The "Santa Claus Village" that disappeared from the map and was reborn! What's hidden behind the lights and children's letters?

2026-01-01 10:20:00, Kuriozitete CNA

The "Santa Claus Village" that disappeared from the map and was

The Rovaniemi Christmas Village is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, attracting more than a million visitors a year. However, few people know that the history of the famous "Santa Claus Village" has its roots in World War II, when the area was almost completely destroyed by the scorched earth policy implemented by the retreating Nazi forces.

The "Santa Claus Village" that disappeared from the map and was

Rovaniemi lies within the Arctic Circle and is the capital of the Lapland region. But behind the glittering Christmas decorations and its close association with the most beloved holiday of the year, for many, lies a deep history of destruction and rebirth.

A place that, despite extreme temperatures and the trauma of war, managed to rise from its ashes and become a symbol of hope and imagination.

The "Santa Claus Village" that disappeared from the map and was

The first house in Grandfather's village

Today, the village is home to Roosevelt Cottage, a historic wooden house built in 1950 in less than two weeks to welcome Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. It was intended to welcome her to see the town rebuilt after the war. It is the first building in today's Santa Claus Village, symbolizing U.S.-Finland friendship and the rebirth of the region.

The "Santa Claus Village" that disappeared from the map and was

Eleanor Roosevelt, then 66, had decided to make the long journey to the northernmost tip of Europe to see and walk in Rovaniemi. During the retreat of Nazi troops at the end of World War II, the city was set on fire, bridges were destroyed, public buildings and homes were bombed. The following photos are indicative of the destruction in Rovaniemi:

This image of a city whose inhabitants were literally trying to rise from the ashes was passed on by Roosevelt to her husband's successor as US president, Harry Truman, along with many other unpleasant details about the unbearable daily life of the citizens, who, among other things, had to deal with a wave of tuberculosis that year.

"Ne e filluam udhëtimin tonë për në Rovaniemi në Laplandën finlandeze mjaft vonë. Fluturuam mbi Baltikun verior dhe Gjirin e Bothnias. Duke parë nga aeroplani, dukej vërtet si një tokë me një mijë dete. Nuk e kisha imagjinuar kurrë Rrethin Arktik, por u habita vërtet nga numri i fermave. Kur zbarkuam, na priti guvernatori i rajonit me gruan e tij dhe kryetarin e bashkisë. Menjëherë u drejtuam në një zyrë postare në buzë të Rrethit Arktik, një ndërtesë e bërë nga trungje pemësh, të cilën na thanë se ishte ndërtuar vetëm javën e kaluar dhe ishte hapur për ne në mënyrë që unë të isha i pari që do të dërgoja një letër nga Rrethi Arktik. Kjo është ajo që po i drejtoj Presidentit të Shteteve të Bashkuara të Amerikës", i shkroi Roosevelt, Truman më 14 qershor 1950.

"Santa Claus" i Rovaniemit

Shumë njerëz, veçanërisht popullsia indigjene e Laplandës, e konsiderojnë kontributin e Eleanor Roosevelt në ringjalljen e Rovaniemit si thelbësor për zhvillimin frenetik të rajonit që nga ajo kohë. Nëse mendoni për këtë, ajo ishte e para që i dërgoi një letër Babagjyshit të asaj kohe, i cili u mishërua në mënyrë të famshme nga presidenti i SHBA-së, duke ofruar ndihmë për rindërtimin e Evropës së shkatërruar nga lufta, megjithëse vihet re se Finlanda ishte detyruar nga rusët të refuzonte fondet e Planit Marshall.

The "Santa Claus Village" that disappeared from the map and was

Megjithatë, nëse ky qytet ka një shenjtor të vërtetë mbrojtës, ai nuk është askush tjetër përveç arkitektit ikonik finlandez Alvar Aalto, ose me fjalë të tjera, njeriut që, ndërsa të gjithë panë shkatërrim të pakthyeshëm total që do të çonte në shkretëtimin e një zone tashmë të izoluar, pa mundësinë për një fillim të ri. Dhe ai nuk e la atë si një plan në letër, por i kushtoi kohë dhe energji për ta vënë atë në praktikë me një plan pionier edhe sipas standardeve të sotme, të cilit ia kushtoi veten deri në vdekjen e tij në mesin e viteve 1970.

Fatkeqësia

Që plani i Aaltos të zbatohej, qyteti rural me popullsi të rrallë prej 6,000 banorësh në vitet 1930 duhej t'u dorëzohej nazistëve dhe më pas pothuajse të fshihej nga harta.

Më 26 tetor 1939, pasi bisedimet diplomatike midis Bashkimit Sovjetik dhe Finlandës për të rishikuar kufirin në dëm të kësaj të fundit dhe për të çarmatosur zonat kufitare kishin dështuar, filloi pushtimi sovjetik i territorit finlandez. Lufta sovjetiko-finlandeze (ose Dimri, siç u bë e njohur) përfundoi pesë muaj më vonë, me finlandezët jo vetëm të mundur, por edhe të detyruar, me traktat, t'i dorëzonin BRSS-së rreth 10% të territorit të tyre.

Frika, poshtërimi dhe udhëheqësit e ekstremit të djathtë të Finlandës e çuan më pas vendin dhe popullin në krahët e fuqive të Boshtit. Finlanda u bë një pol qendror i Frontit Lindor dhe ndihmoi me forca ushtarake në pushtimin sovjetik të nazistëve që filloi në vitin 1941.

Three years later, and with the Germans' defeat already certain, the Finns capitulated to the Soviets, even taking on the obligation to pay unimaginable war reparations - and of course the expulsion of the remaining Nazi troops from their territories. Rovaniemi, where the Germans had established one of their largest airfields and was considered a city of strategic importance for the Eastern Front, paid a high price in human lives and material destruction. The Nazis retreated, but left behind chaos, blood and scorched earth.

Aalto's vision was born from the ashes of war. Taking for granted something no one had noticed before, namely that Rovaniemi's street layout resembled the anatomy of a deer, he set out to design a sustainable and environmentally friendly new city, adapted to the region's unique climate, even building affordable housing that the indigenous poor could afford.

The "Santa Claus Village" that disappeared from the map and was

The dark story behind the "Santa Claus village" that disappeared from the map and was reborn

The famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto and his plan for the reconstruction of Santa Claus Village.

The Finnish architect may not have had time to finish his work - he left behind three historic buildings, the concert hall, the city hall and the city library - but he managed to breathe a breath of revitalization, to offer the city the most precious raw material of hope, which its inhabitants decided to develop by investing their change in a story that was passed down from generation to generation, the Legend of Santa Claus.

According to local tradition, the ill-fated saint was located in the Korvatuduri region, in a place even further north of Rovaniemi, even colder and, above all, even more inaccessible. With a little effective marketing and thanks to the infrastructure of the former Luftwaffe airport, which remains the city's international airport to this day, crowds of tourists, motivated mainly by curiosity, soon began to descend on the Arctic Circle region.

The legend of Santa's homeland began to spread in the mid-1980s, gained momentum in the 1990s, and, as evidence shows, remains thriving and profitable for the Lapland region to this day. And almost believable.

"Santa Claus Village was established in the 1980s and tourists were an attraction for locals," said Tuija Alariesto, curator at the Lapland Provincial Museum in Rovaniemi.

The "Santa Claus Village" that disappeared from the map and was

Today, in Rovaniemi, the legend of Santa Claus coexists with the traces of history. Behind the lights, wooden houses and children's letters lies a city that experienced destruction and "responded" with creation, imagination and hope.