Sodankylä is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Finnish national road 5. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is. Neighbouring municipalities are Inari, Kemijärvi, Kittilä, Pelkosenniemi, Rovaniemi, and Savukoski. The municipality has two official languages: Finnish and Northern Sami. Since 1986, Sodankylä has been home to the Midnight Sun Film Festival. The Jaeger Brigade of the Finnish Army is also located in Sodankylä. Although the name "Sodankylä" and directly translate to "Village of War", the etymology of the name is from a surname rather than the word "war". One of EISCAT's scientific radar receiver stations is located outside Sodankylä, at the site of the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory. The urban area around the observatory is known as "Tähtelä", which translates as "Place of Stars", although the observatory does not observe stars. Sodankylä has an airfield.
The old church is one of the oldest churches in Lapland. The church was built in 1689 for the people of Middle Lapland. It was restored in 1926, and the shingles and the boarding were re-done between 1991 and 1995 by the National Board of Antiquities and Historical Monuments. The church is still open at summer time.
The statue "A reindeer and a Lapp"
Sculptor Ensio Seppänen designed this statue in 1970, located in the center of Sodankylä. The bronze statue presents reindeer husbandry, which still is one of the most important trades in Sodankylä.
Tankavaara Gold Museum
The International Gold Museum presents the history of Finnish gold, as well as the history of the world's major gold rushes. A display called Golden world, tells the story of gold in more than 20 countries. The outdoor museum is housed within several historic buildings and the courtyard is decorated with a large bronze statue of a gold prospector, by the artist professor Ensio Seppänen. The museum's stone and mineral collection has more than 2500 samples on display from around the world.
Museum-gallery Alariesto
Andreas Alariesto was painter from Sodankylä. Museum-Gallery Alariesto was opened in July 1986. The museum's permanent exhibition displays artist Andreas Alariesto's life and works. Museum-Gallery is maintenanted by Riikkas and Andreas Alariesto's Lapinkuvat Foundation and the Municipality of Sodankylä. The foundations's main goal is to take care of Alariesto's collected works and to preserve old Sompio's distinctive cultural tradition.
Geography and climate
Sodankylä lies just north of the Arctic circle. Sodankylä has a subarctic climate, with short, mild summers and long, freezing, extremely snowy winters. However global warming has brought more extreme snowfalls, typically an increase. Its extreme northerly location combined with frequent overcast skies leads to very low amounts of sunshine in the winter months; December will average just under two minutes of sunshine daily. Sodankylä experiences polar night between 20 and 23 December and polar day between 31 May and 14 July. The temperature is usually between and, but the all-time temperature range is between and recorded on 18 July 2018. On 26 April 2019, Sodankylä recorded its warmest April day on record with a high of.
