Monuments to visit Finnish Lapland

Jarama Fortifications is a way to discover a part of the history of the region. After a ten-minute video, you can access these old trenches that date back to 1944. During the war in Lapland, Germany invaded this part of Finland. In the summer of 1944, they built fortifications to defend themselves from the Finns who were trying to regain ground. A few blockhouses remain from this period, which can be discovered behind the museum by walking through the trenches. Beware, it is easy to get lost!

Ivalo was a gold mining town in the 1870s. The gold- and platinum-bearing Ivalojoki River attracted dozens of gold seekers in search of their fortune. Several symbols can be seen in Ivalo today. A statue of six gold miners at work stands in front of the Kultahippu ("gold nugget") hotel, while a giant Finnish sieve stands on Ivalo's northern traffic circle.

To find out more, visit the Gold Prospector Museum in Tankavaara, 60 km south of Ivalo.

This sculpture depicts 3 men and a woman holding a child. This monument commemorates the evacuation of the Petsamo (now Russian) region between 1920 and 1944. In the 1920s, this formerly Finnish region, populated by Sami Skolts, was annexed by the Soviets. The Treaty of Paris (1947) confirmed the annexation. During these 20 years, the Finnish population, mainly Skolt Sami, left the region, settling on the other side of the border, east of Lake Inari, in the villages of Nellim and Sevettijärvi.