,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

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 ...

, located at approximately , roughly 2.5 km northwest from the end of Lake Kilpisjärvi. Over the lake, Sweden is within viewing distance of the village, and by road, Norway is less than to the north. During the winter, there are about four times more Norwegian tourists living in Kilpisjärvi than Finnish permanent residents, as Norwegians are attracted by the lower prices and more relaxed rules for snowmobiling, which is generally prohibited in Northern Norway. In the music video for Röyksopp's Poor Leno, Leno's place of origin is listed as Kilpisjärvi.

2015 school fire

The building of the Kilpisjärvi school burned down on 3 May 2015. It had been occupied by travellers at the time. The fire started from a recreational vehicle parked next to the building. The fire destroyed thousands of

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

s worth of euro

banknote A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...

s that had been stored at the school. The money had been collected as donations to fund a study trip for the school's pupils, but had been stored at the school because the school staff had been unable to find a bank office capable of depositing the money to the school's bank account. The nearest office of Nordea, where the school had an account, capable of accepting cash deposits was in

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

, 440 km away from Kilpisjärvi. Nordea pledged to donate 4000 euros to the school as reimbursement for the lost money.Halminen, Laura:
Lappilaiskoululaisten leirikoulurahat paloivat pitkien talletusmatkojen takia – Nordea lupaa korvata tuhannet eurot
', ''

Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...

'' online edition 5 May 2015. Accessed on 6 May 2015.

Climate

Kilpisjärvi has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: Dfc), with only two months above the 10 °C (50 °F) threshold. Summertime is typically cool and rainy with crisp nights. Winter is very long, cold, and snowy. It typically begins during October and lasts into May most years.

References

External links

Kilpisjärvi tourist information

Tundrea, Kilpisjarvi Holiday Resort

Eskelisen Lapinlinjat, offering daily bus trips to and from Kilpisjärvi

''Climatological statistics for the normal period 1981–2010'' (PDF) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilpisjarvi Villages in Lapland, Finland Enontekiö