Neiden (also: , , , and , previously also ) is a village area in the

Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia, stretching over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Most of Sápmi lies north of the Arctic Circle, boun ...

area along the

Finland–Norway border Norway and 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 o ...

with about 250 inhabitants. Neiden, situated along the Neiden River, actually consists of two villages 12 kilometers apart, separated by the border of

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 ...

and

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, ...

. One village is in

Sør-Varanger Municipality Sør-Varanger (; ; ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kirkenes. Other settlements in the municipality include the vill ...

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

county, Norway, and the other village is in Inari Municipality in Lapland, Finland. ''Neiden'' is the official name in Norway and ''Näätämö'' in Finland. The

European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...

highway runs through the Norwegian village of Neiden. The village on the Finnish side is close to the border and has border shops. Culture: Traditional

row boat Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reaction (physics), reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to ...

s made of wood, called "Neiden boat"s (''Neidenbåt''), were not made for many years until one was finished in 2024.

History

Neiden became the main settlement of the westernmost (, i.e. the fundamental unit of the old

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 ...

society, indicating both the area and the family group(s) exploiting it) of the

Skolts The Skolt Sámi or Skolts are a Sámi people, Sámi ethnic group. They currently live in and around the villages of Sevettijärvi, Keväjärvi, Nellim in the municipality of Inari, Finland, Inari, at several places in the Murmansk Oblast and in t ...

and has remained relatively unchanged, leaving numerous traces of earlier use of the area intact. Neiden was governmentally divided officially in 1852. The reason for that separation was the demarcation treaty between the Kingdom of

Sweden-Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway (; ), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden and Norway under a common monarch and common foreign poli ...

and the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

, which prohibited

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 ...

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 ...

herding and moving of fishermen over the border. That caused much harm to reindeer husbandry for a long time.

World War Two

In October, 1944, German forces withdrew through the area after having failed to capture

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

Operation Silver Fox Operation Silver Fox (; ) or Murmansk operation () from 29 June to 17 November 1941, was a joint Nazi Germany, German–Finland, Finnish military operation during the Continuation War on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World Wa ...

. On the 26th and 27th around two hundred Soviet and German soldiers were killed around the village.Måtte begrave hundrevis av lik
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People

Most inhabitants of Neiden are

Kven KVEN (1520 AM, "") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Port Hueneme, California and serves the Ventura County area. The station is owned by Gold Coast Broadcasting and broadcasts a Spanish-language talk/sports format. By day ...

, and

Norwegians Norwegians () are an ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the Norsemen, Norse of the Early ...

Skolt Sami

The

form a minority group among the

and are distinct from other groups in a number of ways. The

Russian culture Russian culture ( rus, Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii, kʊlʲˈturə rɐˈsʲiɪ) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern cultu ...

has had a strong influence on the

, who adopted

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

in its Eastern Orthodox form in the 16th century. The Skolt Sami language is highly endangered and not spoken actively in Neiden today. Almost all speakers live in Finland. The '' Ä'vv Skolt Sami Museum'', situated in Neiden, officially opened in June 2016. A Skolt Sami tradition maintained until today is the so-called Käpälä-fishing of

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

with a cast net.

Protected area

The protected area in Skoltebyen includes a number of different monuments, some of which are old enough (i.e. more than 100 years) to be automatically protected under the ''Cultural Heritage Act''. These include a Russian Orthodox graveyard, the ruins of a smoke

sauna A sauna (, ) is a room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a sauna is used to meas ...

, sixteen sites of traditional turf huts known as ''gammer'' and a tiny () Russian Orthodox chapel, St. Georg's Chapel, built 1565 by

Tryphon of Pechenga Tryphon of Pechenga (; ; ; Norwegian Bokmål and ; 1495–1583) was a Russian monk and ascetic in the Eastern Orthodox Church on the Kola Peninsula and in Lapland in the 16th century. He is considered to be the founder of the Pechenga Monaster ...

. In addition, many of the natural features of the area have been and are being used in religious ceremonies, such as

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

. The formal protection (scheduling) of the settlement was carried out in order to safeguard its historical and religious importance as well as the integrity of the landscape. This is the most important cultural heritage site for the

and their surviving culture in Norway. The protection order was issued to prevent the area from being developed in a way that would reduce its significance and cultural value, while at the same time encouraging use that will communicate, maintain and develop the Skolt culture. The protection order does not affect the commercial

fishing in the Neiden River nor other commercial activities in the area.

Religion

The oldest church in Neiden (and in Finnmark) is St. Georg's Russian Orthodox chapel (built 1565), mentioned above. There is also the Lutheran Neiden Chapel, built in 1902 in the classical style of a Norwegian stave church. It was built as part of a deliberate policy of Norwegianization of Eastern Finnmark in the face of fear of Russian encroachment.

References

External links

NeidenSkolt Sámi Culture Across bordersNeiden Blog (finnish)NeidenfossenOfficial website Skoltsami museum in NeidenWeather camera of Neiden (Näätämö) in the side of Inari, Finland
{{Authority control Sør-Varanger Villages in Finnmark Villages in Inari, Finland Populated places of Arctic Norway Populated places of Arctic Finland