Area History
The history of Enontekio - from Stone Age hunters and fishers through nomadic reindeer herding, postal trails, small-scale farming and the Lapland War.
Enontekio was settled in the early Stone Age, some 8000 years ago, by hunters and fishers. Reindeer herding became an important livelihood in the last half of the 17th century, and because the semi-domesticated reindeer pastures in search of its food, its herders were nomads following the herds. That nomadic way of life has disappeared elsewhere in Lapland, but it lives on in Enontekio.
- Enontekio settled some 8000 years ago in the early Stone Age
- Reindeer herding established in the latter half of the 17th century
- About 20,000 reindeer in Enontekio, each owned and earmarked
- Historic postal trails - 60 km on foot from Hetta to Kalkujarvi
- Kilpisjarvi destroyed in the 1944-45 Lapland War
Nature & Traditional Livelihoods
Traditional livelihoods here mix reindeer husbandry, fishing, hunting, berry picking and gathering mushrooms and herbs. About 20,000 reindeer pasture freely in Enontekio, every animal owned and earmarked, and the deep herding knowledge passes down through generations. The special government rights for herders (such as cheap loans and grant subsidies) require owning c. 80 reindeer. These livelihoods remain a main income for about 10% of the population, some 60-70 families.
Prehistoric Settlements and Hole Traps
Many Stone Age dwellings have been found around Hetta, most on the north shore of Lake Ounasjarvi, with further signs on Karjalansaari Island and the south shore. Old hole traps at the foot of Jyppyravaara Hill attest to the area's hunting history. A short nature trail from the Fell Lapland Nature Centre Skierri follows an ancient hunting route on raised boardwalks past the trap hollows, and a restored hole trap stands in the Skierri grounds.
Reindeer Husbandry and New Farms
Reindeer husbandry spread through Enontekio at the end of the 1600s. Herders built no permanent dwellings, moving with the seasons from the coniferous forest zone to the Arctic Ocean shore. The first permanent settlers are thought to have arrived on Lake Ounasjarvi at the turn of the 18th Century, and between 1979-1998, 72 reindeer farms and 65 traditional livelihood farms were built in Enontekio.
Postal Trails
Post reached the northern villages before any road network existed. At the end of the 1800s it was carried on foot over great distances, along what are now called postal trails. A road from Palojoensuu to Hetta opened in 1906, and a postal car began weekly summer-only deliveries in 1923. One trail leads from Hetta to Nakkala and on to Poyrisjarvi and Kalkujarvi, a 60 km trek from Hetta. Once cycling spread, a fast postman could pedal the route there and back in a day.
Lapland War
Kilpisjarvi is a small village with a young history, its first permanent inhabitants arriving as late as 1915. Nothing remains from those years, all demolished in the Lapland War of 1944-1945, when Finland drove out its former allies, the German forces, who retreated towards Norway burning everything behind them. The Northern Lights road to Kilpisjarvi was much improved during the war, and at the peak, between 1915-1916, 1400 horses carried military materials along it.
Good to know
- First settlement
- Early Stone Age, ~8000 years ago
- Reindeer herding from
- Latter half of the 17th century
Ready when you are
Real wilderness, 200+ huskies, eighteen winters in.