Ounasvaara nature trail

Nearby destinations

• Kärri Upi - Raivaten ja rakentaen (1990)

  The status Raivaten ja rakentaen by Kemijärvi-born Urpo Kärri is situated in Uitonpuisto, at the western end of the Ounaskoski bridge. The theme of the sculpture is the work of army engineers in the war and the rebuilding of Lapland. The statue is made of slate, stainless steel and mirror glass...
• Seppänen Ensio - Maidolla elämisen alku (1984)

  Located in Herva park, the sculpture Maidolla elämisen alku was completed in 1984 and commissioned by the Lapland provincial agriculture institute. The artist, Ensio Seppänen, is one of Finland's best-known realist sculptors. He has created more than a hundred works exhibited in public places. His works can be mainly found in Northern Finland, Sweden and Norway...
• Kallio Kalervo - Jätkä-patsas (1955)

  Located in Jätkänpuisto at the western end of the bridge, the Jätkä-patsas donated by the company Kemi Oy is one of Rovaniemi's best-known sculptures. The statue's lumberjack has symbolised Rovaniemi for decades and is rightfully situated on the shores of a river that is widely known for its traditions in log floating. Kalervo Kallio has turned the lumberjack into a hero of labour. The drawknife and log depict what a lumberjack's work was typically like in the 1950s...
• Eriksson Olaf - Monument to the 6th Division (1981)

  The 6th Division during the Continuation War was formed in 1941 mainly from men from Lapland. The monument is made of quartzite stone found in the village of Jaatila. Heraldist and graphic artist Olof Eriksson was by 1953 the most prolific designer of coats of arms for towns, municipalities and cities in Finland. In addition, he has designed medals and, together with Heikki Häiväoja, the Finnish 1-mark coin (1964)...
• Kivijärvi Harry - Fenix-lintu (1990)

  The sculpture Fenix-lintu by Harry Kivijärvi is located in front of Rovaniemi Court of Appeal (formerly the office of the Bank of Finland) . With this piece, Kivijärvi participated in the Rovaniemi City Hall sculpture competition held in 1987. The winner was Kain Tapper's sculpture Vuorten synty, but the jury also recommended that Kivijärvi's sculpture be purchased at a later date. The Bank of Finland acquired the piece in 1990...
• Nurminen Matti - Käräjäkivet (1995)

  Doors as a public work of art are a rarity in Finland. In the door relief of the Court of Appeal, Rovaniemi native Matti Nurminen has stylised the old symbol of justice, a pre-Christian stone circle for holding court. Matti Nurminen was born in 1947 in Rovaniemi. Today, he lives and works in Helsinki...
• The Ounasvaara birch fairytale trail

  The fairytale trail consists of 6 waypoints. At each waypoint, people walking the trail stop to read a short chapter of the fairytale and use their senses to do activities centred around the themes of the tale. The length of the trail is approximately 800 metres each way and takes a little under an hour to complete, not counting time spent at waypoints. The Ounasvaara Birch is a fairytale by Annikki Setälä...
• 6. Being seen, heard and understood. Valuing yourself and others

  “That night was the first moonlit night of the winter and the wedding of the smallest elf boy and the smallest elf girl. The bride was the youngest and smallest of 365 siblings. That was why her wedding was so late. Her siblings had celebrated theirs in the summer, when the cherry trees and the lilies bloomed...
• 5. Longing and the need to be accepted

  Together, think about what it means to feel longing. Give examples from your own life of when and how you’ve experienced longing. How does longing affect you? How do you deal with longing?..
• 4. Bullying and the acceptance of diversity

  “‘You’re useless,’ said the little pine, still so short it barely poked out from between the rocks. ‘You’re no use to anybody. Look at my needles. The little pine was so self-assured because no danger had ever approached it...
• 3. Individual identity and loneliness (empowerment)

  Which ones are conifers and which are broad-leaved trees? How do they differ from each other? What kinds of characteristics do different tree species have? Find a birch tree and examine it with all your senses...
• 2. Seasons, nature and colours

  “In the summer and winter, Ounasvaara and Pöyliövaara are each as green and beautiful as the other, but in the spring, when the light of the sun brings the leaves back to life, there’s no missing just how different their trees are. Ounasvaara, covered in conifers, is as evenly green as ever, but Pöyliövaara is dotted with spots of a brighter shade – broad-leaved trees waking up after the winter. In the summer, the conifers and broad-leaved trees take on similar colours and blend together once again, but in the autumn, when the leaves turn red and yellow, Pöyliövaara glows warmly in its bright colours, while Ounasvaara remains as green as ever. Look closely at the view in front of you...
• 1. Diversity and differences in the envvironment

  Close your eyes and calm your breathing. Focus on your senses one by one. What do your ears hear? What does your nose smell?..
• Germans in Ounasvaara – A historical tour of the landscapes of the Continuation War

