Cities
Rovaniemi
Northern Europe
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Rovaniemi is a city in Lapland, Finland's northernmost region, about 6 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle at the confluence of the Kemijoki and Ounasjoki rivers, with a municipal population of roughly 66,000, the 17th most populous city in Finland. First documented in 1453 and granted township status in 1929, the city was almost entirely destroyed during World War II, with 90 percent of its buildings lost in 1944, and was rebuilt to a plan by the architect Alvar Aalto shaped like a reindeer's head; widely promoted today as the official home town of Santa Claus, it was named one of the best places in the world to celebrate Christmas by CNN in 2024, and its airport is among Finland's busiest.
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