The famous village of Santa Claus was destroyed by the Germans, but it was reborn, now gathering a large number of tourists, especially during the Christmas season
People dressed as reindeer, real reindeer pulling the sleigh in Santa’s village and statues of them everywhere. This was the work of Finland’s greatest architect, the Alvar Aaltowhen the capital of Lapland was rebuilt after it was burned down by the retreating Nazi German army during World War II.
In the 1930s, Rovaniemi it was a quiet trading town with about 6,000 inhabitants until Russia invaded in 1939. The Finns fought against the Soviets in the 1939-40 war and then allied with Hitler’s Germany for protection against possible new Russian invasions.
The Germans set up a base in Rovaniemi, doubling the city’s population. The Luftwaffe set up an airfield – now ‘the official Santa Claus airport’ – and a camp which later became the village.
When Hitler seemed to be losing the war, Russia told the Finns to expel the Germans. As the German army was withdrawing in October 1944, the Nazis burned Rovaniemi. Residents had already left, most of them in Sweden, a painful process in which 279 people died. Another 200 died on their way back to Rovaniemi.
The Germans destroyed 90% of the city – and the inhabitants who returned, found only piles of ruins. Outside Rovaniemi there is also a German military cemetery where about 2,500 German soldiers are buried.
This was the scene of desolation that Aalto saw when he was commissioned by the Union of Finnish Architects to rebuild the city in 1945. The Finnish architect created a plan for all of Lapland and began by rebuilding Rovaniemi. In the 1950s his plan expanded beyond the city to encompass the entire region.
Aalto designed Rovaniemi’s “reindeer palace” in 1946: he simply shaped a reindeer head outline into the existing topography.
Rovaniemi did not have access to financial aid like other European cities because pressure from the USSR forced Finland to reject the Marshall Plan. The Finns were also ordered to pay “reparations” to Russia. However, some financial support came from the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and the US first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt.
Rovaniemi and Eleanor Roosevelt
In June 1950, Eleanor Roosevelt wanted to visit the Arctic Circle, and the Finns built a residence near Rovaniemi airport in a week, furnished with chairs designed by Aalto. She was told it was in the Arctic Circle – although it was actually a bit further south. Elinor Sent a letter to President X. Truman – said to be the first residence built in the Arctic Circle. The residence later became a tourist attraction, visited by world leaders such as Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev and Israeli Prime Minister Golda Mayir.
Thus, with the development of tourism, Rovaniemi was also rebuilt.
In 1984, local businessmen created Santa’s Village: A rustic-style wooden village was created around Eleanor Roosevelt’s residence, complete with shops, reindeer sleighs, and a post office so visitors could send letters from the Arctic Circle. Around 700,000 letters to Santa arrive here every year.-
Source :Skai
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