  Ounasvaara is known as the hub for sports and recreation in Rovaniemi but did you know that between 1941 and 1944, it was also the site of a barracks camp used by the German military, especially the German Air Force Luftwaffe? This walking tour takes you virtually or physically to see the remains of the German wartime camp in the Ounasvaara and Lähteentie areas. The route is 4.2 kilometres long and takes about three hours to get around on foot. The route and locations of the sights along the route and their descriptions and photos can be found in this service...
• Battle stations and concrete dugout on the eastern side of the railroad

  Remains of numerous man-made earthworks can be found alongside Ounasvaara railroad, including both trenches and machine-gun nests as well as auxiliary trenches related to guard activities. At least some of these probably date from the Lapland War. On the side of the hill, next to the railroad, there is a long trench, machine-gun nests and foxholes. No actual fighting took place in this area, however...
• Mystery barracks and trench

  One barracks building, about which little details exist but which has an impressive concrete foundation, is located near the tower blocks. In the German drawings, a car repair shop or truck garage is marked on this spot. The building may also have been a kitchen. A pipe used to drain rainwater is protruding from the concrete...
• Rommel's field

  East of Ranuantie is a sports field called Rommel's field. The field was built in 1943 by men from the bakery company 602 of the German Army and the adjacent Army transport corps as a recreation area. The field was given the grandiose name Sportsbahn Feldmarschall Rommel, or Field Marshal Rommel's sports field. The name was written on the top board of the main gate...
• Sicherheitsdienst prison

  We are now at the building used by the Geological Survey of Finland. Here, there used to be remains of steps of German buildings and ditches before the research institute's building was constructed. The area was a popular children's playground with plenty of wartime junk left behind. At the site of the research institute was a prison with walled cells used by the security agency Sicherheitsdienst for German prisoners...
• Frontleitstelle 42 barracks camp area

  In this area between the railroad and Lähteentie was the Ounasvaara barracks camp of the front line headquarters, Frontleitsstelle 42, commissioned on 15 March 1943. The camp included numerous housing and storage barracks, apparently a large office building, garage, potato cellar, sauna and dressing room and several toilets – about thirty buildings in total. The area had a central square measuring approximately 10 by 60 metres, surrounded by four fairly large buildings. A shuttle transport to the camp was arranged from Rovaniemi railway station...
• Children's home

  The former children's home was used as a hospital by the German Army during the Continuation War. The building still exists. The hospital and its area were mined during the Lapland War, but no mines were detonated. After the destruction of the town of Rovaniemi, the town's administrative offices were located there...
• Finnish auxiliary workers' barracks and the labour question during the Continuation War

  According to German drawings, this was the site of a barracks for Finnish auxiliary workers, Finnische Hilfskräft, built in November and December 1943. The barracks, called Polar, was about eight by twelve metres in size and made of prefabricated plank wood elements. It was supplied by Puutalo Oy, a joint company formed by Finnish timber companies. It took a couple of days for Finnish carpenters to install and considerably longer for prisoners...
• Officers' club and cultural activities during the war

  On this spot, sheltered by earth ramparts, probably stood the local officers' club, which the Germans called the casino. The club wasn't actually a casino, however. The servicemen had their own canteen along the present-day Lukkarinkatu and possibly elsewhere, too. The officers' club was a place of leisure for officers, hosting song nights and occasional guest performers such as singers or magicians...
• German supply lines and coexistence with Finnish locals

  In this area, too, some remains of German porcelain tableware can be found, although nearly everything visible above-ground has long since been cleared away. The porcelain stamps reveal that the tableware have been imported from Germany's own factories. For example, Rosenthal tableware has been found in large numbers in the camps used by the Luftwaffe. Large amounts of porcelain were also imported from the Porsgrunn factories in Norway...
• In and around the barracks of the Air Reconnaissance Regiment

  During the Continuation War, the Ounasvaara area of Rovaniemi was used extensively by the Germans. The area included several barracks, a hospital, bakery, veterinary and transport corps, prison camp used by the security services, front line headquarters, canteen for service personnel and, of course, Rommel's field. The area above the children's home and Ranuantie on the southwest slope of Ounasvaara hosted a fairly large barracks camp built by the Luftwaffe in 1942 and 1943. A part of the Luftnachtrichten-Regiment 56 transferred to Rovaniemi in December 1941...
• Generaloberst Eduard Dietl

  Generaloberst Eduard Dietl was the longest-serving commander of the German army in Lapland during the Continuation War. Hitler appointed him as the new commander to replace Nikolaus von Falkenhorst in January 1942. Dietl was a true believer in the Nazi ideology and a staunch National Socialist. Despite this, according to his own words, he never would have even dreamed to attempt to preach this ideology in Finland...
• Ounasvaara shooting pavilion and range and Ounasvaara winter games

  The old Ounasvaara ski stadium and shooting range includes a shooting pavilion designed by Viljami Kaltio for the Civil Guard. The pavilion, formerly known as Ampula, was completed in 1927. During the war, the pavilion housed a radio station for both Finns and Germans and accommodation for personnel. The Civil Guard's shooting range and its surroundings were used for shooting and field training exercises, among other things...
• Ounasvaara Summer trail

  The nearest point of the Ounasvaara Summer Trail is 1.6 km east of the Rovaniemi city centre. Ounasvaara is an ideal day-trip destination because of its easy accessibility. It is not only a famous sports centre but also a year-round recreation area near the city centre of Rovaniemi with marked and maintained trails and several great vantage points. At Ounasvaara, you can practise almost 50 different sports, and the selection keeps growing...
• Salmijärvi lean-to

  The Salmijärvi lean-to is located along the Kolpeneentie road, about 2.3 km south-east from the city centre of Rovaniemi, on the shore of Lake Salmijärvi.  The log-built Salmijärvi lean-to is situated on the shore of the lake in an atmospheric spit with a lot of birches. The lean-to area is graveled. There is a campfire site, sleeping platform, benches and a waste bin at the lean-to...
• Parking area
• Ounaskoski bridge, 1930s

  The railway from Rovaniemi to Kemijärvi was completed in 1934. On the first part of the route, large and expensive bridges needed to be built, such as the Ounaskoski bridge. The old bridge in the photograph was used only for about 10 years, because the German troops blew it up when withdrawing from Lapland in October 1944. The current bridge was completed in 1951...
• Konttinen, 1910s

  The Konttinen Manor depicted from across River Kemijoki. The Konttinen Manor was commissioned by Norwegian timber businessman Terje Olsen in late 19th century. As of 1900, the manor housed the forest division of the Kemi company operating in the wood processing industry. The building was destroyed in the air raids of Rovaniemi in 1940...
• Tuisku’s house, around the 1910s

  Shopkeeper A. E. Tuisku had a shop along Maantiekatu and a house on the shore of River Kemijoki. Tuisku being a local force served as a municipal foreman in municipal administration in 1897–1899 and as the foreman of the municipal board in 1912...
• Beer factory, 1930s

  Before the war, the Tornio porter and beer factory operated in Rovaniemi along the current Koskikatu street. The factory building was completely destroyed in the war. After the war, the company considered transferring all beer manufacturing operations to Rovaniemi, but the new town plan did not allow for the factory site to be expanded. The factory was, however, rebuilt at the previous site and operated until 1972...
• Castrèn’s trestle bridge, late 1940s

  The bridges crossing River Kemijoki were destroyed in the Second World War. A temporary trestle bridge was constructed every spring between 1946 and 1951 after the ice had broken at the site of the current Jätkänkynttilä Bridge. For a few winters, the Kemijärvi trains crossed the river on rails that were installed on the ice. A ferry boat also crossed the rivers Kemijoki and Ounasjoki...
• Log floating on River Kemijoki, 1960

  The log floating on River Kemijoki began in the 1860s. Felling usually ended in March and then the logs were stored upstream, marked and measured. In the spring, the logs were debarked and, once the river had thawed, the floating of the logs along rivers to steam sawmills of the south began. The fall log floating started after salmon fishing ended on 15 August...
• Ounasvaara winter trail

  The nearest point of the Ounasvaara Winter Trail is 1.6 km east of the Rovaniemi city centre. Ounasvaara, or Ounas Hill, is an ideal day-trip destination because of its easy accessibility. It is not only a famous sports centre but also a year-round recreation area near the city centre of Rovaniemi with marked and maintained trails and several great vantage points. At Ounasvaara, you can practise almost 50 different sports, and the selection keeps growing...
• Ounasvaara nature trail lean-to

  The Ounasvaara Nature Trail lean-to is 3.8 km east of Rovaniemi, along the nature trail on the southern edge of the Ounasvaara hill. The log-built lean-to is below massive outcrops, featuring a campfire site and woodshed. There is a clear, bubbling spring around 100 m down to the left from the lean-to. In the winter, you can access the lean-to from the same place along a marked winter trail, or by snowshoe through the forest...
• Ounasvaara observation tower lean-to

  The Ounasvaara Observation Tower Lean-to is 2.2 km east of Rovaniemi, on the western hillside of Ounasvaara, near the SantaSport Institute. The log-built lean-to features a campfire site and woodshed. It stands on a rocky hillside next to the observation tower, which offers magnificent views over the city and the Kemi River...
• Jyrhämänkuja lean-to

  The Jyrhämänkuja Lean-to is in the city centre of Rovaniemi behind the health centre in Sairaalanniemi. The log-built lean-to is on a spit in the bank of the Kemi River, featuring a campfire site, firewood and benches. You can reach the Jyrhämänkuja parking area by car. The path to the lean-to is 100 m...
• Ounasvaara observation tower

  The Ounasvaara Observation Tower is 2.2 km east of the city centre of Rovaniemi, on the western slope of Ounasvaara. The massive tower stands on the rocky hillside of Ounasvaara, amidst a pine forest along the Ounasvaara Winter Trail, at 160 m above sea level. You can access the observation deck via stairs and an intermediate platform. The tower has a roof, and it offers magnificent views over the city centre and the Kemi River...
• Ounasvaara parking area